Christmastide
Christmastide is a season of the liturgical year in most Christian churches. For most Christian denominations, Christmastide begins on 24 December at sunset or Vespers, which is liturgically the beginning of Christmas Eve. The Twelve Days of Christmas terminate with Epiphany Eve or Twelfth Night.
About Christmastide in brief
Christmastide is a season of the liturgical year in most Christian churches. For most Christian denominations, Christmastide begins on 24 December at sunset or Vespers, which is liturgically the beginning of Christmas Eve. The Twelve Days of Christmas terminate with Epiphany Eve or Twelfth Night. Customs of the Christmas season include carol singing, gift giving, attending Nativity plays, and church services, and eating special food, such as Christmas cake. Many Churches refer to the period after the traditional Twelve days of Christmas and up to Candlemas, as Epiphanytide, also called the Epiphany season. In Western Christian world, the two traditional days on which Christmas decorations are removed are Twelfth night and Candlemas. On Christmas Day, it is customary for most Christian households to attend a service of worship or Mass.
In several parts of the world, it is common to have a large feast on Christmas Day, preceded by grace on Christmas Eve, the first day of the festive season, or the first Twelfth Day. In Christian tradition, the presentation of gifts by the Three Wise Men is symbolic of the gift of the infant Jesus to the Christian church. In medieval era Christendom, Christastide lasted from the Nativity to the Purification. In the Anglican Church and Lutheran Church, the season lasts 12 days, from 25 December to 5 January, the latter date being named as TwelfthNight. On the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and the Purifications of Mary on 2 February, a feast also known as Candlemas because of the blessing of candles on this day, inspired by the Song of Simeon, which proclaims Jesus as ‘a light for revelation to the nations’
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This page is based on the article Christmastide published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 30, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
