 Seasons of
the Church:
The Feast of the
Nativity of Our Lord,
December 25
"And she brought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped him in swaddling clothes,
and laid him in a manger" St Luke 2:7
The season continues from Dec 25 through January 5,
until Epiphany on January 6, hence the 12 days of Christmas;
more about that at the link below.
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Liturgical
Colors:
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| This can
be hard to read, so for the feature pages on this season we have stuck
with red for the typeface, especially since the 12 days in the
Christmas season include several special days, for two of which
the liturgical color is in fact red: |
| Christmas
Day |
Dec 25
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Unlike some church
holidays such as Easter, Christmas is regarded as beginning at midnight
the night before and that is when the major service, the First Mass of
Christmas, is usually held.
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St.
Stephen the Martyr
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Dec 26
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Deacon
and Martyr, called Protomartyr, Stephen was the first martyr of the
Church. His
story is in Ch 6 & 7 of the Book of Acts. This day is the "Feast
of Stephen", the day on which Good King Wenceslaus looked out, in
the song. In England it is called "Boxing Day" because it is the
traditional day for boxing up food to give to the poor. For more
about St. Stephen, click here.
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| St. John the
Evangelist |
Dec 27
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John, one of
the
twelve apostles, son of Zebedee, brother of James, is credited as
author of the Gospel of John and three epistles, and by many as that of
the Revelation. He is also known as St John the Divine and is believed
to be the one Jesus referred to as the Beloved Disciple. The
colors of the day are those of the season. For more on St. John
the Evangelist, click
here.
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Holy
Innocents
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Dec 28
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Commemorates
the
children killed by King Herod, mentioned in Matthew
2:16-18. An article on this by Lezley (Peach) McDouall is
below on this page.
For more on the Holy Innocents, click here.
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St. Thomas of
Canterbury,
Archbishop and Martyr
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Dec 29
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Thomas
à
Beckett was slain in his own cathedral in 1170, after King Henry II had
supposedly said, "Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?" His
story is the basis of T.S. Eliot's play, "Murder in the Cathedral."
A quite extensive account of the religious and political issues
surrounding these events is given here.
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| Holy Name Day |
Jan 1
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Nothing to do
with
New Years', which is a much more recent holiday, this day commemorates
the circumcision of Christ (Luke 2:25-35). This was the day on
which Jewish boys were named..Not a red day, its colors are those of
the season. For more on Holy Name Day, click here.
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| Some of
the
things in this section, listed below, were new in 2003 or 2004.
Others were retrieved from the old website, where they were stored but
not accessible to most users. Special thanks are due to
former member of St. Luke's
Audrey Nickel, who wrote the story, and former Rector Jay Sidebotham,
who drew the picture. |
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Our
Christmas
Collection |
Life of the
Saints
December 28: Feast of the Holy Innocents
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They
were too
young to be feared by anyone but the insane, and too week to defend
themselves against the insanity. Only three days after rejoicing
in the birth of the Savior as a poor baby, the Church pauses
festivity to don red robes for the poor babies who were slaughtered by
Herod's troops.
Herod, outwardly gracious to three wise men seeking
the newborn King of Israel, asked them to return when the found Him.
"So that I might worship Him too..." The magi, warned by a dream,
took another road home, leaving Herod steaming. King Herod,
counseled by royal scribes and soothsayers, protected by soldiers,
wanting for nothing that money could purchase, dreaded this poor
infant. Herod feared that his power and dominion would be
challenged by the baby Jesus. Herod was so terrified of this
baby's potential, he had to kill Jesus before He could utter a
challenging word.
Uncertain where to find Jesus to kill him, Herod
ordered his soldiers to slay any infant they found within a certain
radius around Bethlehem. The church has always honored those
unnumbered victims, naming them martyrs. These babies were the
first to die for Jesus, though they knew him not. Herod's
desperate massacre did not preserve his power because Herod, being
insane, thought power was the same as force of arms. Jesus, the
newborn King, came to teach us otherwise. The Holy Innocents are
this King's beloved courtiers, and the patron saints of all those we
call "collateral damage." -- by Lezley (Peach) McDouall (Click
here
to
email her).
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