Christmas occurs on Sunday in a twenty-eight-year cycle—11 years, 6 years, 5 years, then 6 again. Going backward, December twenty-fifth was on Sunday in 1949, 1955, 1960, 1966, 1977, 1983, 1988, 1994, 2005, 2011, 2016. And going forward, Christmas will be on Sunday this year, then 2033, 2039, 2044, 2050, 2061, and so on.
I have two specific memories of Sunday Christmases past. In 1960, I remember my mother telling me that Christmas on Sunday was a double blessing. She read me a poem her friend had written. I have searched for this poem for a month and haven’t found it. But to the best of my memory, the repeating last couplet of each stanza was something like: “But the best time of all was a Christmas on Sunday, with one day to worship and a holiday Monday.” I recall sitting in sacrament meeting that Christmas Sunday and feeling in my youthful way that being in church on Christmas was a good thing.
I also remember that before Christmas in 1977, I read the Christmas on Sunday poem to our children not with the intent to celebrate Christmas on Monday, but rather to suggest that going to church could be especially meaningful. A few days later, our two oldest children, who were ten and eleven, came to me and said they had been thinking about it and didn’t want to celebrate our traditional Christmas on Sunday. They suggested that Sunday be Sunday and Christmas be Monday, just like the poem said.
There is no commandment about how to keep Christmas or on what day it should be celebrated, but there is a commandment on how to keep the Sabbath. It’s number four of ten: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). The Lord told Moses and the children of Israel, “Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations … for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever” (Exodus 31:13, 16-17).
The word “hallow” teaches the principle of keeping the Sabbath day holy. Hallow is an Old Testament word, meaning to make holy and sacred. It also can mean to sanctify or consecrate oneself. To hallow oneself seems outside the realm of human possibility. I can’t make anything holy or sacred, and I certainly can’t sanctify or fully consecrate myself without the Lord’s help. And He does help. Leviticus 22:32 reads: “I am the Lord which hallow you.” We strive to hallow the Sabbath and, in the process, the Lord hallows us.
The word “delight” also teaches a Sabbath-day principle. Isaiah said if you turn away from doing your own pleasure on the Lord’s Day, call the sabbath a delight, and honor the Lord, He “will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth” (Isaiah 58:13-14). “Ride upon the high places of the earth” means “the Lord will bless His covenant people to rise above all obstacles, be protected and out of the reach of danger, be victorious over enemies, and be closer to God. (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/2016/02/line-upon-line-isaiah-58-13-14?lang=eng).
President James E. Faust taught: “In this day of increasing access to and preoccupation with materialism, there is a sure protection for ourselves and our children against the plagues of our day. The key to that sure protection surprisingly can be found in Sabbath observance: “And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1991/10/the-lords-day?lang=eng).
President Nelson said in his younger years he made lists of dos and don’ts for the Sabbath. When he learned that keeping the Sabbath constitutes a sign between him and His Heavenly Father, his list of dos and don’ts was made simple: “When I had to make a decision whether or not an activity was appropriate for the Sabbath, I simply asked myself, ‘What sign do I want to give to God?’ That question made my choices about the Sabbath day crystal clear” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2015/04/the-sabbath-is-a-delight?lang=eng). And that answers the question: Is it possible to keep the Sabbath Day holy on Christmas? Of course, and each person and family can find a balance of delight and worship as a sign to their Father in Heaven.
Christmas on Sunday
Christmas is a holiday,
December twenty-five
Homes and cities decorated,
Everywhere you drive.
Pinecone wreaths with cinnamon,
Gifts beneath the tree
Christmas music ‘round the clock,
Nostalgic thoughts for me.
When Christmas comes on Sunday,
It’s a time to contemplate,
In His chapel with His Saints
His sacrament partake.
O Little Town of Bethlehem
With earthly angels sing
Worshipping in gratitude,
His spirit comforts bring.
A holiday, a holy day
Our love for Him we tell
Jesus Christ, the King of Kings,
Our Lord Immanuel.
Wishing you an unforgettable Sabbath Christmas with memories that will last eleven years, because there won’t be another until 2033.
