Friday, January 6, 2012
Calendar
I'm (slowly) putting together a Google calendar of the festivals, etc covered by the blog. It's something I'm doing to keep track of them myself, but I felt it would be cool to share, too. It's at the bottom of each page of my blog, or you can access it and subscribe to it (put its events onto your Google calendar) here.
6 January: Epiphany of the Lord
Well, last night was the Twelfth Night of Christmas, and today, January 6th, marks the official end of the Christmas season, at least in a liturgical sense. Traditionally, all Christmas decorations, including the tree and lights, should have been up all the way to last night, but taken down before dawn to avoid bad luck.
Technically, the Epiphany is a Holy Day of Obligation and Catholics must attend mass that day. However, most dioceses celebrate the Epiphany on whichever Sunday falls between January 2nd and January 8th, and therefore exempt their members from attending mass on the day itself.
In the East, especially Eastern Orthodox, the Epiphany celebrates the baptism of Jesus. In the Western tradition, the Epiphany celebrates the Adoration of the Magi. Epiphany actually marks the Nativity, not Christmas night.
You see, the Angels and the Shepherds (and the animals) were all present at or shortly after the birth of Christ. But remember that the Wise Men (Magi) saw a star in the sky and followed it. Therefore, they didn't get there until a few days (12) after the birth. When the Angels and the Shepherds (in their fields, as they lay) found out that the Messiah had been born--that's Christmas, the revelation of Christ to Isreal. When the Magi come around, they represent the Gentile world finding out for the first time that God has come to Earth in human form through his Son, Jesus Christ. Hence, Epiphany.
Now, there is a rich, rich history of different traditions for the Epiphany. It is, of course, a feast day, but it also was the traditional time to give gifts for a long time, as the Magi brought gifts to Christ on this day. In some modern interpretations, gifts are given both on Christmas and on the Epiphany, sometimes with one or the other being smaller gifts.
The traditions are rich and varied, just as with Christmas traditions, because this holiday has been around in one form or another since about AD 361. In many (mostly) European homes, doorways will be marked with 20+C+B+M+12. The letters represent the Magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, as well as representing the phrase Christus mansionem benedicat, "May Christ bless this house." 20 and 12 for 2012, and '+' for the cross. Before widespread use of calendars, priests also used the Epiphany to announce the date of Easter for that year.
Now.. I highly recommend you do some reading on your own. I suggest the Wikipedia entry on the Epiphany. The number of different traditions are astounding and extremely interesting. In Bulgaria, a priest throws a cross into almost-frozen water for young men to race to retrieve. There are many feasts. There are King's Cakes and King's Breads in which something (a bean, e.g.) is baked. Whoever gets that piece is King or Queen for the day. In England, the Yule log is left burning through the Twelfth Night and the charcoal was collected on the Epiphany to save to light next year's log. It goes on. It's fascinating.
One of the most interesting to me was Ireland, where some call the Epiphany "Little Christmas" or "Women's Christmas." This was a day for the women, who have been working hard for 12 days of Christmas to prepare feasts and whatnot, to relax and have their own celebration. Their children might give them small gifts, and they would gather, women only, for a small afternoon meal or tea. Holly is also burned in the fireplace in Ireland on Epiphany, as it has been used for Christmas decoration but now is not needed.
Additionally, in Louisiana (and some other places) the Epiphany marks the beginning of the Carnival season, ending of course with Mardi Gras.
And in Wales, the Epiphany was the date for the Hunting of the Wren, in which young men would go into the countryside to capture (not kill) a wren, which would be placed in a decorated cage and carried from house to house.
Here are your other Saints and Feasts since my last post:
2 January - St. Gregory Nazianzen, St. Adelard, St. Basil the Great
3 January - Most Holy Name of Jesus
4 January - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
5 January - St. John Neumann
6 January - St. Andre Bessette
Further reading (my sources):
Sunday, January 1, 2012
1 January: The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
We start our year of journey through feast-days with the 8th day of Christmas. It would probably make more sense to group the last days of Christmas with the start of Christmas at the end of this year, but hey, I've got a schedule to try to keep.
As you may have guessed, this feast is in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast was celebrated as far back as the 5th century, although not on January 1st. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ was the big feast on the 1st, and this celebration was expanded to the whole of the Roman Catholic Church in 1570 by Pope Pius V.
