Catholic Activity: Celebrating Christmas Day at Home

DIRECTIONS

The celebration at home on Christmas Day should be filled with joy and rest, as is emphasized in the Matins for the feast:

Our Saviour is born today. Dearly beloved, let us rejoice! It would be unlawful to be sad today, when it is the birthday of Life: the birthday of that Life which, for us dying creatures, takes away the sting of death and brings the bright promise of eternal life hereafter. No one is shut out from a share in this happiness. All men have an equal share in the great cause of our joy, for Our Lord . . . is come to make all free.

The great King for whom we have been preparing during the whole season of Advent has come, and we may no longer fast now that the Bridegroom is in our midst.

Christmas dinner is customarily the high point of the family celebration. It should be remembered that the feast is not the time for the mother of the family to spend long hours in the kitchen. The greater portion of the meal should have been prepared beforehand, and help in serving and dishwashing is a mark of the charity of all. The blessing for the meal should be taken directly from the Ritual today, and if possible, all could sing it.

Activity Source: True Christmas Spirit by Rev. Edward J. Sutfin, Grail Publications, St. Meinrad, Indiana, 1955