No carols should be used in church until Christmas Eve and carol services should be restricted to the Christmas season only, Fr Vincent Twomey has said. The former professor of moral theology at St Patrick's College Maynooth said that "singing Christmas hymns before Christmas . . . is absurd."
He continued that "the Irish church does not know how to celebrate Advent properly" referring to the weeks before Christmas. "It [ advent] should be a time of fasting and prayer, like Lent, though not so rigorous, so that we can truly break into festive joy on Christmas night and sustain it for the following 12 days, days which today in Ireland are marked mostly by the sales."
Part of the feeling of Christmas as an anti-climax was "due to the fact that we have anticipated it too early. This applies in particular to the phenomenon of pre-Christmas parties," he said.
Instead, Advent should be "a time of prayerful waiting for the coming of the Lord. Some fasting is also recommended. More serious is the Irish practice of holding carol services or concerts during Advent. This amounts to singing Christmas hymns before Christmas, which is absurd.
"Piped music in shops and stores, as well as radio programmes, play these carols before Christmas for the same purpose: to create the right 'atmosphere'. No carols should be used in church until Christmas Eve. And carol services should be restricted to the Christmas season. Instead, Advent services with suitable music could be introduced, which would also help people to prepare properly for the Feast of the Nativity."
A former doctoral student of Pope Benedict, whose latest encyclical Spe Salvi he has described as a tour de force, Fr Twomey underlined the significance of the crib at this time of year. Writing in the current issue of the Word magazine, of which he is editor-in-chief, he said the crib should be at the heart of Christian prayer in this season.
"We must find time at Christmas for prayer - and this includes contemplating the Christmas crib."
He also called for a more open and welcoming attitude towards those who might be lonely at Christmas time.