German Cardinal Gerhard Müller visits home of Mark Houck, target of FBI raid

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 5, 2022 / 17:00 pm (CNA).

“And I keep my Christmas lights on, on my front porch all year long/and I know all the words to every Charlie Daniels song…” 

While Gretchen Wilson was probably (hopefully?) not being literal in the lyrics to her 2004 Grammy Award-winning single “Redneck Woman,” she actually has a bit of a point. There’s nothing wrong with keeping the Christmas decorations up longer than December and keeping the Christmas spirit flowing past December 25. 

But just how many days is Christmas? When should you finally take those lights off the porch, or remove the tree? Read on for some of the arguments for and against commonly agreed-upon end dates for Christmas.

“Christmas is one day”

This, of course, is the simplest answer. Christmas is typically celebrated on Dec. 25 for most of the world, and on Jan. 7 for Churches using the Julian calendar, and on Jan. 6 for yet another, considerably smaller, part of the world. On this day, the liturgy celebrated is the “Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord.” Priests wear white vestments on Christmas, which is different from the violet they wear during Advent. 

So there you have it. Christmas is one day, either at the end of December or in the first week of January. 

Or is it? 

“Christmas is eight days”

There’s also an argument to be made that Christmas is eight crazy nights eight days long. The Church regards Christmas as an octave, or eight-day celebration. The octave of Christmas begins on the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord and concludes on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God on Jan. 1. 

During the eight days of Christmas, clergy wear white, except during the St. Stephen’s Day and the Feast of the Holy Innocents, when they wear red. 

In a liturgical sense, Christmas is eight days. 

But wait, there’s myrrh!  

“Christmas is 12 days”

We’ve all heard the Christmas carol “Twelve Days of Christmas.” While it’s unclear as to why someone would give someone 23 separate birds, a pear tree, and the services of 50 people over a 12-day period, there actually is a liturgical precedent for claiming that Christmas is 12 days long. 

Twelve days after Christmas is the Feast of the Epiphany. This day marks when the Magi arrived to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and gave Jesus the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 

In the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, Epiphany celebrates the revelation that Jesus was the Son of God. It focuses primarily on this revelation to the Three Wise Men, but also in his baptism in the Jordan River and at the wedding at Cana. 

In the Eastern rites of the Catholic Church, Theophany – as Epiphany is known in the East – commemorates the manifestation of Jesus’ divinity at his Baptism in the River Jordan.

But here’s where it gets a little confusing: While the traditional date for the feast is Jan. 6, in the United States, the celebration of Epiphany is moved to the second Sunday after Christmas in the Novus Ordo.

During the 12 days of Christmas, clergy wear white, except during the St. Stephen’s Day and the Feast of the Holy Innocents, when they wear red. 

So, there. By the liturgical calendar, one can argue Christmas is also 12 days. 

“Christmas ends January 13”

In the usus antiquior of the Roman rite, per the general rubrics of the Roman Breviary, “Christmastide” includes both “the season of Christmas” – the 12 days seen earlier – and “the season of Epiphany” – the eight days from the Epiphany on Jan. 6 to the commemoration of the Baptism of the Lord on Jan. 13. 

And what is now called the season of Epiphany was, until 1955, observed as the Octave of the Epiphany.

What do the U.S. bishops say?

According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the liturgical season of Christmas ends with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. 

The Baptism of Christ, which the USCCB states is the end of Christmas, is observed on the first Sunday after Jan. 6 in the Novus Ordo.

After the Baptism of Christ, clergy are to wear the green vestments of Ordinary Time. 

What about other customs? 

“Christmas is from the day after Thanksgiving until Jan. 15” 

In the eyes of my condominium association, that is. 

While most places do not have a hard-and-fast date like my complex, it is not uncommon for regions to have either secular or religious traditions centered around Christmas decorations. 

For instance, in Colorado, it is supposedly customary to keep Christmas lights up until after the National Western Stock Show, which goes until the third week of January. 

In parts of the world that do not observe Thanksgiving in November, Christmas markets open around the second week of November, kicking off the holiday season. 

In these cases, Christmas is synonymous with “start of winter. Ish.” 

In the liturgical calendar, clergy wear violet and rose vestments during Advent, followed by the white and red of the Octave of Christmas.

Does the celebration of Christmas always have to start in winter? 

Here’s looking at you, Southern Hemisphere.

“Christmas goes from mid-October until after the first week of January”

This is only true if you are decorating a Disney theme park. 

There is no liturgical or traditional basis for this timeline. However, the decorations are nice, the mood is festive, and I’m not going to complain. 

What’s the absolute last possible concrete day of Christmas? 

“Christmas is until Candlemas” 

Now we’re talking. 

Candlemas, or the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, is Feb. 2. On this day, many Catholics bring candles to the church to be blessed. They can then light these candles at home during prayer or difficult times as a symbol of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.

Candlemas is the last day that the Alma Redemptoris Mater is the Marian antiphon appended to hours of the Divine Office. The Alma Redemptoris Mater is used from the beginning of Advent through Feb. 2, and so Candlemas has come to be associated with the close of the Christmas season. 

Candlemas is still observed with public, Christmas-esque celebrations throughout the world, including in Peru, Puerto Rico, France, and Belgium. 

On the other hand, Septuagesima Sunday – which is definitely not part of Christmas – has been known to fall before Feb. 2, giving the lie to the ‘Christmas is until Candlemas’ party.

Is that all, though?

