The Season of Christmas


For the Church, Christmas and Easter are celebrated with an octave of rejoicing. An octave is eight days of celebrating with the same joy that marked the first day. So, for us as believers, Christmas is not just one day.

The Octave of Christmas begins with Christmas day and ends after the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

Then the liturgical calendar focuses on the next immediate Sunday, counting off days before and after it: Epiphany. Epiphany commemorates the recognition of Jesus as the Son of God by the three Wise Men (and by extension, by all nations).

The season of Christmas ends on the Monday after the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord, which signifies the purification of the world, through Christ himself.
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