Christmastime

by

Michael W. Smith

Edit

Christmastide (also Christmas or the Christmas season) is one of the seasons of the liturgical year of most Christian churches. It tends to be defined (with slight variations) as the period from Christmas Day to the evening of 5 January, the day before Epiphany. This period is also commonly known as the Twelve Days of Christmas, as referred to in the Christmas carol of the same name, or Yuletide, as in "Deck the Halls". In the Church of England, however, Christmastide includes Epiphany and ends at Candlemas in early February, which celebrates the Presentation of the Lord Jesus Christ at the Temple. In the Roman Catholic Church, since Vatican II the Christmas season runs a shorter period, from Christmas Eve evening to the Sunday after Epiphany, the commemoration of the Baptism of the Lord, after which Ordinary Time begins. During the season various festivities are traditionally enjoyed and buildings decorated. In some countries, by superstition it has become bad luck to leave the decorations up after Twelfth Night.

However, until recently, in Christian countries the Christmas season lasted until February 2, variously called Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, or the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.

This was in keeping with the traditional liturgical significance of Forty Days, which has been downplayed in the liturgical calendar of many denominations since the reforms in the wake of the Second Vatican Council in the early 1960s.