​Q: What is the Octave of Christmas?

A: Octave in the Catholic Church means an eight-day period following a feast day. Eight is a special number, our Lord’s Resurrection was on the eighth day, Jewish boys just like Jesus were circumcised on the eighth day, and certain feasts of the Jewish religion lasted seven days ending on the eighth day, like the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Weeks. Eight then was and is a symbol of dedication, rebirth, thanksgiving, and or renewal. Octave comes from the Latin word “octo” meaning eight. Even in music there is an octave, meaning the eighth note in a sequence or scale.
There are two main feast days in the Catholic Liturgical Year: Christmas and Easter, both are solemnities or holy days of obligation that have eight days of observance that repeat or remind Catholics of the solemnity of those feasts. “The celebration of Easter and Christmas, the two greatest solemnities, continues for eight days, with each octave governed by its own rules” (General Norms of the Liturgical Calendar). The octave starts on the feast, so the octave of Christmas starts on the 25th. The next six days are called “days within the octave”, and the last day, the eighth day, is considered higher than the previous six days as if a culmination of the remembrance of Christmas. Each day though after the feast of Christmas is seen as a little Christmas celebrating the incarnation of the Word made flesh, Emmanuel, God with us. The octave of Christmas ends on the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, Jan 1st.  During the six days between the feast and solemnity of Christmas and Solemnity of Mary there are four more various feast days, St Stephen, St John the Evangelist, the Holy Innocents, and the Holy Family. During this time our priests wear white and it is shown as white on our liturgical calendars, with an exception on the feasts of the martyrs; St Stephen and the Holy Innocence where they wear red.
During the octave of Christmas there are various ways to commemorate the importance of the incarnation of Christ at Christmas. You can attend daily mass, celebrate his coming with friends and family, prayerfully reflect on the liturgical daily mass readings, and ...simply rest, rest in the Lord and His love for you. Wise men still seek Him! Do you have any special traditions to carry Christmas beyond the 25th? Merry Christmas to you my dear family in Christ!

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