As things tend to be with tradition, reckoning when Christmas ends isn't straightforward. Christmas either runs for 12 Days or until 2 February. Most Roman Catholics celebrate Epiphany on the traditional date of 6 January. Liturgically, the season of Christmas ends on Epiphany for Catholics in places where this is the case.
Roman Catholics in the United States observe Epiphany the second Sunday after Christmas Day (the first Sunday after Christmas Day is the Feast of the Holy Family). This year (meaning this liturgical year), Catholics in this country will observe Epiphany on 2 January. For Roman Catholics, Christmas in the U.S. doesn't end on Epiphany. It ends on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which falls this year on Sunday, 9 January. Both historically and contemporaneously, the case can be made that Christmas endures until 2 February, the Feast of the Presentation (of Jesus in the Temple), also known as Candlemas.
This year Christmas seems to me to be a twelve-car pileup. Because Christmas Day is on Saturday. So, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, then on the evening of Christmas the vigil for the Feast of Holy Family, and then Sunday, the Feast of the Holy Family. The following weekend, on New Year's Eve, the vigil of the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, is observed. On New Year's Day the solemnity itself on Saturday, followed on Saturday evening by the Vigil Mass for Epiphany and then Epiphany Sunday.
On the plus side, Advent is quite long this year, as it will be next year too. When Emmanuel finally comes this year, it will be a robust event!
Today, 17 December, the Church starts the O Antiphons. 17 December is also Pope Francis's birthday. He turns 85 today. And so, iFeliz cumpleaños!
There are seven O Antiphons. Liturgically, the O Antiphons occur in Evening Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours. These are antiphons recited with the Canticle of Mary, which occurs between the Responsory to the scripture reading and Intercessions.
The first of the O Antiphons is O Wisdom. In their modern version, according to the International Commission on English in the Liturgy translation, the first of the O Antiphons is:
Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvationThe verses of the well-known Advent hymn, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel are metrical paraphrases of the O Antiphons
It seems fitting that our traditio for this Advent Friday is the Choir of King's College Cambridge singing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel:
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