Contents

Overview
Liturgical cycle
Biblical kalendar
Western liturgical kalendar
Roman Catholic Church liturgical year
Advent
Christmas
Ordinary Time or Time after Eihany
!etuagesima
Lent and "assiontide
Easter Triduum
Easter season
Ordinary Time# Time after "entecost# Time after Trinity# or
$ingdomtide
Anglican Churches
ACW %Anglican Church Worldwide&
Eastern Orthodo' Churches
!ecular observance
References ( !ources

OVERVIEW
The Church calendar or liturgical year# also known as the Christian year# consists of
the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when )easts#
*emorials# Commemorations# and !olemnities are to be observed and which ortions of
!criture are to be read+ ,istinct liturgical colours may aear in connection with
different seasons of the liturgical year+ The dates of the festivals vary somewhat between
the different churches# though the se-uence and logic is largely the same+ We
Anglicans# as art of the historic Western Church# use the $alendar as it was develoed
and used at Rome over the centuries+
.n both East and West# the dates of many feasts vary from year to year# usually in line
with the variation in the date of Easter# with which most other moveable feasts are
associated+ The e'tent to which feasts and festivals are celebrated also varies between
churches/ in general# "rotestant churches observe far fewer than Catholic and Orthodo'#
in articular with regard to feasts of the 0irgin *ary and the other !aints+ We
Anglicans follow a 1via media2 in this regard+ .n general we celebrate fewer feast days
than do Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodo'# but we celebrate more than do most
"rotestants+
THE LITURGICAL CYCLE
The liturgical cycle divides the year into a series of seasons# each with their own mood#
theological emhases# and modes of rayer# which can be signified by different ways of
decorating churches# colors of "araments and 0estments for clergy# scritural readings#
themes for reaching and even different traditions and ractices often observed
ersonally or in the home+ .n churches that follow the liturgical year# the scriture
assages for each !unday %and even each day of the year in some traditions& are
secified by a list called a lectionary+
Among non3Roman Catholic Western Christians# Anglicans and Lutherans have
traditionally followed the lectionary since the days of the "rotestant Reformation+
)ollowing the Roman Catholic liturgical reform of the Roman rite instituted by "oe
"aul 0. in 4565# the adotion and use of lectionaries in other "rotestant churches
%*ethodist# Reformed# 7nited# etc+& increased+ .n articular# the growing influence of
the Revised Common Lectionary led to a greater awareness of the Christian year among
"rotestants in the later decades of the 89th century# esecially among mainline
denominations+
THE BIBLICAL CALENAR
Biblical calendars are Lunar3solar calendars based on the cycle of the new moon# in its
original meaning of the first visible crescent+ The year is from the first new moon on or
after the sring e-uino' to the ne't new moon on or after the sring e-uino'# which
means its starting oint is different from the modern Western calendar %which is a solar
calendar ad:usted with lea years and lea seconds to kee it in sync with the solar
year&+ The basic formula for the Biblical calendar is found early in the Bible; <And =od
said# Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night/
and let them be for signs# and for seasons# and for days# and years< %=en+ 4;4>&+ <This
month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year
to you< %E'odus+ 48;438&+ <This day came ye out in the month Abib< %E'odus+ 4?;>&+ A
month is one new moon to the ne't new moon+ <And it shall come to ass# that from one
new moon to another %month&# and from one !abbath to another# shall all flesh come to
worshi before me# said the LOR,< %.saiah+ 66;8?&+ <.n the first month# that is# the
month @isan# in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus# they cast "ur# that is# the lot# before
Aaman from day to day# and from month to month# to the twelfth month# that is# the
month Adar< %Esther+ ?;B&+ The Biblical Calendar is laid out as follows# @isan or @issan
%4st month& *arch3Aril# .yar %8nd month& Aril3*ay# !ivan %?rd month& *ay3Cune#
TammuD %>th month& Cune3Culy# Av %E month& Culy3August# Elul %6 month& August3
!etember# Tishrei %Bth month& !etember3October# Aeshvan or Cheshvan %Fth month&
October3@ovember# $islev %5th month& @ovember3,ecember# Tevet %49th month&
,ecember3Canuary# !hevat %44th month& Canuary3)ebruary# Adar %48th month&
)ebruary3*arch+
WE!TERN LITURGICAL CALENAR
