The Baptism of the Lord and the End of Christmastide

Today is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, celebrating that day when John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 

But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he consented.

And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

(Matthew 3:13-17)

This event is, of course, one of the epiphanies celebrated on the Solemnity of the Epiphany. As such, this separate feast is of relatively modern origin, being instituted by Pope Pius X as part of his 1955 reforms. In the 1969 calendar revision, its date was set at the first Sunday after the Epiphany. Unless, of course, if in your country the Epiphany is moved to Sunday, in which case the Baptism of the Lord is moved to the following Monday.

Since in the current calendar, the Christmas Season ends at Vespers of this feast, this has the weird side effect of making the Christmas Season shorter in parts of the United States and Canada then it is in other parts of the world – up to a week shorter. It also means that the suppressed Octave of Epiphany¹ no longer falls entirely within the Christmas Season.

But wait! I hear you say – if the Baptism of the Lord is a modern holiday that marks the end of Christmas… when did Christmas used to end before it was established?

Well, like so many things, it’s complicated.

Christmastide – the twelve days of Christmas – ended at the Epiphany, but it was followed by the Octave of the Epiphany and then by a season of Epiphanytide. In the early Church, Christmastide was its own season, followed by the related Epiphanytide.

Then, sometime in the medieval era, Christmastide and Epiphanytide became the two integral parts of a single longer season, the Christmas Season, which only ended with the feast of Candlemas – the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple – on February 2. This gave Christmas the Biblically significant length of forty days.

So when does Christmas end? Epiphany? The Baptism of the Lord? Candlemas?

Well, as we’ve seen, liturgically in the modern calendar there is no debate: Christmas ends with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, whatever day that ends up being. Spiritually and culturally, though, you can make cogent arguments of any of the three days. There are still many places throughout the world where Christmas decorations only come down in February.

As recently as 2011, the Pope made the case for Candlemas.

The liturgical celebration of Christmas, then, is not only a memory but is above all a mystery; it is not only commemoration but also presence. In order to grasp the meaning of these two inseparable aspects it is necessary to live intensely the whole of the Christmas Season as the Church presents it. 

If we consider it in a broad sense, it lasts for 40 days, from 25 December to 2 February, from the celebration of Christmas Night to Mary, Mother of God, to the Epiphany, to the Baptism of Jesus, to the Wedding at Cana, to the Presentation in the Temple …. 

— Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience (January, 2011) 

But one thing is certain: unlike what modern American culture would have you believe, the Christmas Season does not end on Christmas.

1. The ghost of which can still be found, if you know where to look!