Christmas is, after Easter, the most important holiday in the Catholic Church. It was first celebrated in Bethlehem in 328, and initially it was called Epiphany, signifying the Manifestation of God to the world.
From the very beginning, the Church honored the coming of the Son of God in human form. This celebration was closely linked to the mystery of Christ’s crucifixion, death, and resurrection. The focus on the birth of Jesus became more prominent in the early 4th century, following the Edict of Milan, which granted Christians the freedom to practice their faith.
Where did it all begin?
Originally, in the Church, the feast of the birth of the Son of God was called Epiphany, that is, the Manifestation of God to the world, and it was celebrated this way in Bethlehem. Rome quickly proposed a specific name for the holiday: Nativity (Natale or Nativitas), which became almost universally accepted, and set its date as December 25. Meanwhile, the Eastern Church retained the celebration of Epiphany and, over time, commemorated several events on this day simultaneously – the arrival of Christ, His manifestation to the Magi from the East representing the pagan world, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, and the miracle at Cana of Galilee.
By the order of Emperor Constantine, a basilica was built over the grotto of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. The first liturgy took place in 328. It became customary for the patriarch to travel from Jerusalem in a procession to Bethlehem, about 8 km away, and celebrate Mass at the Nativity Grotto at night. He would then return to Jerusalem to celebrate a second liturgy in the morning at the Church of the Resurrection, and at noon he celebrated a third Eucharist at the cathedral.
The custom of celebrating Mass at night was already known in the Eternal City during the time of Pope St. Gregory the Great (d. 604). The Midnight Mass was celebrated at the crib of Christ in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The second Mass was celebrated in the morning at the Church of the Resurrection, where the representative of the Eastern emperor resided, and the third around noon at St. Peter’s Basilica.
The exact year of Jesus’ birth is unknown. It is known that King Herod died in 4 BCE, which leads some scholars to consider this year as the likely date of Jesus’ birth. Others believe that the Star of Bethlehem accompanying His birth was either Halley’s Comet, visible in 12 BCE, or a comet recorded by Chinese chroniclers in 5 BCE.
Why December 25?
December 25 was chosen for the celebration of Christmas because it is the time of the winter solstice. The Gospels, describing the birth of Jesus, indicate the appearance of light revealed to the shepherds at night, as well as a star that guided the Magi. Although the winter solstice actually occurs on the night of December 22-23, in Roman times it was considered to occur on December 25. Some scholars point out that in Rome, December 25 was dedicated to the sun god Mithras, so the Church chose this date to replace pagan beliefs with a Christian celebration. This theory was challenged by the head of the Department of Ancient History at Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Fr. Prof. Józef Naumowicz, who argued that sun worship on this day was negligible, and the date of December 25 was chosen because the winter solstice best illustrates the victory of light over darkness, of God over evil.
According to Catholic teaching, through the personal (hypostatic) union, the Son of God united in Himself two natures: divine and human, so that they retained their distinctiveness in the Divine Person. In His divine nature, the Son of God is eternal. In the human nature, which He took from the virgin body of Mary, He began existence in the first year of our era and received the name Jesus.
How long is the Christmas season?
Following the decisions of the Second Vatican Council and the reform of the liturgical calendar in 1969, the Christmas season lasts from Vespers on December 24 to the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which is celebrated on the first Sunday after the Feast of the Epiphany – January 6. The custom of building a crib or nativity scene to commemorate the birth of Jesus was introduced by St. Francis of Assisi. On December 24, 1223, in a grotto near Greccio, he prepared a crib representing the interior of the Bethlehem stable in natural scale. Initially, these were built exclusively at Franciscan monasteries. Over time, however, the tradition of building them became widespread throughout Europe. In Poland, the tradition of building nativity scenes appeared in the 13th century with the arrival of the Franciscan order.