Christmastide

In the stores Christmas displays are already coming down, and in the suburbs worn-out Christmas trees begin to appear in dumpsters. Christmas decorations, Christmas videos, and Christmas CDs are marked down to clearance prices. People stand in long lines to return the gifts that didn’t quite fit. Christmas is over, all these things seem to say. 

But in the Church, Christmas has just begun!

Christmastide lasts less than three weeks — from December 25th through the feast of the Baptism of the Lord in mid-January — but these days are rich in feasts and saints’ days that speak in “many and varied ways” to the incarnation of the Lord. During the days immediately following Christmas, we remember some favorite saints — Stephen, the first martyr; John, the evangelist of the Word made flesh; the Holy Innocents — the children martyred by Herod whom the Church proclaims as the ‘first fruits’ of those redeemed by Christ’s coming among us; and Thomas Becket, the heroic Archbishop of Canterbury, who was murdered in his own Cathedral on the 29th of December in 1170. And there’s more:

Hail, Holy Mother! The Child to whom you gave birth is the King of heaven and earth forever. (Sedulius)

The FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY, which we celebrate on the Sunday after Christmas, is relatively new, having been instituted by Leo XIII in the late 19th century. The prayers for this feast encourage us to pray for all families, that they may encounter the difficulties and struggles of this life with the courage of the Holy Family: “through the prayers of Mary, the virgin Mother of God, and of her husband, Joseph, unite our families in love.”

The SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD takes place on January 1st, the octave day of Christmas. This great feast of Mary as Theotokos, God-bearer, is also the Church’s world day of prayer for peace. Pope John Paul II writes: “At the beginning of the New Year 2004, peace remains possible. And if peace is possible, it is also a duty!... By itself, justice is not enough. Indeed, it can even betray itself, unless it is open to that deeper power which is love… Christians know that love is the reason for God's entering into relationship with us. And it is love which God awaits as our response.… Only a humanity in which there reigns the ‘civilization of love’ will be able to enjoy authentic and lasting peace.”

The EPIPHANY OF THE LORD traditionally takes place on January 6th, the twelfth day of Christmas. (In the United States, we celebrate the Epiphany on the Sunday between January 2nd and January 8th.) “Epiphany” is a Greek word meaning “appearance” or “manifestation.” The Magnificat antiphon for this feast captures its meaning beautifully: “Three mysteries mark this holy day: today the star leads the Magi to the infant Christ; today water is changed into wine for the wedding feast; today Christ wills to be baptized by John in the river Jordan to bring us salvation.” On this day, the traditional Epiphany proclamation is sung following the homily. It’s the Church’s liturgical calendar set to music — literally! The Proclamation calls our attention to the great celebrations that await us in the coming year of grace.

The feast of the BAPTISM OF THE LORD on the Sunday following Epiphany is both continuation and culmination of Christmastide. The child who was laid in a manger is proclaimed as God’s beloved Son; Jesus leaves the hidden life of Nazareth and enters on his public ministry. (At St. James Cathedral, Christmas continues with the celebration of the Santo Niņo, the Holy Child, on the Sunday following the Baptism — stay tuned for more details!)

Return to the Liturgy Update page