[Catholic Caucus] The Season of Christmas (Gueranger)

http://www.clutchingmyrosary.com/blog/?p=9397 ^ | 1868 | Dom Prosper Gueranger

[CMRosary]

THE HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS

WE APPLY the name of Christmas to the forty days, which begin with the Nativity of our Lord, December 25^th, and end with the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, February 2^nd. It is a period, which forms a distinct portion of the Liturgical Year, as distinct, by its own special spirit, from every other, as are Advent, Lent, Easter, or Pentecost. One same Mystery is celebrated and kept in view during the whole forty days. Neither the Feasts of the Saints, which so abound during this Season; nor the Time of Septuagesima, with its mournful Purple, which often begins before Christmastide is over;—seem able to distract our Holy Mother the Church, from the immense joy, of which she received the good tidings from the Angels, on that glorious Night, for which the world had been longing four thousand years. The Faithful will remember, that the Liturgy commemorates this long expectation, by the four penitential weeks of Advent.

The custom of celebrating the Solemnity of our Savior's Nativity by a feast or commemoration of forty-days' duration, is founded on the holy Gospel itself; for it tells us, that the Blessed Virgin Mary, after spending forty days in the contemplation of the Divine Fruit of her glorious Maternity, went to the Temple, there to fulfill, in most perfect humility, the ceremonies which the Law demanded of the daughters of Israel, when they became Mothers.

[CMRosary]

This is a very lengthy article. Please continue to http://www.clutchingmyrosary.com/blog/?p=9397 to read the rest, including the Mystery of Christmas, Practice During Christmas, Prayers, and the Mass of the Season in its entirety (with commentary).