When Should the Crèche Go Up?

A few days ago I received an email from a parishioner saying he had watched a bishop’s homily on the First Sunday of Advent and found it thought provoking.   

His email to me focused on one particular issue that struck him in the homily, the topic of when should the outside crèche go up.  In the past, the bishop had seen when the cathedral parish was putting the crèche up for the First Sunday of Advent.  Knowing the crèche with the baby Jesus in it to be a scene from Christmas, he called the pastor to asked why they were putting the crèche out already.  This crèche was inside the church, away from the altar. 

The rector responded by speaking of the many people that would come to the cathedral as visitors and see the crèche empty.  The empty crèche would lead them to ask where the baby Jesus is.  When they asked, the parish would respond, “Keep watch.  He is coming.” 

The bishop said he couldn’t argue with that.  This is a valid and great way of thinking.  I do not want to argue with the bishop’s thinking based on what the cathedral was doing.  It is a great way to evangelize.  I would like to present a little bit different timing of when the crèche goes up that I was taught.  (I do not know of an official church document that defines when the crèche should be put up.)  It is very important to note that this cathedral is a tourist attraction, meaning many people see it only once in the Advent and/or Christmas seasons.  In what follows, I am speaking from the perspective where the majority of people seeing the parish crèche live in the parish area.  So, they see the creche multiple times each year. 

I was taught that a crèche does not go up inside the church until just before Christmas.  What I write concerns a crèche outside the church.  The cathedral spoken of above is a huge cathedral.  So, a crèche can be put up away from the altar.  This may contribute to it acceptable to put the crèche up earlier.  I am used to smaller churches where the crèche is within a few feet of the altar.  Near the altar, I think it would send a message that Christmas is already here.  We need Advent before we are ready for Christmas. 

Advent is a time of preparation.  As such, it is a time of waiting for the First Coming of Jesus that we celebrate at Christmas and our present waiting for the Second Coming of Jesus at the end of the ages.  The waiting can build anticipation within us.  The anticipation causes us to think more about what it is we are waiting for.  This is a good thing to do. 

To me, the question of when we first put the crèche up and when the statues are placed within it is about how we build the anticipation towards Christmas in people who pass by and our own parishioners.  Each parish that I have served in has approached the timing a little differently (with the exception of always waiting to Christmas to put baby Jesus in the manger). 

I think the timing we use at St. Mary’s of the Lake is the best I have seen to build anticipation in people who pass by the crèche multiple times. 

We see the secular department stores putting out Christmas displays even before Thanksgiving.  I think a lot of people would agree that this is too early.  As a church, we should not follow what the secular world does in anything, most especially items of a religious nature.  Our faith should lead what the world does, not the other way around.  I do not think the bishop mentioned above was giving into worldly influences.  He was trying to interpret the proper balance in faith for the situation his cathedral was in. 

The Christmas shopping season starts on Black Friday the day after Thanksgiving and takes a modern twist on Cyber Monday.   

Most often, the weekend after Thanksgiving is the First Sunday of Advent, but not always.  Advent always has four Sundays in it.  The First Sunday is determined by counting backwards from Christmas.  One will find that occasionally Advent does not begin until the second Sunday after Thanksgiving.  So, Thanksgiving does not determine when the crèche should be put up (the parishioner who emailed me was not arguing for that). 

Here, we wait until after the First Sunday of Advent to begin putting the crèche up.  We let those who attend Mass hear the readings for the First Sunday of Advent before the crèche goes up as a way that I hope promotes an understanding that Christmas is yet to come. 

 
For those who see secular entities set up their Christmas displays before/as Advent begins and wonder why we don’t, I hope it leads them to ask why.  Given that Christmas is a religious holiday, I hope it leads people to think, “maybe we should follow the way the church does things for Christmas, not the stores.” 

A few days after Advent begins, we put the crèche itself up without any animals or any people in it.  The day for this varies a little depending on when our Knights of Columbus who set it up as volunteers are available.  Sometimes the timing of putting the crèche structure up is also affected by the weather.  It is best to get the structure up before a winter storm brings two feet of snow (I have literally had that happen in another parish.  Fortunately, the maintenance person thought to put the crèche out before the snow!). 

Please note that I specifically said the crèche structure goes up without anything inside it.  I think most passersby recognize the crèche structure and know that the fact the structure is up means Christmas is coming but that it isn’t Christmas yet.  For the rest, I hope it leads them to think in anticipation of when the next part of the scene will go up. 

Then, after a short number of days, we put the animals out.  I think here sometimes we have put the animals out the same time as the people (with the exception of Jesus!).  As I write, I think it might most help build the anticipation for Christmas by putting the animals out before the people.  If you think about it, the scene is a stable (as described in Luke 2:1-14).  The animals live there.  The people (Mary and Joseph) only arrive when Christmas is very close.  So, the animals go out followed by the people. 

Well, not all the people.  Jesus doesn’t go out until we begin our Christmas Masses because that is when He was born.  He was conceived in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Annunciation (see Luke 1:26-38).  He grew in Mary’s womb for nine months.  He was only seen by the world from his birth.   

Jesus isn’t the only one who doesn’t go into the crèche before Christmas.  In fact, Jesus isn’t the last one to appear in the crèche.  The magi did not come until after the birth of Jesus.  They arrive on the Epiphany (see Matthew 2:1-12). 

The approach taken by the cathedral mentioned at the start of this article appropriately desires to maximize the amount of time the crèche is seen in order to maximize its impact.  This is a good thing in the work of evangelization. 

In thinking about the total amount of time the crèche is out, the secular stores will take down their Christmas displays the day after Christmas (except for the after Christmas specials hoping to round out their profits). 

In the Catholic Church, Christmas does not end on December 25^th.  As the nativity (birth) of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Christmas is way too important to celebrate with just a single day.  It needs a season.  For the world, that season is often before Christmas.  For us, we do have a season to prepare us for Christmas.  It is Advent.  It is not yet Christmas.   

So, in fact, as Catholics we have two seasons to help us celebrate the birth of our Savior well.  We have the season of Advent to help us get ready for Christmas and then we have the season of Christmas that begins on Christmas and continues until the Baptism of the Lord (generally around 15-18 days after Christmas).  We keep the crèche up for the entire season. 

The Christmas season is full of wonderful things to celebrate.  There is the Feast of the Holy Family.  Jesus had Mary as his mother and God as his Father.  God wanted Jesus to have a human father to watch over him.  Joseph was chosen for this (see Matthew 1:18-25). 

As a good Jewish family, Joseph and Mary would take Jesus to the temple for the proper Jewish rites.  We celebrate this with the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God on January 1^st.  

Scripture tells us of the visit of the magi after the birth of Jesus (see Matthew 2:1-12).  We know they did not come till after his birth because they speak of the birth already happening.  We place the magi in the crèche when we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. 

As Catholics, we conclude the Christmas season with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.  He was not baptized until He was an adult (see Matthew 3:13-17).  So, at first glance it won’t be part of the Christmas season.  We include it to remind us of what Jesus came into the world for, to save us from our sins. 

So, our crèche will go up on December 8^th this year and remain up until January 12^th, the day after the Baptism of the Lord.  That will be 35 days.  I hope and pray that during these 35 days, with the changing scenery of the crèche, it will keep alive the thoughts of what the birth of Jesus means for us. For those who understand Advent begins before we put the crèche up, it will be even longer.   

The world needs Jesus. 

Peace, 

Fr. Jeff