In 1914 the Portuguese began to celebrate the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on October 11th. In 1931, Pope Pius XI expanded this to the entire Church. Finally, in 1974 as part of Vatican II, Pope Paul VI removed the Feast of the Circumcision and replaced it with the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
This day is considered by some to be the most important of the 12 Days of Christmas. Also, it is a Holy Day of Obligation, which means that all Catholics must attend Mass on this day. In the United States, this is waived if January 1st is a Saturday or Monday, in which case the traditional Mass will be taken care of during normal Sunday Mass. Some other countries also abide by this rule, others still obligate Mass. It all depends on the diocese. Luckily for all in 2012, it falls on a Sunday, so Catholics don't need to add an extra Mass to their week.
As far as special celebrations, I haven't found anything other than Catholics going to Mass. It is marked as a 'feast day,' but that doesn't necessarily mean much. The Liturgical color for this day is white. Also, as Jesus is the Prince of Peace, Mary is the Queen of Peace, and many recognize January 1st as the World Day of Peace.
As far as the reason for the Solemnity goes: Pope Paul VI thought it is more fitting to celebrate Mary, Mother of God on this day, rather than the Circumcision of Christ. He felt it was a more fitting tribute to celebrate the Mother one week after the birth of Jesus. And if you are confused by the whole "Mother of God" thing and haven't figured it out yet: it's an assertion of the trinity; Jesus is God and God is Jesus, therefore as Mary is the mother of Jesus, Mary is the Mother of God.
There is another Saint to celebrate this day, although with much less notice and fanfare. January 1st is also the feast day of Blessed Waldo.
More Information (my sources):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solemnity_of_Mary,_Mother_of_God
http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/f/January_1_Holy.htm
http://catholicism.about.com/b/2011/12/26/celebrate-all-twelve-days-of-christmas.htm
http://catholicism.about.com/b/2011/01/01/celebrating-the-new-year-with-mary-the-mother-of-god.htm
http://www.churchyear.net/motherofgod.html
As you may have guessed, this feast is in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast was celebrated as far back as the 5th century, although not on January 1st. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ was the big feast on the 1st, and this celebration was expanded to the whole of the Roman Catholic Church in 1570 by Pope Pius V.
In 1914 the Portuguese began to celebrate the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on October 11th. In 1931, Pope Pius XI expanded this to the entire Church. Finally, in 1974 as part of Vatican II, Pope Paul VI removed the Feast of the Circumcision and replaced it with the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
This day is considered by some to be the most important of the 12 Days of Christmas. Also, it is a Holy Day of Obligation, which means that all Catholics must attend Mass on this day. In the United States, this is waived if January 1st is a Saturday or Monday, in which case the traditional Mass will be taken care of during normal Sunday Mass. Some other countries also abide by this rule, others still obligate Mass. It all depends on the diocese. Luckily for all in 2012, it falls on a Sunday, so Catholics don't need to add an extra Mass to their week.
As far as special celebrations, I haven't found anything other than Catholics going to Mass. It is marked as a 'feast day,' but that doesn't necessarily mean much. The Liturgical color for this day is white. Also, as Jesus is the Prince of Peace, Mary is the Queen of Peace, and many recognize January 1st as the World Day of Peace.
As far as the reason for the Solemnity goes: Pope Paul VI thought it is more fitting to celebrate Mary, Mother of God on this day, rather than the Circumcision of Christ. He felt it was a more fitting tribute to celebrate the Mother one week after the birth of Jesus. And if you are confused by the whole "Mother of God" thing and haven't figured it out yet: it's an assertion of the trinity; Jesus is God and God is Jesus, therefore as Mary is the mother of Jesus, Mary is the Mother of God.
There is another Saint to celebrate this day, although with much less notice and fanfare. January 1st is also the feast day of Blessed Waldo.
More Information (my sources):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solemnity_of_Mary,_Mother_of_God
http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/f/January_1_Holy.htm
http://catholicism.about.com/b/2011/12/26/celebrate-all-twelve-days-of-christmas.htm
http://catholicism.about.com/b/2011/01/01/celebrating-the-new-year-with-mary-the-mother-of-god.htm
http://www.churchyear.net/motherofgod.html
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