Christmas - Ordinary Time
Christmas
Christmas is the feast of the Incarnation, the feast celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, true God and true man, as a little baby in Bethlehem, within the realm of history. While many Christians recognize Christmas as celebrating Jesus’ birth, unfortunately many fail to see it as a festival of the Incarnation. Outside of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches and a few others, the idea of Christmas as a season has nearly disappeared. Although secular traditions are fun and endearing, Christmas is primarily a Christian holy day and should be treated as such.
Even the term is an abbreviation of the phrase “Christ Mass,” which reflects the primary understanding of Christmas as a feast day within the Church year, connected to the Eucharist. Many people mention the need to put Christ back in Christmas, but the need is greater than that. We need to put the “Mass” back in Christmas.
Christmastide is the name given for the time surrounding Christmas Day. In the current Catholic calendar, Christmastide lasts from Christmas Day until the Baptism of our Lord, which is the Sunday following January 6th. This time includes many other important Christian Holy Days. The 12 days of Christmas, the time from December 25th until the Epiphany (Jan. 6th), have often been recognized as a time for special feasting.
In fact, Christmastide used to refer to the 12 Days of Christmas, and some still use “Christmastide” to refer to this period. The octave of Christmas lasts, in the Catholic Church, from December 25th until January 1st, the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. Of note, Christmas falls exactly 9 months after the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25, the feast day commemorating Jesus’ conception.