Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. The date of the celebration is traditional, and is not considered to be his actual date of birth. Christmas festivities often combine the commemoration of Jesus’ birth with various secular customs, many of which have been influenced by earlier winter festivals.In most places around the world, Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25. Christmas Eve is the preceding day, December 24. In the United Kingdom and many countries of the Commonwealth, Boxing Day is the following day, December 26. In Catholic countries, Saint Stephen’s Day or the Feast of St. Stephen is December 26. The Armenian Apostolic Church observes Christmas on January 6. Eastern Orthodox Churches that still use the Juliam Calendar celebrate Christmas on the Julian version of 25 December, which is January 7 on the more widely used Gregorian calendar, because the two calendars are now 13 days apart.The word Christmas originated as a contraction of “Christ’s mass”. It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038, compounded from Old English derivatives of the Greek christos and the Latin missa. In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter ?  (chi), is the first letter of Christ. Since the mid-16th century ?, or the similar Roman letter ?, was used as an abbreviation for Christ. Hence, Xmas is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas.After the conversion of Anglo-Saxon Britain in the very early 7th century, Christmas was referred to as geol, the name of the pre-Christian solstice festival from which the current English word “Yule” is derived. The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned on Christmas Day in 800. Around the 12th century, the remnants of the former Saturnalian traditions of the Romans were transferred to the Twelve Days of Christmas (26 December- 6 January). Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival, incorporating ivy, holly, and other evergreens, as well as gift-giving.Modern traditions have come to include the display of Nativity scenes, Holly and Christmas trees, the exchange of gifts and cards, and the arrival of Father Christmas or Santa Claus on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Popular Christmas themes include the promotion of goodwill and peace. 

This year’s program — as is usually the case with the Divine Miss C in charge — is an interesting mix of the traditional and, uh, not-so-traditional music.  One of the prettier traditional pieces is “Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella.”  So that the MVT Class can demonstrate its natural sophistication to the rest of the congregation, here’s the background for the piece … from that source of all knowledge, Wikipedia:

“The carol tells the story of two milkmaids, Jeanette and Isabella, who went to milk their cows in a manger in Bethlehem, only to find the baby Jesus sleeping in the hay. The two girls ran to town to tell the village of the coming of Christ, and the townspeople came with their own torches to view the sight for themselves. However, they had to keep their voices down so little Jesus could enjoy his dreams. To this day in the Provence region, children dress up as shepherds and milkmaids, carrying torches and candles to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, while singing the carol.”

So there you have it; when someone asks who those two women are the choir sang about, you’ll be able to enlighten them — which, of course, is the true mission of the MVT Class.

 – Danny

As early as the late 2nd century, Christians may have observed Epiphany (literally “manifestation”).  The early church also referred to this holiday as the Theophany (“manifestation of God”).  Initially, this feast day celebrated the baptism of Jesus as well as his birth and his first miracles.

Like Pascha, the festival underwent a split sometime in the 4th century.  The earliest mention of the new feast, Christmas, occurs in a document dating to 354 A.D., and lists December 25th as natus Christus in Betleem Iudeae (“Christ born in Bethlehem of Judea”).  Ephiphany continued to be celebrated in the Eastern Church as commerating Christ’s baptism, while in the West it came to signify the visit of the wise men, who represented the manisfestation of God to the Gentiles.

Christians came to see that Christmas and Epiphany needed a preparatory season comparable to Lent in the Easter cycle.  In 380 A.D., a council in Spain decreed that “from December 17 until the day of Epiphany which is Janurary 6 no one is permitted to be absent from Church”.  This was a precedent for Advent in Spain at a time that Christmas was not yet celebrated there.  By the 5th century a forty-day season of preparation for Epiphany was being observed in Gaul.  Rome eventually adopted a season which began the fourth Sunday prior to December 25.

The dates of Christmas and Epiphany may have coincided with pagan festivals surrounding the Winter Solstice.  The origins of the dates are not clear, but the Church has always placed emphasis on light conquering darkness and it is fitting that we celebrate the hope of “God in us” at this time of the year.