As we celebrate the Christmas season in our Church we know that midnight on December 25th does not bring to a close the season of Christ’s nativity. We continue to celebrate His birth into humanity. For Christians, it is not just a single day, but an extended liturgical season of joy and celebration, involving many different symbols and traditions, special music and activities, which vary significantly among different countries and cultures. Here are a few interesting things to know about Christmas:

When and how long is Christmas?

· Christmas Day, liturgically called "The Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord" in the Catholic Church, technically includes both Christmas Eve (Dec. 24, after sunset) and Christmas Day (Dec. 25) itself. For religiously observant Christians, however, Christmas is not just one day, but an entire season, lasting anywhere from 12 days to 40 days in different ecclesial traditions.

· In the modern secular world, Dec. 26 already be-gins the "after-Christmas" sales and Christmas decorations are often removed before New Year's Day! The "Christmas Season" (for shopping, decorating, parties, music, etc.) used to begin just after Thanksgiving Day (in the United States), but now seems to begin just after Halloween (Oct. 31), if not before! When people hear about the "Twelve Days of Christmas" (or sing the song by that title), they might think it refers to the last 12 shopping days before Christmas.

· In most Christian traditions, however, the "Christmas Season" properly begins with Christmas Eve (after sunset on Dec. 24), while the "Twelve Days of Christ-mas" refers to the period from Dec. 25 to Jan. 5.

· In different Churches, the Christmas Season might end on Jan. 6 (the traditional date of the Feast of the Epiphany), or might last until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (usually the Sunday after Epiphany), or might even last all the way to Feb. 2 (very much the case in Catholic Europe, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, 40 days after Dec. 25).

Was Jesus really born on Dec. 25?

· Probably not! We simply do not and cannot know the exact day on which Jesus was actually born.

· However, Jesus' birth has been celebrated on Dec. 25 since the early fourth century, when most of the Roman Empire adopted the Christian religion. It replaced the mid-winter Roman festival of "the birth of the sun god" (sol invictus), celebrated just after the winter solstice.

· The fact that we don't know the exact historical day or date of Jesus' birth should not bother anyone, or mean that Dec. 25 is somehow "wrong." In some countries and cultures, even in today's world, the exact day or date of a baby's birth is not remembered or celebrated. When such people move to another culture that places greater importance on the date of people's births, they must choose a date randomly. Even when someone's birth date is known, the day on which they celebrate it may be different for various reasons: a family might gather on a nearby weekend rather than on a weekday; an office or community might have a combined monthly birthday party; or a school might have a party in the Spring or Fall for all children whose birthdays actually occur during the summer vacation months).

What does the word "Christmas" mean?

· "Christmas" properly refers to the day when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, Dec. 25 on most calendars, or to the season (Christmastide or Christmastime) which begins on that day (or the night before).

· In the modern secular world, "Christmas" may also refer non-religiously to Dec. 25, or to the mid-winter legal holiday (in the Northern hemisphere; or a mid-summer holiday below the Equator) observed on that day.

· Etymologically, the word derives from Old English "Cristes mæsse" (lit. Christ's festival). It is similar to Dutch Kerstmis, but is significantly different in derivation and meaning in many other European languages: German Weihnachten ("Blessed Night"), Italian Natale, Spanish Navidad, French Noël (all ulti-mately derived from Latinnatalis, "birth"), Scandinavian jul (similar to English yule).

What are the liturgical colors for Christmas?

· The official liturgical color of the Christmas Season for most Churches is white or gold, not green and red, as many people assume.

· Popular culture often associates Christmas with a combination of greens and reds (such as in Poinsettia plants), in addition to the use of white (snow?) and silver, gold, or other shiny metallic colors (stars? bells? musical instruments?).

· By contrast, green is the proper liturgical color for "Ordinary Time," while red is used on feasts of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles, or martyrs.

What other liturgical celebrations usually occur during the Season of Christmas?

A variety of other feasts and memorials are celebrated during the Christmas Season, some closely related to the biblical accounts of Jesus' birth, others commemorating seemingly unrelated saints, even including some martyrs!

Some of these are celebrated on fixed dates on the calendar, others are always on Sundays, and thus have moveable dates:

· Dec. 26 - The Feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr

· Dec. 27 - The Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist

· Dec. 28 - The Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs

· Sunday after Dec. 25 - The Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (transferred to Dec. 30 if the Sunday is Jan. 1)

· Jan. 1 - The Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God (always on New Year's Day, the Octave Day of Christmas, which takes precedence over the Feast of the Holy Family)

· Jan. 6 or the Sunday after Jan. 1 - The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (traditionally Jan. 6; but in some countries, such as the USA, it is now transferred to the first Sunday after New Year's Day)

· Sunday after Jan. 6 - The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (transferred to Monday, Jan. 8 or 9, if Epiphany is celebrated on Sunday Jan. 7 or 8, respectively, in certain years.

Less important "Memorials" or "Optional Memorials" of certain saints may also be celebrated, but are omitted in years when their dates fall on a Sunday or on one of the moveable "solemnities" or "feasts" listed above:

· Dec. 29 - St. Thomas Becket, bishop and martyr;

· Dec. 31 - St. Sylvester I, pope;

· Jan. 2 - Sts. Basil the Great and Greg-ory Nazianzen, bishops and doctors of the Church;

· Jan. 3 - Holy Name of Jesus;

· Jan. 4 (in USA) - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, religious;

· Jan. 5 (in USA) - St. John Neumann, bishop;

· Jan. 6 (in USA) - Bl. André Bessette, religious;

· Jan. 7 - St. Raymond of Peñafort, priest.

Whatever the date, the celebration, the food served, and the colors of the decorations…I hope your Christmas was one of great joy and peace, and that the New Year is full of God’s most abundant and choicest blessings for you and your loved ones. I thank all of you for your faithful participation in our parish liturgies, celebrations and events. I thank you for your kindnesses and charity to so many needs, and for your love of God and this parish community. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful folks in our community. I thank all those who help to decorate our church for the Christmas season—those involved in the flowers, the liturgical decorations, the wreaths and trees, for the music and making sure our home is always so lovely looking, warm and welcoming, a fitting place to give praise and worship to God.