Traditionally, