Formal Catholic Christmas Eve celebrations start with a midnight mass to celebrate Christ’s arrival, coinciding with the belief of a night birth.
Many churches started conducting earlier masses to accommodate varying parishioner schedules. Orthodox communities attend morning services that include Old and New Testament Bible passages and end with communion.
Krystyna-
Catholics do not believe Mary the Mother of Jesus was a reformed sinner. Dear Krystyna-
You are confusing Mary the Mother with Mary Magdalene a totally different story and one of Jesus’ disciples. Catholics have always believed that the birth of Jesus was a virgin birth and Mary the Mother was carefully selected by God in which an angel relayed her the message of her pregnancy. Thought you would like that corrected.
Thanks for everything.
Merry Christmas.
David
Dear David,
thank you very much for your comment. I am very sorry about my mistake. I have to do my research better! 🙂
Krystyna
Dear Krystyna,
You have many, many factual errors in your commentary on Roman Catholic beliefs and Christmas customs.
Roman Catholics like the Poles follow the Gregorian Calendar. The Greek Catholics of Western Ukraine and the Orthodox follow the Julian Calendar. Greek Catholics and Roman Catholics believe the Mother of God is sinless. To say that the Mother of God is a “reformed sinner” is a major heresy in the Catholic Church.
Liturgically, the Feast of Christmas is celebrated for twelve day. In Catholic countries, the celebration of Christmas culminates with the Feast of the Epiphany, the “Feast of the Three Kings.” In Catholic cities like New Orleans, Louisiana, Mexico City, Mexico, and Cologne, Germany, the Feast of the Three Kings is a very, very big deal. Have you ever heard of a “King Cake,” (Galette des Rois) and the party that goes with it. Have you heard of the Buche de Noel in France and Quebec? How about the French custom of reveillon which even Franco-American Catholics celebrate. Catholics and Anglo-Catholics in Britain have a carol they sing called the “Twelve Days of Christmas.”
In Ukraine, the Ukrainian Orthodox Churches follow the Julian Calendar. I could go on, but I choose to stop here. Mark Garrow