Christmas Traditions... Liturgical Calendar

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CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS... LITURGICAL CALENDAR VIGIL A vigil with the singing of Christmas carols, pageants A TIME HONOURED FEAST and the traditional sermon of a boy/girl (Maltese: Il-priedka ‘Milied’ is the Maltese word for the feast of the birth of Jesus tat-Tifel), is held immediately CHRISTMAS EVE MASS (Christmas) which means the date of birth, and is a derivation of before the celebration of the As the clock strikes midnight, the the verb ‘wiled’ (to give birth). It is claimed that the origins midnight Holy Mass. This statue of Baby Jesus is carried in a of this Christian feast go back to the fourth century, when traditional sermon reminisces the procession towards the main altar Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, constructed a story of salvation from the fall of where it is placed for worship. At Basilica on the Nativity Cave in Betlehem which for long was reputed mankind (Adam and Eve) up to the end of the Holy Mass, some to be the place where Jesus was born. At the same time, since there the birth of Jesus Christ. parishes and churches offer the was no information about the real date of Christ’s birth, the Christmas ‘imbuljuta’ to the faithful. This Feast replaced the Feast of the Sun (winter solstice) and it started to be is a warm drink made of celebrated on 25th December. In Malta, the celebration of this Liturgical boiled chestnuts and Feast goes back several centuries seasoned with chocolate powder, sugar and rinds of tangerines and oranges. On Christmas Day, mass is celebrated both in the morning and in the evening. The liturgical colour of ADVENT Christmas is white to represent joy. Advent comprises the four Sundays leading up to Christmas day. It prepares the faithful for this sacred feast, thereby marked by purple which in liturgy means expecting.

NOVENA The Novena (literally meaning 9 days) starts on the 15th and ends on the 23rd. The celebration of OTHER FEASTS the Holy Mass is commonly In the following days and weeks, a animated by choirs. number of related feasts are celebrated. Among these, one finds the feasts of the Holy Innocent Martyrs, the Holy Family, Mary Mother of God, the Epiphany, the Baptism of Jesus, and finally, the ‘Kandlora’ (Candlemas), also known as the Feast of CHRISTMAS EVE the Presentation of Jesus Christ, which is In the evening of Christmas Eve, a procession with the statue of Baby Jesus celebrated on 2nd February. accompanied by children singing joyful hymns is held in many towns and villages.