Western Christian liturgical calendars are based on the cycle of the Roman Rite of the
Catholic Church# including Lutheran# Anglican# and other "rotestant calendars since this
cycle re3dates the Reformation+ =enerally# the liturgical seasons in western Christianity
are Advent# Christmas# Ordinary Time %Time after Eihany&# Lent# Easter# and
Ordinary Time %Time after "entecost&+ According to the 458F American Book of
Common "rayer# used by the ACW# the seasons are Advent# Christmas# Eihany#
Ordinary Time %Time after the "resentation&# Lent# Easter# and Ordinary Time %Time
after Trinity !unday&+
R"#an Cath"lic Church Liturgical Year
The Catholic Church sets aside certain days and seasons of each year to recall and
celebrate various events in the life of Christ+ .n its Roman Rite the liturgical year begins
with Advent# the time of rearation for both the celebration of CesusG birth# and his
e'ected second coming at the end of time+ This season lasts until 8> ,ecember
%Christmas Eve&+ Christmastide follows# beginning with )irst 0esers of Christmas on
the evening of 8> ,ecember and ending with the feast of the Batism of Cesus+ Lent is
the eriod of urification and enance which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on
*aundy Thursday+ The *aundy Thursday evening *ass of the LordGs !uer marks the
beginning of the Easter Triduum which includes =ood )riday# Aoly !aturday and Easter
!unday+ These days recall CesusG Last !uer with his disciles# death on the cross#
burial and resurrection+ The seven3week liturgical season of Easter immediately follows
the Triduum# clima'ing at "entecost+ This last feast recalls the descent of the Aoly !irit
uon CesusG disciles after the Ascension of Cesus+ The rest of the liturgical year is
commonly known as Ordinary Time+
There are many forms of liturgy in the Catholic Church+ Latin liturgical rites alone
include the Ambrosian Rite# the *oDarabic Rite# and the Cistercian Rite# as well as other
forms that have been largely abandoned in favor of adoting the Roman Rite+ Those
abandoned forms include the !arum and Hork 7ses of the *ass emloyed in the British
.sles rior to the advent of the first Book of Common "rayer in 4E>5+ The ordinary or
normal form of the current Roman Rite is the form it has develoed in the years since
the !econd 0atican Council# but continued use# as an e'traordinary form# of what was
the ordinary form in 4568 %the so3called Tridentine *ass& is allowed under certain
conditions+ .n this now e'traordinary form of the Roman Rite the liturgical year differs
from that in the ordinary form in that it has the !eason of Christmas last until 4? Canuary
instead of until the first !unday after 6 Canuary/ it has a re3Lenten !eason of
!etuagesima# comrising the !undays of !etuagesima# !e'agesima# and
Iuin-uagesima/ it divides what it calls the !eason of Lent into two eriods# Lent %from
*atins on Ash Wednesday to @one on the !aturday before the )irst !unday of
"assiontide# i+e+ what is now called the )ifth !unday in Lent& and "assiontide %from then
until Aoly !aturday&/ and it includes in the !eason of Easter an Octave of "entecost+
Advent
)rom the Latin adventus# <arrival< or <coming<# the first season of the liturgical year
begins four !undays before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve+ Traditionally
observed as a <fast<# its urose focuses on rearation for the coming of Christ+
Although often conceived as awaiting the coming of the Christ3child at Christmas# the
modern Lectionary oints the season more toward eschatological themesJawaiting the
final coming of Christ# when <the wolf shall live with the lamb< %.saiah 44;6& and when
=od will have <brought down the owerful from their thrones# and lifted u the lowly<
%The *agnificat# Luke 4;E8&Jarticularly in the earlier half of the season+ This eriod
of waiting is often marked by the Advent Wreath# a garland of evergreens with four
candles+ Although the main symbolism of the advent wreath is simly marking the
rogression of time# many churches attach themes to each candle# most often GhoeG#
GfaithG# G:oyG# and GloveG+ Color: 0iolet# but on the third !unday of Advent# =audete
!unday# Rose may be used instead+
,uring this season# the Roman Catholic Church tyically omits the <=loria in E'celsis<
during *ass when using the Ordinary )orm of the Roman Rite# but retains it for the
*ass celebrating a feast+ .n this newer form# the <Alleluia< remains in all celebrations of
the *ass# but the older E'traordinary )orm of the Roman Rite has only the =radual
without an <Alleluia<# e'cet on !unday+
Christmas
The Christmas season immediately follows Advent+ The traditional Twelve ,ays of
