Special Days
For most of the churches that follow Christianity, Christmas is only one day — albeit a very important one — in an entire season that focuses on the birth of Jesus. The season begins approximately four weeks before Christmas Day, and carries on through January and even into February. Each of the special days within the season brings with it an opportunity to reflect on the message of peace, joy, and goodwill.
The Season of Advent
For most western Christian churches, Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. The word advent originates with the Latin word for “coming,” and indeed, this season of preparation is a solemn time to make ready for the coming of Christ and Christmas.
As a way to mark the passage of time, churches often use an Advent Wreath or candle arrangement that contains five candles. On the first Sunday of Advent, one candle is lit; on the second, two candles are lit; and so on. These candles, which can be various colors depending on the church, often represent such ideas as hope, peace, love, and joy. Finally, on Christmas Eve, the fifth candle is lit, representing Christ, the light of the world.
Christmas Eve
The day before Christmas Day is one of great anticipation, and is marked in many countries and cultures. The most popular Christmas Mass for Roman Catholics is the midnight Mass, a tradition that began in the early 400s. Midnight Mass is traditionally held at midnight, as Christmas Eve becomes Christmas Day, because it’s believed that Jesus was born at midnight. In today’s churches, both Catholic and Protestant, services may be held at midnight or earlier, often incorporating carols and the Nativity.
Festive Fact
In Eastern Orthodox churches, Advent can last for 40 days, and may be referred to as the Nativity Fast, Winter Lent, or Christmas Lent. This goes back to a time in the Greek churches when the weeks before Christmas were marked by fasting.
Of course, the night of Christmas Eve is also when Santa Claus and his many variants are believed to travel the world, leaving behind presents for the children on the well-behaved list. Although in many countries people open presents on Christmas morning, some open them on Christmas Eve — this includes Canada’s Quebec province, as well as Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Portugal.
Christmas Eve is a time when families begin to gather to celebrate Christmas Day, often traveling to be with each other, and enjoying a Christmas Eve supper together. Historically, it was also the day when Christmas trees and decorations were set up; however, the festive garlands are now often in place weeks beforehand.
Christmas Day
For many people, Christmas morning is a time when children bounce out of bed, eager to see what Santa has brought them in the night. Presents can be found under the tree, with wrapping eagerly discarded by tykes still in their pajamas, watched just as eagerly by parents remembering their own childhood Christmases. Then, they create new memories as a family, making time later in the day to gather with extended family and friends for a large meal, often of roast turkey, beef, or ham.
Christmas Day also finds many people attending church services as a centerpiece for the entire Christmas-season celebration. In keeping with the theme of charity and hope, many religious and secular organizations make time for those less fortunate, offering a Christmas meal or delivering Christmas hampers to those who may be homeless or struggling in some way.
Star Bright
In Spanish and Latin countries, Midnight Mass is referred to as the Mass of the Rooster, after the legend that says the only time a rooster ever crowed at midnight was at the moment of Christ's birth. The Polish Midnight Mass is called Mass Pasternak (Mass of the Shepherds), in commemoration of the shepherds present in accounts of the first Christmas.
Boxing Day
Despite the name, it has nothing to do with prizefighting. In England, it was customary for churches to open their alms boxes to the poor on the first workday after Christmas in an attempt to give some cheer to those who could not afford a very merry Christmas. Out of this custom grew Boxing Day, on which day service people and other workers would collect money or treats from their employers. It was popularized during Queen Victoria’s reign in England, in the mid-nineteenth century, and remains a day off work in many countries.
Epiphany
The Wise Men’s visit to Jesus is commemorated on Epiphany, also known in some places as Twelfth Night or Three Kings’ Eve. Originally, Epiphany marked the manifestation of God to the world in the form of Jesus, so it included both the birth and the baptism of Jesus. Later, when the Romans began introducing Christianity to the West, they moved the birth of Jesus to December 25, and represented Epiphany as the day the Wise Men presented their gifts.
Holiday Helper
In the legend of La Befana, an elderly woman chose not to join the Wise Men in journeying to the Baby Jesus because she was too busy cleaning her house. When she regretted her decision and set out after the Wise Men, she became lost. She still wanders the world, leaving gifts with children in honor of the one child she missed—which is how gifts arrive for Italian children on Epiphany Eve. A similar legend exists in Russia, about a woman called the Babushka.
Tradition marks this event on January 6, which remains the date of the Eastern Orthodox Christmas in many countries. You’ll note that there are twelve days between December 25 and January 6, which is where our celebration of the Twelve Days of Christmas comes from.
Candlemas Day
A passage from the Gospel of Luke describes an event that would later become a lesser-known religious holiday, one that in many places marks the true close of the Christmas season. According to Jewish law, a mother was to be taken to the temple to be purified 40 days after the birth of her child. Mary was no exception to this rule, as Luke describes: “The days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished.”
If Jesus was born on December 25, then February 2 would have been the day Mary underwent this ritual, an event that was commemorated in the church as early as the fourth century (although it was often scheduled for the fortieth day after Epiphany, and still is for those churches that recognize Epiphany as the birth of Jesus). It became more formalized over successive centuries, by Emperor Justinian in the sixth century and Pope Sergius I in the seventh century.
The day is marked by a ceremony in which candles are blessed, thus giving it the name Candlemas Day. In some European countries, it is considered bad luck to keep Christmas greenery up after this day.
