Merry Christmas!!! The Carol:
On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four calling birds
Three french hens
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree
Today is the 4th celebratory day of the Octave* of Christmas and the Feast of the Holy Innocents (28th December) martyred by King Herod the Great, according to the Nativity narrative in the Gospel of St. Matthew.
(*An Octave is a period of eight days in which a feast of the Church is celebrated for that whole period as though it were all the same day. e.g. some of the prayers and antiphons this morning at Mass say, “Today is born our saviour, Christ the Lord.” Christmas Day is the first day in the eight-day celebration of the Octave of Christmas.)
To any non-Christians friends who may be reading this, I raise my seasonal 'advocaat-with-lemonade-and-lime' snowball cocktail
(How to make a snowball drink)Holy Innocents' Day is also known as "Childermas". In the High Middle Ages, today's feast was marked by a special pageant of role reversal between children and adults, such as teachers and priests; with boy bishops even presiding over some church services.
Christmastide as a whole lasts until Twelfth Night (5th January) on the feast of the Epiphany, when decorations and the tree are traditionally taken down.
Legend has it that the carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written between 1558 and 1829 as a catechism song for young Catholics who were forbidden to practice their faith. Each number signifies a teaching of our Faith.
The “Four Calling Birds” represent the four Gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Prayer for the Feast of the Holy Innocents
Invitation to confession
On this day when we recall the murder of innocent lives,
let us stand before our just and holy God,
and remembering the violence and injustice of our world,
confess our sins in penitence and faith.
Kyrie
You are the God of the weak and the vulnerable.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
You judge the tyrant and the cruel.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
You wipe away the tears of the broken-hearted.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Collect
Heavenly Father,
whose children suffered at the hands of Herod,
though they had done no wrong:
by the suffering of your Son
and by the innocence of our lives
frustrate all evil designs
and establish your reign of justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Invitation to confession
On this day when we recall the murder of innocent lives,
let us stand before our just and holy God,
and remembering the violence and injustice of our world,
confess our sins in penitence and faith.
Kyrie
You are the God of the weak and the vulnerable.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
You judge the tyrant and the cruel.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
You wipe away the tears of the broken-hearted.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Collect
Heavenly Father,
whose children suffered at the hands of Herod,
though they had done no wrong:
by the suffering of your Son
and by the innocence of our lives
frustrate all evil designs
and establish your reign of justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.