Liturgical season
Christmas Time
Season
Christmas Time begins with the Vigil of the Nativity of the Lord on December 24 and runs through the Baptism of the Lord. It is longer than Christmas Day. The Church keeps a season because the mystery of the Incarnation is too large for one midnight Mass. White vestments, the Gloria, and the Christmas crib belong to these days.
The octave of Christmas lasts from December 25 through January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Inside the octave the Church also keeps St. Stephen, St. John the Apostle, the Holy Innocents, and the Holy Family on the Sunday within the octave, or on December 30 when no Sunday falls there. January 1 is a holy day of obligation in the United States and closes the octave.
Epiphany celebrates the manifestation of Christ to the nations, represented by the magi. On the universal calendar it is January 6. In many places, including the United States, it is transferred to the Sunday between January 2 and January 8. The Baptism of the Lord, usually the Sunday after Epiphany, closes Christmas Time. When Epiphany falls on January 7 or 8, the Baptism is kept on the following Monday.
Ordinary Time then begins. The Christmas crib can remain through the Baptism of the Lord. Taking it down on December 26 cuts the season short of what the liturgy is still celebrating.
How Catholics keep this
- Attend Mass on Christmas and, where it is of obligation, on Mary, Mother of God.
- Keep the octave as one feast: Stephen, John, and the Innocents are part of Christmas, not a return to ordinary days.
- Mark Epiphany on the day your diocese keeps it.
- Leave the season in place until the Baptism of the Lord.