“If there is love in your heart and your mind, you will feel like Christmas all the time”

Now you’re just singing the lyrics to Faith Hill’s “Where Are You Christmas.” 

To be clear, this song is a bop, but it is not exactly relevant for this discussion. Using this line is an excuse, albeit a very creative excuse, for why there’s still a wreath on your door in June. By this point, you’re well into Ordinary Time, and it’s time to put the decorations away. 

There should, however, be love in your heart and in your mind at all times, as you are a child of God and loved by your creator. 

So when does Christmas end? When should the decorations come down? 

That is largely a personal call, based on your own traditions, customs, and other factors. For safety reasons, CNA recommends that you take your tree down as soon as it starts shedding a ton of pine needles, but other than that, there’s an argument for leaving things up as late as Feb. 2. Of course, your neighbors may disagree, but that’s a them problem, not a you problem. 

Merry Christmas!

[…]

CNA Newsroom, Oct 7, 2022 / 02:31 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has expressed deep sorrow and mourning at the news of a deadly rampage at a daycare center in Thailand that left at least 34 people dead — 23 of them children.

In a telegram signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, the pontiff offered his heartfelt condolences.

“Deeply saddened to learn of the horrific attack that took place at a child-care centre in Uthai Sawan, His Holiness Pope Francis offers his heartfelt condolences and the assurance of his spiritual closeness to all those affected by this act of unspeakable violence against innocent children,” the message said.

The pope prayed that grieving families and all those injured would receive support from their neighbors and concluded his message with “blessings of peace and perseverance in every good”.

According to media reports, the massacre was perpetrated by a single man, armed with a gun and knife, on Oct. 6 in the town of Uthai Sawan, some 310 miles northeast of the capital Bangkok.

Authorities identified the man as a former police officer, apparently facing trial on a drugs charge. The motive is still the subject of an ongoing police investigation. Drawing on local media coverage, Reuters reported the perpetrator had initially gone to collect his child after attending court earlier in the day. Upon not finding his child there, he began the attack.

According to a report by BBC News, only one child survived the killing spree.

The 34-year-old attacker then returned home, killed his wife and step-child before committing suicide, several media drawing on local authorities reported.

The massacre is understood to be one of the worst involving children in history.

[…]

Los Angeles, Calif., Oct 30, 2019 / 04:00 am (CNA).- Dia de los Muertos, or “Day of the Dead,” is a primarily Mexican way of celebrating the feasts of All Souls Day and All Saints Day.

The celebration is an expression of Latin American culture and Catholic beliefs, which makes use of some familiar symbols to teach and celebrate the Church’s teaching on the communion of the saints and the souls in purgatory.

Annual celebrations typically involve skeletal costumes and face makeup, parades and processions, as well as traditional foods such as “pan de muerte” (bread of the dead) and sugar skulls (calaveras).

Los Angeles Auxilary Bishop Alex Aclan, a native of the Philippines, celebrated a Mass in honor of Dia de los Muertos Oct. 26 at Santa Clara Cemetery in Oxnard, California.

The Mass featured pilgrim images of Our Lady of Guadalupe and San Juan Diego, as well as over “ofrendas,” or altars, which are traditionally used in Dia de los Muertos celebrations to honor deceased loved ones.

Aclan told CNA the celebrations at the cemetery were very typical Mexican style, he said, with the altars set out with pictures and personal items for the faithful to remember and honor loved ones.

There were more than 100 ofrendas set up throughout the cemetery, and participants took part in dancing, processions and prayers for the dead.

Dia de los Muertos is sometimes popularly thought of as “Mexican Halloween,” and the ofrendas may be seen as a means for people to conjure up their deceased loved ones.

“That’s a corruption of the original notion of the celebration of the feast,” Aclan said.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “all forms of divination are to be rejected” which includes the “conjuring up the dead.”

However, the Church encourages Catholics to pray for the dead as one of the spiritual works of mercy.

Aclan he said he made sure that archdiocesan offices are involved in planning celebrations, to make sure that Dia de los Muertos customs are in accord with Catholicism and the Catholic tradition.

The bishop was quick to point out that the real focus of Dia de los Muertos are the two Catholic feast days within it, not primarily Halloween.

In his native Philippines, Aclan said, celebrations around this time primarily take place on Nov. 1, All Saints Day, which is marked as a national holiday in that country.

“I grew up with that tradition of All Saints Day, and I remember us staying in the cemetery praying all day long for the souls, even though we do it on the day of All Saints rather than All Souls,” he said.

In Mexico, the bulk of the celebrations take place from Oct. 31 to All Soul’s Day, Nov. 2, incorporating both of the Catholic feasts.

“All Saints Day of course for those who are already in Heaven, and All Souls Day for those who are still on their way to heaven,” he said.

Aclan said whenever he preaches or speaks about Dia de los Muertos, he tells people it is a beautiful manifestation of the Church’s belief in the communion of saints.

“I think it’s a wonderful way to teach people about our beliefs as Catholics on the communion of saints,” Aclan commented.

“For Mexicans to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, my experience is the remembering of the dead is really the most important part of it. Making sure that the dead are remembered, that their deceased are remembered, and that we really are one with them even though they’re on the other side and we’re still here.”

“And that’s basically our teaching on the communion of saints. The different parts of the Church: the ones in Heaven, the ones that are still on their way trying to find their way to the gates of Heaven, and us here on Earth, and we are still together as one. We are still one Church.”

 

[…]