Posts Tagged
Christmas
How to bless your home on the Feast of Epiphany 2025
by Francesca Pollio Denver Newsroom, Jan 6, 2022 / 03:00 am Have you ever gone past a door with what appears to be random letters and numbers written at the top? These letters and numbers actually have a great significance. Traditionally on the feast of Epiphany, Catholics bless their homes …
When does Christmas actually end?
by Christine Rousselle Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 5, 2022 / 17:00 pm How many days is Christmas? When should you finally take those lights off the porch, or remove the tree? Read on for some of the arguments for and against commonly agreed-upon end dates for Christmas. Christmas is one day This, …
Urbi et Orbi: Pope Francis urges world leaders to pursue dialogue, peace in Jubilee Year
By Kristina Millare Vatican City, Dec 25, 2024 / 12:54 pm Pope Francis on Christmas Day delivered the traditional Urbi et Orbi address and blessing in Vatican City, inviting all individuals and nations to “silence the sound of arms and overcome divisions.” Delivering his Christmas Day message overlooking crowds of thousands …
The 8 days of Christmas? A look at the Christmas octave
By Kevin J. Jones Denver, Colo., Dec 25, 2024 / 04:00 am The Catholic calendar has several ways to divide the Christmas season. The Church’s Western liturgical tradition sees Christmas as an octave, an eight-day celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. The octave of Christmas begins on Christmas itself, the feast of …
The History of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’
The song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is an English Christmas carol. From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface …
‘Christ, the Savior, is here:’ 200 years of ‘Silent Night’ in its Austrian birthplace
By Rudolf Gehrig Salzburg, Austria, Dec 24, 2024 / 08:00 am As the Advent evening turns cold and dark, a young couple lingers atop a dike dividing two nations, their mulled wine steaming in the chill. One holds a phone, the other a cup, capturing a final selfie before heading to …
Christmas video by Lansing Diocese highlights Eucharistic adoration, story of ‘Silent Night’
By Francesca Pollio Fenton CNA Staff, Dec 24, 2023 / 08:00 am The Diocese of Lansing in Michigan has released a Christmas video featuring the story of a beloved Christmas carol, a high school student choir, and the beauty of Eucharistic adoration. Created and produced by Matt Riedl, multimedia journalist for …
The Christmas Truce of 1914: Here’s what really happened
by Jonah McKeown St. Louis, Mo., Dec 25, 2022 / 10:00 am The experience of fighting in “The Great War,” World War I, was marked by brutality and misery on a scale never before seen. The grisly realities of trench warfare had already, in just five months, claimed a million …