Night town with the Christmas lighting, Harrogate, North Yorkshire George Hodan, publicdomainpictures.net
December is the 12th month on the Gregorian calendar. The name derives from the Latin word decem, which means ten. Originally December was the tenth month in an older calendar as it started in March. Apparently the winter days that followed December were not included in a month until much later when January and February were added. December retained its name though. Anglo-Saxons used the term Yule for December-January, but that now that has largely come to mean December and the Christmas season.
December has the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the summer solstice in the Southern. Winter traditionally begins on the astronomical calendar around 21 December or the date of the actual solstice. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and depending on how far north you live, sunlight may only be for a few hours on that day. The symbols for December are the narcissus flower and turquoise, zircon and tanzanite as the birthstones.
Most Christians celebrate Advent in preparation for the celebration of Christmas on 25 December. Jews celebrate Chanukah/Hanukkah, the 8-day Festival of Lights in December as well. Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26-January 1.
Advent Wreath (1st Sunday) Photo :Micha L. Rieser(Wikimedia)
Advent is the beginning of the liturgical year for Roman Catholics and many Christian denominations. It encompasses the four weeks (Sundays and weekdays) leading up to Christmas Day. Counting back four Sundays from Christmas Day will get you to the first Sunday of Advent. Depending on the calendar day Christmas falls on, Advent usually begins near the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle celebrated on 30 November. Eastern Orthodox, since it follows the Julian calendar, will start their Advent later as Christmas Day falls 13 days after the current Gregorian calendar.
Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning coming or coming to, is a time of preparation for the birth of Christ and a reminder that Jesus will return. During this period, Christians are reminded not to be weighed down or distracted by the cares of this world. Like Lent, Christians are called to reflect on our actions and seek penance. We also should prepare our hearts for the full joy of Christmas. We should not allow our souls to be burdened with predictions of events yet to come, but to be alert and ready. During this period, Catholic priests wear violet vestments, except on the Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday) where rose may be worn. Altars will be less decorated than usual during this time as well.
One of the symbols of Advent is the Advent wreath. This wreath has four candles (battery operated ones are acceptable) and are lit for each Sunday in Advent. Usually, a prayer is also spoken while lighting the prayer and often families will do it together. Most candles are purple, but one will either be white or rose for Gaudete Sunday. The popular Advent calendar is to not only marks down the days till Christmas, but also days of devotion during the season. A Christmas novena is also done. The traditional one is the St. Andrew Christmas Novena which begins on 30 November (the feast day of St. Andrew) and runs till Christmas Eve. A nine -day novena begins on December 16 and goes till Christmas Eve. Many Latin American countries celebrate this as Las Posadas, and it is popular in the Philippines as well (called Sambang Gabi).
There is specific music for the Advent season that is often played in Catholic and Christian churches during religious services. Music such as Silent Night, Adeste Fidelis, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing will not be heard until Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services. Secular songs such as White Christmas, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer are reserved for Christmas concerts (which are sometimes held in churches) are not sung at all during religious services. While Christmas decorations may be outside the church, you will not see Christmas trees in the main area of the church where mass is celebrated. This has nothing to do with any connotation that a Christmas tree is pagan but rather that during Advent we must be solemn in observing it. So, a lighted Christmas tree is often near the entry or just inside the entry (if they have one). This has been the tradition that Saint Pope John Paul II started when he got a Christmas tree from his native country of Poland.
Flowers and wreaths are acceptable near the altar and not on it. Advent wreaths are often placed near the altar and lighted before the service begins. A Christmas crib or nativity scene may also be displayed as well.
Wise Men Adoration Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ((1617–1682) Toledo Museum of Art Public Domain
Epiphany or Three Kings Day is celebrated on January 6 by most Western Christian denominations. It is the day set aside to celebrate the arrival of the Three Wise Men in Bethlehem and the presentation of their gifts to Jesus. The Catholic Church decided to move its observance to the Sunday after Christmas so people would not have to take off work to attend mass. In 2021, since Christmas fell on a Saturday, it was celebrated the next day. However the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas are still in play.
Twelfth Day observances vary by country and some celebrate it on the evening before. Usually there are special celebrations involving foods and special cakes. If a Christmas log was lit for the season, it is now extinguished. King cake (a traditional part of the feast) is almost always present. Children often get gifts of candy or other things from the Wise Men. In Italy, the Christmas Witch La Belfana delivers gifts on Epiphany Eve to stockings children put up before bed. They awake to the delight of treats in the stockings. In Spain, it is celebrated as Dia de los Reyes (Three Kings’ Day) where families gather to celebrate the day.
One good way to celebrate it with the family is to gather before the nativity to remember what the holiday is all about. Christmas music should be played and a nice midday meal served. Then taking down the Christmas tree can be done together. The nativity scene can remain up until the Baptism of the Lord (Jan 9 this year) which ends the Christmas season.
