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Christmas bears an ecumenical spirit
John Wynand Katende
What you need to know:
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1324) describes Mass/Eucharist as “the source and summit of the Christian life”. Since ancient times, Mass has been at the center of celebrating Christ’s birth. Thus, to Catholics, Christmas is a holy day of obligation, where the Church calls all faithful to celebrate Mass
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men” (Titus 2:11).
Christmas is one of the most celebrated holidays around the world. Thanks to Christianity and the Church, for being the vessel of God’s saving grace in the world.
For Christians, Christmas is a season to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah. The word ‘Christmas’ is very much Catholic as it comes from the Old English words ‘Crīstes mæss’ or ‘Christ-Mass.’ The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1324) describes Mass/Eucharist as “the source and summit of the Christian life”. Since ancient times, Mass has been at the center of celebrating Christ’s birth. Thus, to Catholics, Christmas is a holy day of obligation, where the Church calls all faithful to celebrate Mass.
However, it is important to note that, through time, the Christian faith has branched out into a number of different denominations, the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, being the oldest. Other denominations such as Protestantism came only centuries later. Different denominations celebrate Christmas in different ways and even on different dates.
There are noticeable differences between Orthodox Christmas and Catholic Christmas, with the most obvious being the different dates and traditions. Orthodox Christians believe that Christmas is the most important feast of the year, because it reveals the mystery of the God-man (Incarnation).
Whereas Catholics recognise Easter as the most important feast, being the apex of the salvation wrought by the God-man, hence the saying: ”From crib to cross”.
Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7th. This is due to the fact that they use the old Julian calendar (introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BCE), while other denominations use the Gregorian calendar (by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582). The Julian December 25, actually, falls on the Gregorian January 7. January 7 is the day that Orthodox Christians also celebrate the Epiphany, and the Baptism of Jesus Christ. Catholics observe them separately.
On Christmas Eve, the Orthodox attend a vespers/evening service and then eat a 12-course meal, called the “great supper.” This meal often includes meat, fish, and dairy products, because the same dishes were being abstained from during the season of advent. After the meal, they might read from the Bible or sing carols or attend a midnight Mass.
Catholics celebrate Christmas with four different Masses, namely, the Vigil Mass (on Christmas Eve), Midnight Mass, Dawn Mass, and Christmas Day Mass. Each of these Masses is celebrated with different Biblical passages and specific prayers..
Christians generally exchange gifts on Christmas. They do so to commemorate the gifts the Magi brought to the child Jesus, symbolic of offer of their lives to Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12). Receiving gifts also reminds them in some small way of the ultimate gift they receive in salvation through Jesus. Exchanging gifts reminds Christians that each person in our life is a gift from God.
The Christmas Crib is much associated with Catholics, with the infant Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Joseph, as the main figures. This great idea of bringing the nativity scene of Bethlehem to people’s homes and churches was introduced by St. Francis of Assisi, after a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1223 AD.
Some Christians may decorate using Christmas trees while others may not. Some believe that Christmas trees are a pagan tradition and should not be used. Others believe that they can be used as long as they are not worshiped. The Christmas tree was introduced during the Lutheran Reformation, since the Crib bears images, which, according to them, are forbidden by God in Exodus 20:4-6. Catholics venerate images pertaining to God and the saints, because they are holy.
Ultimately, all of these denominational differences have nothing to do with Christianity itself! By stressing what unites the central core of their faith, namely Jesus, Christians will more easily be effective in the realization of the Kingdom of God on earth.
“Let us work together to replace despair with hope, fear with human security and humiliation with dignity”, a message from the Holy Land Ecumenical Foundation.
Msgr John Wynand Katende
