Articles / Special

St. Francis at Greccio (1295) (Credit : Giotto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons) 

Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Christmas preparation begins on the First Sunday of Advent and it is followed by Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night.

Christmas is observed as a religious festival with traditions like carols, feasts, and gift-giving, symbolizing love, hope, and generosity, while also being a widely celebrated cultural holiday for many non-Christians, featuring secular elements like Santa Claus and Christmas trees.

History

From the very beginning, Christians celebrated what the Lord Jesus accomplished for the salvation of humanity. They did this every Sunday, the day of the Lord’s resurrection, and as an annual feast on the Sunday after the first full moon of the spring equinox, Easter Sunday.

At the beginning of the 4th century, the liturgical calendar began to evolve, giving value to the “historical” Jesus as well. Good Friday was added to recall Jesus’ death, and the Last Supper. In that trajectory, the Nativity, the Birth of Jesus, was added. The first evidence of the celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord dates back to the year 336. Soon after, in the Eastern Church, the Christmas feast of the Epiphany began to be celebrated on the 6th of January.

Liturgical significance

Christmas is the only liturgical celebration with four Masses, the Vigil Mass, the Mass during the Night, the Mass at Dawn and the Mass during the Day. The readings are the same for each of these Masses for all three liturgical years. This choice seeks to demonstrate and enhance, almost in slow motion, that Event that changed the course of human history: God became man.

Christmas Octave

The Catholic calendar has several ways to divide the Christmas season. The Church’s Western liturgical tradition sees Christmas as an octave, an eight-day celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

The octave of Christmas begins on Christmas itself, the feast of the Nativity of the Lord. It ends on the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, on Jan. 1, which this season falls on a Thursday in the new year of 2026.

The drama of this time of the Catholic liturgical calendar even includes changes to the liturgical vestments of the clergy.

During these eight days of Christmas, clergy wear white during the Mass.

But there are exceptions when clergy wear red, the symbol of martyrdom: the feast of St. Stephen, Dec. 26, and the feast of the Holy Innocents, Dec. 28.

The Christmas octave is when so many people have time to rest from a busy year and to spend time with family. One fitting way to observe the octave is to attend daily Mass and prayerfully reflect on the Mass readings.

- Article by Catholic Time Staff