Christmas begin with Christmas Eve on the evening of ,ecember 8> and continue until
the feast of Eihany+ The actual Christmas season continues until the )east of the
Batism of Christ# which in the resent form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on the
!unday after 6 Canuary# and in the 4568 form on 4? Canuary+ Color; White or =old+
Ordinary Time or Time after Epiphany
<Ordinary< comes from the same root as our word <ordinal<# and in this sense means
<the counted weeks<+ .n the Roman Catholic Church and in some "rotestant traditions#
these are the common weeks which do not belong to a roer season+ .n Latin# these
seasons are called the weeks per annum# or <through the year<+
.n the current Roman rite adoted following the !econd 0atican Council# Ordinary Time
consists of ?? or ?> !undays and is divided into two sections+ The first ortion e'tends
from the day following the )east of the Batism of Christ until the day before Ash
Wednesday %the beginning of Lent&+ .t contains anywhere from three to eight !undays#
deending on how early or late Easter falls+ The main focus in the readings of the *ass
is ChristGs earthly ministry# rather than any one articular event+ The counting of the
!undays resumes following Eastertide# however# two !undays are relaced by "entecost
and Trinity !unday# and deending on whether the year has E8 or E? weeks# one may be
omitted+
.n the 4568 form of the Roman rite# the Time after Eihany has anywhere from one to
si' !undays+ As in the current form of the rite# the season mainly concerns ChristGs
reaching and ministry# with many of his arables read as the =osel readings+ The
season begins on 4> Canuary and ends on the !aturday before !etuagesima !unday+
Omitted !undays after Eihany are transferred to Time after "entecost and celebrated
between the Twenty3Third and the Last !unday after "entecost according to an order
indicated in the Code of Rubrics# 4F# which also states that# if there are not enough
!undays in the year to accommodate them all# then those for which there is no room are
omitted+ Color: =reen
Septuagesima
7ntil the 4565 reform of the Roman *issal and =eneral Calendar# the two3and3a3half3
week eriod before Lent formed a re3Lenten season called !etuagesima# the Latin
word for <seventieth<+ The season of !etuagesima thus remains in the 4568 form of the
Roman rite as well as in some "rotestant calendars+ .t is a transition from the first art of
the season per annum to the season of Lent# and a rearation for the fasting and
enance which begin on Ash Wednesday+ Although most of the ,ivine Office remains
the same as during the season per annum# certain customs of Lent are adoted# including
the suression of the <Alleluia<# the relacement of the Alleluia at *ass with the Tract
and the =loria is no longer said on !undays+
.n the ost34565 form of the Roman Rite# there is no intermediary season between
Ordinary Time and Lent+ Color: 0iolet
Lent and Passiontide
Lent is a ma:or enitential season of rearation for Easter+ .t begins on Ash Wednesday
and# if the enitential days of =ood )riday and Aoly !aturday are included# lasts for
forty days# since the si' !undays within the season are not counted+
.n the Roman Rite the =loria in E'celsis ,eo and the Te ,eum are not used in the *ass
and Liturgy of the Aours resectively# e'cet on !olemnities and )easts# and the word
Alleluia is either omitted or relaced# before the reading of the =osel# with another
acclamation+
Lutheran churches make these same omissions+
.n the 4568 form of the Roman Rite# the last two !undays in the season of Lent are
called the )irst and !econd !undays in "assiontide# and in all *asses of the last two
weeks the =loria "atri is omitted at the Entrance Antihon+ The veiling of crucifi'es
and images of the saints with violet cloth# which was obligatory in 4568 is left to the
decision of the national bishos conference in the later form of the Roman Rite+ .n all
forms# the readings begin to focus even more on the "assion of Christ+
The last week of Lent is called Aoly Week+
.n the Roman Rite# feasts that fall within that week are simly omitted# unless they have
the rank of !olemnity# in which case they are transferred to another date+ The only
solemnities inscribed in the =eneral Calendar that can fall within that week are those of
!t+ Coseh and the Annunciation+
Color: violet+ .n some traditions# rose may be used on the >th !unday of Lent# called
Laetare !unday in the Roman Rite+ Red is used for "alm !unday in this rite %but only
for the blessing of the alms in its 4568 form&+
Easter Triduum
The Easter Triduum consists of =ood )riday# Aoly !aturday and Easter !unday+
