TheFeast of the Circumcision of Christ is aChristian celebration of thecircumcision of Jesus in accordance withJewish tradition, eight days (according to the Semitic calculation of intervals of days)[1] after hisbirth, the occasion on which the child was formallygiven his name.[2][3]
The circumcision of Jesus has traditionally been seen as the first time theblood of Christ was shed, and thus the beginning of the process of theredemption of man, and a demonstration that Christ is fully human, and of his (parents') obedience toBiblical law.
Thefeast day appears on 1 January in theliturgical calendar ofEastern Orthodox churches,[4][5] allLutheran churches, and some churches of theAnglican Communion. In theGeneral Roman Calendar, the 1 January feast, which from 1568 to 1960 was called "The Circumcision of the Lord and theOctave of theNativity", is now theSolemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and the Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord. InWestern Christianity, the Feast of the Naming and Circumcision of Jesus Christ marks theeighth day (octave day) ofChristmastide[6] while theSynaxis of the Virgin is observed on 26 December in the Byzantine rite, inGreek Orthodox,Eastern Lutheran andByzantine Catholic churches.[7][8] Given that the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ and the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus fall onNew Year's Day, it is often observed through aWatchnight Mass that starts in the late hours of the previous day and continues into the early morning.[9]
And when eight days were fulfilled to circumcise the child, his name was called Jesus, the name called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2:21)[10]
The feast is commonly celebrated in Russian tradition with anAll-Night Vigil, beginning the evening of December 31, but the service books specify a lower rank of celebration, with separate services of Great Vespers, Little Compline, Midnight Office, and Matins and First Hour. The hymns of the feast are combined with those for SaintBasil the Great. After theDivine Liturgy the next morning, Russian churches often celebrate a New YearMoleben (service of intercession) to pray for God's blessing for the beginning of the civilNew Year (Byzantine Christians commemorate theIndiction, or Ecclesiastical New Year, on September 1).
On theJulian calendar, 1 January will correspond, until 2100, to 14 January on theGregorian Calendar. Accordingly, inRussia, 14 January in the civil calendar is known as "TheOld New Year", since it corresponds to 1 January in the Julian Calendar, still used by the Church.
At an early stage, theChurch in Rome celebrated on 1 January a feast that it called the anniversary (Natale) of theMother of God.[11] When this was overshadowed by the feasts of theAnnunciation and theAssumption, adopted from Constantinople at the start of the 7th century, 1 January began to be celebrated simply as the octave day of Christmas, the "eighth day" on which, according toLuke 2:21, the child was circumcised and given the name Jesus. In the 13th or 14th century 1 January began to be celebrated in Rome, as already in Spain and Gaul, as the feast of the Circumcision of the Lord and the Octave of the Nativity, while still oriented towards Mary and Christmas.[12] The emphasis that SaintBernardino of Siena (1380–1444) laid on the name of Jesus in his preaching led in 1721 to the institution of a separateFeast of the Holy Name of Jesus.Pope John XXIII'sGeneral Roman Calendar of 1960 calls 1 January simply the Octave of the Nativity. (This 1960 calendar was incorporated into the 1962Roman Missal.) The1969 revision states: "1 January, the Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord, is theSolemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and also the commemoration of the conferral of the Most Holy Name of Jesus."[13][14]
TheAmbrosian and theHispanic (Mozarabic/Visigothic) Rites celebrate this day as the Circumcision of the Lord.
As the Circumcision of Our Lord is a feast of Christ and related directly to the life of Christ as recounted in Holy Scripture (notably Luke 2:21), it is celebrated by Lutheran churches. It remains on Lutheran liturgical calendars to this day, although some Lutherans now use the title "The Circumcision and the Name of Jesus"[15][16] or simply "The Name of Jesus".[17] Martin Luther preached at least one notable sermon on this feast day, which is still available in his Church Postils, and most Lutheran hymnals prior to the 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship contain several hymns for the occasion.
TheAnglican Communion'sBook of Common Prayer liturgy celebrates this day as the Circumcision of Christ.
Since 2000, theCommon Worship of theChurch of England has listed this day as "The Naming and Circumcision of Jesus".
TheBook of Common Prayer of theAnglican Church of Canada calls it "The Octave Day of Christmas, and the Circumcision of Our Lord, being New Year's Day".
The 1979 Book of Common Prayer of theEpiscopal Church (United States) names this day "The Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ", a Feast of the Lord.
A Prayer Book for Australia (1995) of the Anglican Church of Australia calls it "The Naming and Circumcision of Jesus".
January 1, New Year's Day, is also the eighty day of Christmas. On the eighty day of life Jewish boys have a circumcision ceremony, or bris. January 1 is the Circumcision of Christ and the Feast of the Holy Name.
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