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Contents

The Christmas Season’s sound
The Christmas Season’s rituals
The Christmas Season’s challenge
A Christmas Season checklist for those who prepare music

Next to the yearly celebrations of the paschal mystery, the Church considers nothing more important than the memorial of Christʼs birth and early manifestations. This is the purpose of the season of Christmas.

The season of Christmas runs from Evening Prayer I of Christmas until the Sunday after Epiphany or after 6 January, inclusive.

The Mass of the vigil of Christmas is used in the evening of 24 December, either before or after Evening Prayer I.
On Christmas itself, following an ancient tradition of Rome, three Masses may be celebrated: namely, the Mass at Midnight, the Mass at Dawn, and the Mass during the Day.

Christmas has its own octave, arranged as follows:

  • Sunday within the octave is the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. If there is no Sunday, the feast is celebrated on 30 December;
  • 26 December is the feast of Saint Stephen, First Martyr;
  • 27 December is the feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist;
  • 28 December is the feast of the Holy Innocents;
  • 29, 30, and 31 December are days within the octave;
  • 1 January, the octave day of Christmas, is the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. It also recalls the conferral of the holy Name of Jesus.

The Epiphany of the Lord is celebrated on 6 January, unless (where it is not observed as a holy day of obligation) it has been assigned to the Sunday occurring between 2 January and 8 January.

The Sunday falling after 6 January is the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

General Norms of the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, nn 32-35, 37-38

The Christmas Season’s sound

Unique repertoire

The seasons of Advent and Christmas often have hymns and songs that are unique to the particular time of the liturgical year. This is different to Lent and Easter, where the Paschal themes in the music often give it greater versatility across Ordinary Time as well. Christmas carols and songs often define the experience of Christmas for many parish communities, as they do for those who visit our parishes at this time.

Some Christmas carols, however, are obviously better suited to liturgical celebrations than others. Those preparing music for the Christmas season will need to carefully discern which carols can be sung during Mass, which carols may be appropriately sung at another time (such as during a service of carols prior to Mass or a community carols night apart from Mass), and which carols are better left to non-religious Christmas celebrations.

Even though many well-known carols are traditional in nature and/or fall within the public domain, care must still be taken to ensure that copyright is respected. Some carols and Christmas songs are protected by copyright, as are many choral and instrumental arrangements of traditional carols. This will have implications for what can be sung by the assembly, and for the purchasing of print music to be used by choirs and instrumental groups.

Glory to God in the highest

The Gloria has been absent for the majority of the Advent season. As it returns to our Christmas celebrations, a solemn yet joyful singing of the Gloria will draw attention to its return. The assembly will hopefully notice its return, opening with the angels’ joyful song of praise which the shepherds heard in the fields.

Increased singing

In Advent, some restraint in the amount of singing and the scale of music during Mass can help reflect and shape the nature of the season. With Christmas, the quantity of music should reflect the joy of celebrating Christ’s birth. Consider singing at times of the Mass that may not feature music at other times of the year, such as the Lord’s Prayer, a Song of Praise After Communion, and/or a Recessional Hymn.

Choice of music for parts of the Mass

Reflecting all of what has already been discussed in your music selections will make the Christmas Masses sound different to what the assembly has experienced during Advent, and will experience when Ordinary Time returns. In addition, music groups should choose a different “Mass setting” (or music for the assembly’s sung acclamations and prayers) for Christmas, to reflect that each of the seasons at this time has its own character. The one set of music for these acclamations should be sung consistently throughout the Christmas season and be changed again for Ordinary Time.

The Christmas Season’s rituals

Responsorial Psalm

As always, the ideal for the Responsorial Psalm is that the text provided for the day in the Lectionary for Mass is sung. Our music suggestions provide the psalm of the day and name settings that are within our parish music collection. For music groups that find it challenging to learn a different psalm for each Sunday but want to ensure the integrity of singing the psalm, the Lectionary provides Common (or seasonal) Psalm texts for the season. Again, one of these is suggested each week in our music suggestions where appropriate.

View the nominated Common (or seasonal) Psalms for the Christmas Season

The timing of the feasts and solemnities of the Christmas season

The Christmas season has several feasts and solemnities that fall on specific dates, or on Sundays. The timing of some of the fixed celebrations (eg Christmas is always on 25 December, regardless of the day of the week) can impact the timing of the other celebrations from year to year. Checking the liturgical calendar (or Ordo) for your region is important to ensure you are preparing music for the correct feast days at the correct times.

Traditionally, the Epiphany of the Lord is celebrated on 6 January, twelve days after Christmas Day. For pastoral reasons, however, the Dioceses of Australia (and many other parts of the world) have moved the celebration of the Epiphany to the Sunday that falls between 2 and 8 January. This can mean that the Baptism of the Lord is moved to the next day (Monday), instead of the following Sunday.

The feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph is usually celebrated on the Sunday after Christmas Day, even if this is 26 December. If, however, the solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God (1 January) falls on a Sunday, the Holy Family will be celebrated on the preceding Friday instead.

The Christmas Season’s challenges

More than just one day

Like the Easter season, many people both in our parishes and beyond move on from Christmas once as soon as Boxing Day arrives and the leftover Christmas stock in stores is marked down as part of the clearance sales.  Continuing with Christmas carols and songs, and consistency with sung acclamations and the like all the way through to the Baptism of the Lord will help remind our parish communities that Christmas is not just a day, but an entire season.

In the same way, with the great amount of energy that is often put into preparing music for Christmas, and school holidays, many music groups go on a break straight after Christmas Day.  While a break is no doubt well-earned, waiting until after the Christmas season has concluded gives everyone the opportunity to celebrate the entire season with joy.

Respecting the role of the assembly

Christmas is often a time where parishes are able to assemble large choral and instrumental groups.  The potential that large groups provide, along with countless Christmas carols, songs and musical arrangements can inspire music group leaders to incorporate music that is more technically challenging and sung by the music ministers alone.  Music ministers must be very careful, though, to ensure that the participation of the assembly in singing the parts that belong to them remains the first priority.  Preparing choral works cannot come at the cost of preparing the essential singing of the Mass.  Furthermore, hymns for the Entrance, Communion and Song of Praise after Communion (if sung) are all intended to be sung by the entire assembly.  Music sung by a soloist or the choir alone is generally only appropriate as an option for the Offertory song, or for singing before or after Mass.

Christmas will also bring many visitors to our communities, as well as people who are not regular participants in our Sunday Masses.  Music ministers have a role in ensuring the parish is a welcoming and hospitable place for all.  A more extensive song sheet or set of slides with the common Mass texts and additional guidance may be needed to support those less familiar with our parish practices.  Well-prepared music that is led confidently, and is known and loved by the ‘regulars’ in our assemblies, will encourage all who are gathered to sing and participate in the celebration.

A Christmas Season checklist for those who prepare music

  • Have we chosen music for the assembly’s prayers and acclamations that is different to Advent (and will be different to Ordinary Time) and reflects the joyful celebration of Christmas?
  • Have we considered the unique nature of the liturgical assembly at Christmas celebrations when making music selections and preparations?
  • Will we be singing the Penitential Act and/or Kyrie? Are we prepared for this?
  • Are we prepared for singing the Gloria?
  • Are we prepared for singing the Responsorial Psalm?
  • Will we use the psalm of the day or a Common text?
  • Will the Masses we lead contain more singing and instrumental music than we used during Advent?
  • Will use be made of Christmas carols to encourage participation?
  • How will we ensure that the joyful celebration of Christmas continues throughout the season?