.t begins on the evening before =ood )riday with *ass of the LordGs !uer# celebrated
with white vestments# which often includes a ritual of ceremonial footwashing+ .n other
traditions also a footwashing ritual is observed+ .t is customary on this night for a vigil
involving rivate rayer to take lace# beginning after the evening service and
continuing until midnight+ This vigil is occasionally renewed at dawn# continuing until
the =ood )riday liturgy+
,uring the day of =ood )riday *ass is not celebrated in the Catholic Church+ .nstead a
Celebration of the "assion of the Lord is held in the afternoon or evening+ .t consists of
three arts; a Liturgy of the Word that includes the reading of the account of the "assion
by Cohn the Evangelist and concludes with a solemn 7niversal "rayer+ Other churches
also have their =ood )riday commemoration of the "assion+ The color of vestments
varies; no color# red# or black are used in different traditions+ Colored hangings may be
removed+ Lutheran churches often either remove colorful adornments and icons# or veil
them with drab cloth+ The service is usually lain with somber music# ending with the
congregation leaving in silence+ .n the Roman Catholic# some Lutheran# and Aigh
Anglican rites# a crucifi' %not necessarily the one which stands on or near the altar on
other days of the year& is ceremoniously unveiled+ Other crucifi'es are unveiled#
without ceremony# after the service+
Aoly !aturday commemorates the day during which Christ lay in the tomb+ .n the
Roman Catholic Church# there is no *ass on this day/ the Easter 0igil *ass# which#
though celebrated roerly at the following midnight# is often celebrated in the evening#
is an Easter *ass+ With no liturgical celebration# there is no -uestion of a liturgical
color+
The Easter 0igil is held in the night between Aoly !aturday and Easter !unday# to
celebrate the resurrection of Cesus+ !ee also "aschal candle+ The liturgical color is
white# often together with gold+ .n the Roman Rite# during the <=loria in E'celsis ,eo<
the organ and bells are used in the liturgy for the first time in 8 days# and the statues#
which have been veiled during "assiontide# are unveiled+ .n Lutheran churches# colors
and icons are re3dislayed as well+
Easter season
Easter is the celebration of CesusG resurrection+ The date of Easter varies from year to
year# according to a lunar3calendar dating system+ .n the Roman Rite# the Easter season
e'tends from the Easter 0igil through "entecost !unday+ .n the 4568 form of the rite#
this season includes also the Octave of "entecost# so Eastertide lasts until @one of the
following !aturday+
.n the Roman Rite# the Easter octave allows no other feasts to be celebrated or
commemorated during it/ a solemnity# such as the Annunciation# falling within it is
transferred to the following *onday+ .f Easter !unday or Easter *onday falls on 8E
Aril# the =reater Litanies# which in the 4568 form of the Roman Rite are on that day#
are transferred to the following Tuesday+
Ascension Thursday# which celebrates the return of Cesus to heaven following his
resurrection# is the fortieth day of Easter# but# in laces where it is not observed as a
Aoly ,ay of Obligation# it is transferred to the following !unday+
"entecost is the fiftieth and last day of the Easter season+ .t celebrates the sending of the
Aoly !irit to the Aostles# which traditionally marks the birth of the Church+ Color:
=old or white# e'cet on "entecost# on which the color is Red+
Ordinary Time, Time after Pentecost, Time after Trinity,
or Kingdomtide
.n the Roman rite# Ordinary Time resumes after the Easter !eason# either on "entecost
*onday or %in the 4568 form of the rite& the following *onday# and ends on the
!aturday before the )irst !unday of Advent+ The first !unday after "entecost is Trinity
!unday+ .n the ordinary form of the Roman Rite# the !undays of Ordinary Time resume
their numbering at the oint that will make the last of the series the thirty3fourth+ .n the
4568 form the !undays are numbered as <!undays after "entecost<+ The Eastern
Orthodo' and some "rotestants also count !undays from "entecost# but some "rotestants
instead number them from Trinity !unday# as do traditional Anglicans+
)easts during this season include;
.n the Catholic and some Anglican traditions the feast of Corus Christi occurs
eleven days after "entecost# but is sometimes transferred to the following !unday+
Also in the Catholic tradition# )riday in the third week after "entecost is the feast
of the !acred Aeart of Cesus+
)east of the Assumtion of the Blessed 0irgin *ary+ Observed by Roman
Catholics and some Anglicans on August 4E# which is the same as the Eastern and
