Those of you who are familiar with what comes between five golden rings and three French hens will know that "Christmas" is not just a day, but a season, consisting of twelve days and (turtle) dove-tailing with the feat of the Epiphany, on the 6th of January.   The word "Christmas" hales from the Latin "Cristes Maesse" (The Mass of Christ) and was not so named officially on the calendar until the year 1083.

This will surprise many, as it is often thought that Christmas is one of the oldest feasts observed in the church; not so.   In fact, the earliest celebration of the Nativity (one of Christmas's many pseudonyms) took place around 200 A.D.   As to which date Christmas was celebrated upon, only heavens knows.   For the birth of our Lord was not always observed on December 25th.

In fact, scholars and enthusiasts have proposed so many probable dates that, everyday must have been beginning to look a lot like Christmas.   However, ultimately the date settled on December 25th and while no one knows specifically when or why, the current thought is that Christmas supplanted the feast of Natalis Invicti which gained prominence during the reign of the Emporer Aurelian in the year 275.

Within a generation or two this pagan feast - whose name means "birth of the unconquered Sun" - somehow, some-when, became our own feast of the birth of the unconquered Son.   As far as Christmas's liturgical observance goes, it has always been considered a Principal Feast in the church and ranks right up there in importance with its other six feasts that share this honour, namely Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, All Saints, and Epiphany.

Interestingly, Christmas is celebrated with much more fervor and devotion in the West, than it is in the continental (European) and Eastern Churches. In those churches heavily influenced by the Protestant Reformation, for example, Good Friday, while solemn in character, demands much more devotional attention than Christmas.

In the Eastern churches, Easter and Epiphany are considered, if not of greater importance, then as demanding more prayerful attention.   However, in the Anglican Church, we tend not to compare Easter (apples) and Christmas (oranges) in attempts to discern which feasts are of greater import.   For we believe that the mystery of God's steadfast love for us is revealed in all his saving works.

In other words, Principal Feasts like Christmas and Easter simply reflect different aspects of how our God cared and cares for us.   What that means when we celebrate Christmas is this; that in taking on our flesh and lowering himself in humility to our humanity, God became us so that he may truly embrace us, his beloved, and raise us to the divine life of Christ our Lord.

In Christmas we celebrate, as the saying goes, "God here among us, light in the midst of us" to "bring us to light and life."