Happy Christmastide! You probably know that “Christmas season” for Catholics is not in the weeks prior to Christmas (as advertisements would have us believe) and ending on December 25. Nope, on Christmas Day we’re just getting started with the celebration!
Christmas Season in the Church begins on Christmas Day and lasts for 12 days. In some dioceses, Christmas is observed for 40 days, until Candlemas on February 2, but today I’ll focus on the 12 days of Christmas.
“Christmastide” is the 12 days following Christmas, and it includes the Solemnity of Mary on the Octave of January 1 and the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6 (or depending on your diocese, on the Sunday nearest to January 6). This year January 6 happens to fall on a Sunday. During Christmastide, my family also observes the Feast of the Holy Family, which is celebrated on the Sunday after Christmas. This year that falls on December 30.
Here are a few links and simple ideas to introduce some Christmastide traditions into your Catholic home.
The Feast of the Holy Family (Dec. 30)
The Feast of the Holy Family is a day the Church sets aside to remember the perfect model of a family: Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. This is a day the Church also celebrates all families and encourages us to pursue holiness. This doesn’t mean we have to be a perfect family; it means we are on a path of growth in virtue.
As it’s close to the New Year, this feast day is a perfect day to talk about which virtues your family wants to work on in the new year. Any activities related to the nativity or Holy Family icons would be also appropriate for the day.
Solemnity of Mary (January 1)
The Solemnity of Mary is a holy day of obligation, which means you’re required to attend Mass unless your diocese waives the obligation for some reason. The 8th day after Christmas, this solemnity commemorates the day Jesus would have been circumcised and formally named.
Prayers for the Solemnity of Mary from Churchyear.net. Use to enrich your family prayer time.
Fleur-de-Lis Brownies from Catholic Cuisine. Easy and lovely way to make your Solemnity special and delicious!
Free solemnity coloring page from Faith-Filled Freebies
Feast of the Epiphany (January 6)
This is the end and the highlight of my family’s Christmastide!
Epiphany signifies the night on which The Three Kings were led by a star to Bethlehem to the crib side of the Christ Child, where they presented gifts to him of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It’s called the “Epiphany” because Christ’s birth was revealed to the Gentiles, while December 25th marks its revelation to Israel. Many European families exchange gifts on Epiphany, not Christmas Day.
In my home, we leave our tree up until Epiphany, and we have an Epiphany tea with our nativity set as the table centerpiece. There’s a special French cake associated with Epiphany: The King’s Cake or Galette de Rois. It’s made from almond paste and it’s scrumptious. Here’s a recipe. You can also just bake an ordinary cake. One year, I had to put together our Epiphany tea at the last minute, so I just made a yellow cake with chocolate frosting and decorated it with gumdrops to represent the jewels in a king’s crown. Nothing fancy, but the kids still loved it!
I make our Epiphany cake with a bean baked inside. The child who gets the bean is king or queen for the day. The king or queen wears a paper crown for the day, they get to choose what we have for dinner, and we put a vase of flowers next to their plate at meals.
Here are some more creative ideas for Epiphany:
Paper Bag Crown from artbarblog. This could be a super easy Epiphany crown. You probably have everything on hand already!
Star sun catcher to remind us of the journey of the Magi.
Altar display: I love the way this mom arranged her table with the spices and flowering bulb. This would be a great addition to the family altar.
Reading the account of the Magi in the Gospels is a nice way to begin or end your Epiphany celebration. We have a few favorite storybook selections that we enjoy together on Epiphany:
The Last Straw (Thury): The journey of the 3 wise men told from the perspective a camel who is supposed to guide them to their destination. Beautiful illustrations.
The Story of the Three Wise Kings (DePaola): My children love the illustrations in all of DePaola’s books, and this one is no exception.
If you want to do something for Christmastide, but you feel overwhelmed, just choose one small thing for one of the days of Christmastide. Most important is the spirit of love that Christ gave to the world through his gift of himself!
12 Days of Christmas Trivia
Finally, for those of you who love trivia, here’s a fun little key to the 18th century song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” with suggestions for how the song teaches Catholic doctrine (from Ann Ball’s Catholic Sacramentals).
Partridge in a pear tree Jesus Christ, symbolized as a mother partridge that feigns injury to decoy predators from helpless nestlings.
Two Turtle Doves Old & New Testaments
Three French Hens faith, hope, charity
Four Calling birds The Four Gospels
Five Golden Rings The Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy)
Six Geese a-Laying Six days of creation
Seven Swans a-Swimming 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Eight Maids a-Milking 8 Beatitudes
Nine Ladies Dancing Nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
Ten Lords a-Leaping 10 Commandments
Eleven Pipers Piping The 11 faithful disciples
12 Drummers Drumming 12 articles of the Apostles Creed