W
Woodstock
Guest
Not exactly. It was on January 6, combined with other theophanies, until it was separated out and given its own feast day in the 5th Century at the Council of Chalcedon. The Armenians still celebrate Christmas together with the other theophanies on Jan 6.Are there any Eastern Catholic Churches that celebrate Christmas on January 7
**Please notice that Christmas is not and never had been on January 7.
It has ALWAYS been on 25 December.
The question is which day is 25 December. The day the Gregorian calendar calls 25 December is called 12 December on the Julian.**
orthodoxwiki.org/Theophany
Originally, there was just one Christian feast of* the shining forth of God to the world in the human form of Jesus of Nazareth*. It included the celebration of Christ’s birth, the adoration of the Wisemen, and all of the childhood events of Christ such as his circumcision and presentation to the temple as well as his baptism by John in the Jordan. There seems to be little doubt that this feast, like Easter and Pentecost, was understood as the fulfillment of a previous Jewish festival, in this case the Feast of Lights.
The services of Theophany are set up exactly as those of the Nativity. Historically the Christmas services were established later.
geocities.com/Athens/Thebes/1089/theophany.html (awful colors, good history)
Secondly, the Armenians, who observe the Gregorian calendar except in Jerusalem, maintain to this day the ancient date of January 6th as the dual celebration of Jesus’ birth and baptism, where all the major events related to the Theophany are recalled, from the revelation of Jesus as the “Son of Man” the Incarnate Word, to His revelation as the “Son of God” the Prince of Peace and the King of Heaven. Therefore, this celebration includes everything from the Nativity of Christ in Bethlehem, the visitation of the Magi who came to “witness” Him as the Divine Revelation, the infancy narrative…His naming, His presentation in the temple, His circumcision and finally the Epiphany or His Baptism in the River Jordan whereby His formal ministry of redemption was inaugurated by the opening of the heavens, the descent of God the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, and the Voice of God the Father proclaiming that “This is my beloved Son.” The dual Theophany/Epiphany was celebrated on January 6th until the 5th century when the Council of Chalcedon (451 ad) formally declared December 25th as the date for the celebration of “Christmas” separating the Nativity from the Baptism of Christ by the “12 days of Christmas” remembered today in the popular Carol.