Christmas Feasts

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Christmas Feast Days

December 25 - Christmas Day

The Nativity of the Lord
The Christmas feast is a festival full of joy. The Eternal Word has become Man and dwells among us. The longings of the patriarchs and prophets are fulfilled. With the shepherds we hurry to the manger and adore the Incarnate Son of God, who for us and for our salvation descended upon earth. The purpose of the Christmas feast is beautifully expressed in the Preface of the Nativity: "For by the mystery of the Word made flesh the light of Thy glory hath shone anew upon the eyes of our mind; so that while we acknowledge Him a God seen by men, we may be drawn by Him to the love of things unseen."

December 30 - Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph

The general breakdown of the family at the end of the past century and at the beginning of our own, prompted the popes, especially the far-sighted Leo XIII, to promote the observance of this feast with the hope that it might instill into Christian families something of the faithful love and the devoted attachment that characterize the family of Nazareth. The primary purpose of the Church in instituting and promoting this feast is to present the Holy Family as the model and exemplar of all Christian families. — Excerpted from With Christ Through the Year,, Rev. Bernard Strasser, O.S.B.

January 01 - Mary, Mother of God

On the octave of the Nativity of the Lord and the day of his Circumcision, the solemnity of Mary, holy Mother of God, whom the Fathers at the Council of Ephesus proclaimed Theotokos because from her the Word, the Son of God, the prince of peace, to whom the Name above every name was given, took flesh and dwelt among men.

January 06 - Epiphany of the Lord

The Solemnity of the Epiphany is celebrated either on January 6 or, according to the decision of the episcopal conference, on the Sunday between January 2 and January 8. The young Messiah is revealed as the light of the nations.

January 13 - Baptism of the Lord

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Baptism of Our Lord. This brings to an end the season of Christmas. The Church recalls Our Lord's second manifestation or epiphany which occurred on the occasion of His baptism in the Jordan. Jesus descended into the River to sanctify its waters and to give them the power to beget sons of God. The event takes on the importance of a second creation in which the entire Trinity intervenes.