Adoración de los Reyes Magos El Greco (1541–1614) Public Domai
Today is Epiphany Sunday in most Christian liturgical calendars. It is normally observed on 6 January but since Christmas fell on a Saturday, it is celebrated on the nearest Sunday which is today. Thus the 12 Days of Christmas are still in effect and will continue until the actual date when the Christmas season generally ends for many. Most Eastern Orthodox churches and Russian Orthodox celebrate it using the Julian Calendar, so it occurs 13 days later. Their Advent Season is now taking place with Christmas Day on 7 Jan 2022.
Epiphany or Three Kings Day is to celebrate the baptism of Jesus and the arrival of The Magi (Three Kings or Wise Men). During the Middle Ages, this was a major feast day (a solemnity) requiring attendance at church on that day. However, it was decided (since its popularity began to wane) to move it to the Sunday followingChristmas. Some Protestant churches celebrate the Epiphany season from January 6 till Ash Wednesday. Orthodox Christians celebrate it on January 19 as they follow the Julian calendar.
Massacre of the Innocents Matteo di Giovanni (1435–1495) Public Domain
The Feast of the Holy Innocents or Innocent’s Day is to remember the slaughter of male children 2 years and younger in Bethlehem and in its vicinity by Herod the Great. The story as related in the Gospel of Matthew (2:16-18). Herod was angered when the Wise Men did not return to him after locating the Messiah. No one can say with certainty how many were killed. Some have doubted it happened at all, but it would be consistent with Herod the Great’s personality. He had no problems executing even members of his family if he thought they were betraying him. And since Bethlehem was a small area, the slaughter may not have been widely noticed.
Nearly all the Christian churches observe the feast day though not on the same day. The Catholic Church and most western churches observe it on December 28 but Eastern Orthodox celebrates on December 29. The slain children are treated as martyrs of the church. It is not certain when it was first observed. While the exact date of the deaths is unknown, it is kept in the octave of Christmas as it followed the birth of Jesus. However, it is believed it took place sometime after Jesus’s birth. Matthew says the Wise Men saw the child with his mother indicating he was no longer a baby. And Herod had learned from the Wise Men the approximate date of the birth.
The Flight into Egypt (Albrecht Dürer 1471-1528) Photo: Public Domain
Scripture tells us little or nothing at all about the early years of Jesus. We know they had to flee to Egypt when God warned Joseph about Herod’s order to kill all males 2 years old or younger. We know they returned to Nazareth and what happened when Jesus was left behind in Jerusalem. Yet there is something important that is passed over in our hurry to get to Jesus’ ministry. The Holy Family-Mary, Joseph and Jesus-are important symbols about the family. You have two loving parents devoted to raising their son and obeying God by raising him in their faith. Their love and respect for one another, God, and Jesus are important components of what God wants the family to be. Towards the end of the 19thcentury, Pope Leo XII (as did other popes) became concerned that the concept of the family was being diluted and in danger. So, he introduced the Feast of the Holy Family to venerate them as a model for Christian families in 1893 and set it originally on the Sunday after the Epiphany. This was changed in 1969 when it was moved to the first Sunday after Christmas to make it part of the Christmas season.
However in 2021, since Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, it will be celebrated on Sunday, 26 December. Normally this would be the Feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr, but it has been bumped off the liturgical calendar for Catholics and other Christian denominations. In countries where it is a public holiday, it will be celebrated on Monday. Boxing Day in the UK (and other countries that observe it) will take place according to the local calendar (the UK celebrates it as a bank holiday on 28 Dec 21).
Titanic News Channel wishes everyone a blessed and joyous Christmas season.
The Adoration of the Shepherds (Gerard van Honthorst 1590–1656) Image: Public Domain (Wikipedia)
….And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!” (Dickens, A Christmas Carol)
Silent Night (Stille Nacht in German, Silens Nox in Latin) is perhaps the most beloved Christmas Carol. It was composed in 1818 by Franz Guber, an organist and schoolmaster, to lyrics by Father Joseph Mohr of the St. Nicholas parish in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was first performed on Christmas Eve in 1818 and since the organ was broken, the only musical accompaniment was the guitar. The popularity of the song spread and the version commonly used today comes from a translation in 1859. John Freeman Young, serving as an Episcopal priest at Trinity Church in New York City, translated and changed the tempo of the song. The original rendition by Gruber was more like a dance tune and sung faster. Young made into a slower lullaby style that is the most common version today. Because it has been so widely translated, it is the one Christmas carol that is known worldwide.
In Austria, Silent Night is not heard until Christmas Eve, usually around 9 p.m. Then it is played on the radio once an hour and of course during church services. Enjoy this wonderful carol. Merry Christmas!
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave a lustre of midday to objects below,
When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,
With a little old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”
As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too—
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight— “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
Carol of the Bells is one of my favorite Christmas tunes I like to hear every Christmas season. The Muppets decide to give this venerable classic a try. Poor Beaker. He ends up being fodder for Dr. Benson Honeydew’s many experiments. Here you would think he would be safe but Animai has his own spin on what bell is best for the song.
