Catholic Christianity Expanded Observance: Christmas
Christmas means Christ’s feast. On December 25th Christians celebrate this feast to commemorate the birth of the fully human and fully divine Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus, a Jewish teacher, lived in what was then Palestine nearly two thousand years ago. Christians see in Jesus the fulfillment of the prophecies found in the First Testament of Sacred Scripture that a Messiah or Anointed One would be sent by God. The origin and humble birth of Jesus Christ, Son of God and born of Mary, is recorded in the Second Testament of the Holy Bible in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Artists throughout the ages have memorialized passages from these Scriptures in images of the Madonna and Child as well as of shepherds, angels, and royalty paying homage to the Infant.
The Gospel of Luke in the Bible records the announcement of the wondrous event Christians celebrate at Christmas: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the son of God.. .Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:31— 35,38)
The birth of Jesus is also recorded in Luke’s Gospel. “In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. . . Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem. . . He went to register with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn (Luke 2:1, 4-7)
Churches prepare for the birth of Jesus during Advent, the four weeks preceding Christmas. Christmas time begins on December 24 at sundown. In some Catholic churches, a mass at midnight celebrates Christ as the light of the world” (John 8:12). John’s Gospel also refers to the birth of Jesus as, “The Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14). The calendar in common usage counts the years before and after the current era from the approximate birth of Jesus Christ. The millennium celebration in the year 2000 reflects this event. Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible New Revised Standard Version, 1990.