Orthodo' feast of the ,ormition# the end of the earthly life of the 0irgin *ary
and# for some# her bodily Assumtion into heaven# is celebrated+ The Roman
Catholic teaching on this feast was defined as dogma on @ovember 4# 45E9 by
"oe "ius K.. in the "aal Bull# Munificentissimus Deus+ .n other Anglican and
Lutheran traditions# as well as a few others# August 4E is celebrated as !t+ *ary#
*other of the Lord+
*ost Western traditions celebrate All !aintsG ,ay on @ovember 4 or the !unday
following+ The liturgical color is White+ The following day# @ovember 8# is All
!oulsG ,ay+
!ome traditions celebrate !t+ *ichaelGs ,ay %*ichaelmas& on !etember 85+
!ome traditions celebrate !t+ *artinGs ,ay %*artinmas& on @ovember 44+
.n the Roman Rite Christ the $ing is celebrated on the last !unday before Advent
or# in its 4568 form# on the last !unday in October+
.n some "rotestant traditions# esecially those with closer ties to the Lutheran
tradition# Reformation !unday is celebrated on the !unday receding October ?4#
commemorating the urorted day *artin Luther osted the 5E Theses on the
door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg+ The liturgical color is Red# celebrating
the Aoly !iritGs continuing work in renewing the Church+
*any traditions treat the final few weeks of Ordinary Time as having a distinctive
focus on the coming of the $ingdom of =od# so that the liturgical year turns full
circle by anticiating one of the redominant themes of Advent+ .n the ordinary
form of the Roman Rite# the final three !undays have such an eschatological
theme# though without any change in designation for those !undays+ .n the
e'traordinary form# the =osel for the Last !unday after "entecost# *atthew
8>;4E3?E# likewise concerns the end of the world# and ties in to the beginning of
the new liturgical year as the =osel for the ne't !unday# the first !unday of
Advent# is the same discourse as related in Luke 84;8E3??+ !ome other
denominations# however# change the designation and sometimes also the liturgical
colour+ )or e'amle# the Church of England uses the term <!undays before
Advent< for the final four !undays and ermits red vestments as an alternative+
The term <$ingdomtide< is used by a number of denominations# among them the
7nited *ethodist Church and the Christian Church 3 !ynod of !aint Timothy+ .n
the Lutheran Church 3 *issouri !ynod %LC*!&# this is known as the <"eriod of
End Times#< and red vestments are worn on the first and second !undays+ Color:
=reen
Anglican Churches
The Church of England %the *other Church of the Anglican Communion& uses a
liturgical year that is in most resects identical to that of the Roman Church+ While this
is less true of the kalendars contained within the Book of Common Prayer and the
Alternative Service Book %45F9&# it is articularly true since the Church of England
adoted its new attern of services and liturgies contained within Common Worship# in
8999+ Certainly# the broad division of the year into the Christmas and Easter seasons#
intersersed with eriods of Ordinary Time# is identical# and the ma:ority of the
)estivals and Commemorations are also celebrated# with a few e'cetions+
.n some Anglican traditions %including the Church of England& the Christmas season is
followed by an Eihany season# which begins on the Eve of the Eihany %on 6
Canuary or the nearest !unday& and ends on the )east of the "resentation %on 8 )ebruary
or the nearest !unday&+ Ordinary Time then begins after this eriod+
The Book of Common Prayer contains within it the traditional Western Eucharistic
lectionary which traces its roots to the Comes of !t+ Cerome in the Eth century+ .ts
similarity to the ancient lectionary is articularly obvious during Trinity season
%!undays after the !unday after "entecost&# reflecting that understanding of
sanctification+
ACW (Angican Church Word!ide"
The Anglican Church Worldwide uses the 458F edition of the American "rayerbook
%458F "EC7!A BC"& as its canonical standard+ This means that the ACW celebrates
the Church year more akin to the 1official2 but rarely used 4668 "rayer Book of the
Church of England than its does to the recently adoted 1Common Worshi2 books of
8999+ Thus the ACW still celebrates a full season of Eihany# which lasts from
Eihany till the )east of the "resentation+ .t also means that it counts its !undays in
re3Advent Ordinary Time beginning with the first !unday after Trinity !unday rather
than the first !unday after "entecost %Whitsun&+ The 458F "rayer book calendar has
fewer officially celebrated )east days than do most of the currently used modern rayer
books within the Anglican Communion+
EA!TERN ORTHOO$ CHURCHE!
