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Summary
- Catholics keep Christmas as a season: Advent begins on 29 November 2026, and Christmas Time runs from the evening of 24 December to the Baptism of the Lord on 10 January 2027.
- The Gospels do not give the date of Christ’s birth; Rome was keeping 25 December by 354, and churches on the Julian calendar keep Christmas on 7 January.
- The Protestant theologian Johann Hinrich Wichern, in Hamburg in 1839, is regarded as the inventor of the Advent wreath; Catholic homes and parishes took it up, especially in Germanic countries and North America.
- The crib goes back to St Francis of Assisi at Greccio in 1223; the ox and the ass are not in the Gospels.
- Christmas has four Masses (the Vigil, during the Night, at Dawn and during the Day), and any one of them fulfills the obligation.
- In the United States, 8 December, 25 December and 1 January are holy days of obligation; in 2026–27 all three fall on days that keep the obligation, and the Friday abstinence does not apply on Christmas or New Year’s Day.
- At Epiphany, which the United States keeps on 3 January 2027, the Church encourages blessing homes by writing a cross, the year and C+M+B over the door in blessed chalk.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture: King James Version (public domain), via BibleGateway: Genesis 2:9; Isaiah 1:3; Matthew 2:11; Matthew 2:16; Luke 2:7; Luke 2:11; John 1:14.
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Liturgical Calendar for the Dioceses of the United States of America 2027, usccb.org.
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Complementary norm to canon 1246 §2, Holy Days of Obligation (decree of 13 December 1991, effective 1 January 1993), usccb.org.
- Code of Canon Law, canons 1246–1251 (sacred times), Holy See, vatican.va.
- Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the General Roman Calendar (1969), English translation published by the Liturgy Office of England and Wales, liturgyoffice.org.
- General Instruction of the Roman Missal, nos. 53, 204, 305 and 346, vatican.va.
- Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (17 December 2001), nos. 96–120, vatican.va.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 457, vatican.va; no. 491, vatican.va.
- C. C. Martindale, “Christmas,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 3 (1908), newadvent.org.
- Michael Ott, “St. Nicholas of Myra,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 11 (1911), newadvent.org.
- John Bridge, “St. Lucy,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 9 (1910), newadvent.org.
- Walter Drum, “Magi,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 9 (1910), newadvent.org.
- Paschal Robinson, “St. Francis of Assisi,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 6 (1909), newadvent.org.
- St Bonaventure, The Life of S. Francis of Assisi (from the Legenda Sancti Francisci), chapter 10 (London: R. Washbourne, 1868), archive.org.
- Stiftung Das Rauhe Haus, “Geschichte des Rauhen Hauses: Das Rauhe Haus und der Adventskranz,” rauheshaus.de.
- Diocesan Liturgy Commission, Catholic Diocese of Prince George, “Liturgical Notes: Advent Wreath” (2022), pgdiocese.bc.ca.
- Archdiocese of Los Angeles, “St. Andrew Christmas Novena (November 30 – December 24),” lacatholics.org.
- Lisa Zengarini, “Ukrainian Greek Catholics to celebrate Christmas on December 25,” Vatican News, 7 February 2023, vaticannews.va.
- “Vatican Christmas tree arrives in St. Peter’s Square,” Vatican News, 27 November 2025, vaticannews.va.
- Cultural Center of the Philippines, “Simbang Gabi at the CCP” (December 2022), culturalcenter.gov.ph.
- Rebekah Coffman, “Celebrating Las Posadas in Chicago,” Chicago History Museum, 15 December 2025, chicagohistory.org.
- University of Warsaw, Virtual Museum of Polish Emigration (Wirtualne Muzeum Polonii), “Wigilia,” muzeumpolonii.uw.edu.pl.
- St. Mary’s Polish Parish, Sydney, Nova Scotia, “Polish Christmas Eve Traditions,” stmaryspolishchurch.ca.
- Lucas Reilly, “7 Facts About the Feast of the Seven Fishes,” Mental Floss (first published 19 December 2018), mentalfloss.com.
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