Christmas (Feast of the Nativity)
The feast of God born in a manger — though the churches keep it on different days
Christmas is the annual feast of Christ's birth, celebrated with special liturgy and customs. The Chronograph of 354 attests December 25 observed at Rome by 336, and Chrysostom preached the feast at Antioch. Most churches keep December 25; those following the Julian calendar observe it on January 7, and Armenians on January 6. The traditions differ on the date, and some Puritan and Reformed Christians historically rejected the feast altogether.
How it traveled
- Ephraim Syrus: Nineteen Hymns on the Nativity of Christ in the FleshEdessa · 373applies
- Select Orations of Saint Gregory NazianzenNazianzus · 390explains
Key passages(12)
Ephraim Syrus: Nineteen Hymns on the Nativity of Christ in the Flesh · Ephrem the Syrian
Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen · Gregory of Nazianzus
Book V · Constitutions of the Holy Apostles
Ephraim Syrus: Nineteen Hymns on the Nativity of Christ in the Flesh · Ephrem the Syrian
The Letters and Sermons of Leo the Great · Pope Leo the Great
The Letters · Basil of Caesarea
Treatise on the Sacraments (qq[60]-90) · Thomas Aquinas
Treatise on the Sacraments (qq[60]-90) · Thomas Aquinas
The Letters and Sermons of Leo the Great · Pope Leo the Great
Jerome and Gennadius. Lives of Illustrious Men · Jerome
Jerome and Gennadius. Lives of Illustrious Men · Jerome
Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen · Gregory of Nazianzus