The Liturgical year in the Eastern Orthodo' Churches is characteriDed by alternating
fasts and feasts# and is in many ways similar to the Roman Catholic year described
above+ Aowever# Church @ew Hear %.ndiction& traditionally begins on !etember 4#
rather than the first !unday of Advent+ .t includes both feasts on the )i'ed Cycle and the
"aschal Cycle %or *oveable Cycle&+ The most imortant feast day by far is the )east of
"ascha %Easter&Jthe )east of )easts+ Then the Twelve =reat )easts# which
commemorate various significant events in the lives of Cesus Christ and of the
Theotokos %0irgin *ary&+
The ma:ority of Orthodo' Christians follow the Culian Calendar in calculating their
ecclesiastical feasts# though many have adoted a Revised Culian Calendar# reserving
the Culian calculation for feasts on the "aschal Cycle# but using the modern =regorian
Calendar to calculate those feasts which are fi'ed according to the calendar date+
Between 4599 and 8499# there is a thirteen3day difference in the Culian and the
=regorian calendars+ .n some Eastern Orthodo' countries certain civil holidays are
calculated according to the Culian Calendar+ Thus# for e'amle# Christmas is celebrated
on Canuary B in these countries+ The comutation of the day of "ascha %Easter& is#
however# comuted according to the Culian Calendar# even by those churches which
observe the Revised Culian Calendar+
There are four fasting seasons during the year; The most imortant fast is =reat Lent
which is an intense time of fasting# almsgiving and rayer# e'tending for forty days rior
to "alm !unday and Aoly Week# as a rearation for "ascha+ The @ativity )ast %Winter
Lent& is a time of rearation for the )east of the @ativity of Christ %Christmas&# but
whereas Advent in the West lasts only four weeks# @ativity )ast lasts a full forty days+
The AostlesG )ast is variable in length# lasting anywhere from eight days to si' weeks#
in rearation for the )east of !aints "eter and "aul %Cune 85&+ The ,ormition )ast lasts
for two weeks from August 4 to August 4> in rearation for the )east of the ,ormition
of the Theotokos %August 4E&+ The liturgical year is so constructed that during each of
these fasting seasons# one of the =reat )easts occurs# so that fasting may be temered
with :oy+
.n addition to these fasting seasons# Orthodo' Christians fast on Wednesdays and
)ridays throughout the year %and some Orthodo' monasteries also observe *onday as a
fast day&+ Certain fi'ed days are always fast days# even if they fall on a !aturday or
!unday %in which case the fast is lessened somewhat# but not abrogated altogether&/
these are; The ,ecollation of !t+ Cohn the Batist# the E'altation of the Cross and the
day before the Eihany %Canuary E&+ There are several fast3free eriods# when it is
forbidden to fast# even on Wednesday and )riday+ These are; the week following "ascha#
the week following "entecost# the eriod from the @ativity of Christ until Canuary the
Eth and the first week of the Triodion %the week following the ??rd !unday after the
"entecost&+
!ECULAR OB!ERVANCE!

Because of the dominance of Christianity in Euroe throughout the *iddle Ages# many
features of the Christian year became incororated into the secular calendar+ *any of its
feasts %i+e+# *ardi =ras# !aint "atrickGs ,ay& remain holidays# and are now celebrated by
eole of all faiths and none J in some cases worldwide+ The secular celebrations bear
varying degrees of likeness to the religious feasts from which they derived# often also
including elements of ritual from agan festivals of similar date+ This is esecially true
of Christmas+
References and !ources;
!tookey# L+A+ Calendar: Christ's Time for the Church# 4556+ .!B@ 936FB3944?634
Aickman# Aoyt L+# et al+ and!ook of the Christian "ear# 45F6+ .!B@ 936FB346EBE3K
Webber# Robert E+ Ancient#$uture Time: $ormin% Spirituality throu%h the Christian "ear# 899>+ .!B@
93F949354BE36
!chmemann# )r+ Ale'ander+ The Church "ear &Cele!ration of $aith Series' Sermons (ol) *+ # 455>+
.!B@ 93FF4>434?F3F
Wikiedia# The )ree Encycloedia# ,itur%ical year' 8995
Roman Catholic Church Rubrics# -rdinary .oman .ite / 01traordinary .oman .ite' various sources
and dates+