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Christmastide (also Christmas Time or the Christmas season), also known as Twelvetide, is a season of the liturgical year in most Christian churches. For most Christian denominations, such as the United Methodist Church and the Catholic Church, Christmastide begins on Christmas Eve at sunset or First Vespers,〔(An Explanation of First Vespers )〕 which is liturgically the beginning of Christmas Day.〔(''Clergy Resources'': "The Christian Year" )〕〔(Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year, 33 )〕 Most of Christmas Eve, understood as 24 December, is thus part not of Christmastide, but of Advent, the season in the Church Year that precedes Christmastide; in many liturgical calendars, Christmastide is followed by the closely related season of Epiphanytide.〔 The precise ending of Christmastide is defined differently by different Christian denominations. In the Anglican Church and Lutheran Church, Christmastide, commonly called the Twelve Days of Christmas, lasts 12 days, from 25 December to 5 January, the latter date being named as Twelfth Night.〔 For the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, Christmastide is now, since its 1969 revision, a few days longer: "Christmas Time runs from ... up to and including the Sunday after Epiphany or after 6 January."〔 Before 1955, the 12 Christmastide days in the Roman Rite (25 December to 5 January) were followed by the 8 days of the Octave of Epiphany, 6–13 January, and its 1960 Code of Rubrics defined "Christmastide" as running "from I vespers of Christmas to none of 5th January inclusive".〔(English translation of the 1960 Code of Rubrics )〕 == History == In 567, the Council of Tours "proclaimed the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany as a sacred and festive season, and established the duty of Advent fasting in preparation for the feast." Christopher Hill, as well as William J. Federer, states that this was done in order to solve the "administrative problem for the Roman Empire as it tried to coordinate the solar Julian calendar with the lunar calendars of its provinces in the east." Ronald Hutton adds that, while the Council of Tours declared the 12 days one festal cycle, it confirmed that three of those days were fasting days, dividing the rejoicing days into two blocs. The Council held at Tours also spoke of a three-day fast at the beginning of January as an ancient custom, and ordered monks to observe it.〔According to the text of the acts of the 567 Council of Tours, edited by Jean Hardouin, Philippe Labbé, and Gabriel Cossart and published by the Royal Printers in Paris in 1714, the only mention of the period between Christmas and Epiphany made by that council is in its 17th canon.〔(Jean Hardouin, Philippe Labbé, Gabriel Cossart (editors), ''Acta Conciliorum et Epistolae Decretales'' (Typographia Regia, Paris, 1714), pp. 355–368 )〕 In that canon, which dealt with the fasts to be observed by monks, the council decreed: In medieval era Christendom, Christmastide "lasted from the Nativity to the Purification."〔 〕〔 〕 To this day, the "Christian cultures in Western Europe and Latin America extend the season to forty days, ending on the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and the Purification of Mary on 2 February, a feast also known as Candlemas because of the blessing of candles on this day, inspired by the Song of Simeon, which proclaims Jesus as 'a light for revelation to the nations'." Many Churches refer to the period after the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas and up to Candlemas, as Epiphanytide, also called the Epiphany season. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Christmastide」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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