Msgr. Beaulieu – Waning Days of the Octave of Christmas

Waning Days of the Octave of Christmas

Like Easter Sunday, Christmas has an octave or eight days of celebration that began on December 25th and will culminate on the eighth or octave day that is January 1st. During these eight days of Christmas, clergy usually wear white vestments. But there are exceptions when the priest wears red, the symbol of martyrdom: the feast of St. Stephen on December 26, and the feast of the Holy Innocents on December 28. On each day of the Octave, the Angelic Hymn or Gloria in excelsis is recited. Within the Octave, there is usually one intervening Sunday or the Feast of the Holy Family.

When Father Pius Parsch wrote his multi-volume The Church’s Year of Grace, while since then the title of the feast for January 1st has changed from the “Circumcision of the Lord” to “Mary, Mother of God”, yet what that renowned liturgist wrote about the octave day of Christmas still remains true. “Today is the octave or the eighth day after the feast of Christmas. In the spirit of the Church the great feasts of redemption should not be restricted to a single celebration but should continue on through a full week. Mother Church is a good psychologist; she understands human nature perfectly. When a feast comes, the soul is amazed and not quite prepared to think profoundly upon its mystery; but on the following days the mind finds it easy to consider the mystery from all sides, sympathetically and deeply; and an eighth day affords a wonderful opportunity to make a synthesis of all points covered. The octave of Christmas is not the best example because other feasts distract one from the Christmas theme; this octave day, therefore, takes on greater importance. Today for the last time the Church leads us to the crib at Bethlehem” (The Church’s Year of Grace, Volume I, pp. 244-245).

The eighth day of an octave has identical significance to the first of those eight days. Thus, as the Christmas Octave concludes, it is akin to December 25th. Moreover, it occurs on the first day of the New Year and is not only dedicated to the Motherhood of the Virgin Mary but it is also a World Day of Prayer for Peace. From that point on, the Christmas season continues through Epiphany, January 5, and officially ends with the Baptism of the Lord, January 12.