Octave of Christmas

During the highest solemnities of the Church, namely Christmas and Easter, there is what we call an "octave," which means eight. The celebration continues from the actual day of the solemnity until the eighth day. This has been a practice since the early Church. Days of octave are piously practiced by contemplating the mystery of the celebration, doing acts of charity, and living the invitations of the gospel, filled with joy and peace. 

According to the Ordo, after the schema on December 25, there is a note about the liturgical meaning of the next few days. It says, "The next days of the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord is also a feast of Christ's final coming, when he will be surrounded by his angels and saints, represented by St. Stephen, St. John the Apostle, and the Holy Innocents." This is the first time I've heard of it; we also celebrate the feast of Our Lord's final coming in the coming days.

Therefore, let us seize this opportunity to allow Our Lord to be born into the manger of our hearts, spend time with our family, and meet other people whom we love. Make room for Jesus this glorious Christmas season so that we can, in turn, make room for others, including those we don't know. Let the humility of the Word incarnate in the crib inspire us to live in such simple and humble ways.