Secular Franciscan Order

Christmas
Christmas is the annual feast commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, over 2000 years ago. For Christians, it is not just a single day (December 25), but an extended liturgical season of joy and celebration, involving many different symbols and traditions, special music and activities, which vary significantly among different countries and cultures. For religiously observant Christians, the Christmas Season begins at sunset on Christmas Eve, December 24, and lasts from 12 days to 40 days. In some ecclesial traditions the Christmas Season might end on January 6 (the traditional date of the Feast of the Epiphany); in others it might last until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (usually the Sunday after Epiphany), or might even last all the way to February 2 (the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, 40 days after December 25). January 6, usually celebrated as Epiphany, carries different significance in various church traditions. Due to different calendars in use in various eras and locations of the church, some cultures and church traditions celebrate Christmas on January 6 (in the older Julian calendar still used as the religious calendar in Eastern Churches, January 6 corresponds to December 24 on the modern Gregorian calendar).