Introduction to the Christmas Season

The celebration of Christ’s incarnation at Christmas is, with Easter, one of the two central points of the Christian year. We wonder at the mystery of God’s dwelling among us in the fullness of humanity, foretold by the prophets and born of Mary. Christmas is however much more than simply the celebration of Jesus’ birth, as we are reminded, amid the celebrations, of the profound truth of the Word made flesh for our salvation.

Christ’s nativity has provided the occasion for church worship since the end of the third century. The Christmas crib and the nativity play can both be said to descend from the tableau of Christ’s birth that Francis of Assisi arranged when he celebrated Christmas at Greccio in 1223. Christmas carols are a medieval tradition, which has been notably developed from the end of the nineteenth century.

The Christmas season is often celebrated for twelve days, ending with the story of the wise men visiting Jesus at the Epiphany. However the church now celebrates an alternative tradition, in which Christmas lasts for a full forty days, ending with Candlemas on 2 February.  In the days immediately following Christmas Day we remember Stephen (26th), who was the first Christian to pay for his life in following Christ; John (27th), who was believed to have lived to great old age in profound meditation on the Word made flesh; and the Holy Innocents (28th), who draw our attention to the plight of so many children who suffer in our world just as those who suffered at the hand of Herod as he sought to murder Jesus as an infant. In January we also remember the conversion of St Paul on the road to Damascus, the crucial moment leading to him being the apostle to the non-Jewish world. Finally between 18-25th January we celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, as we come together with fellow Christians here in Barnes and around the world, remembering Jesus’ call for us to be united in him.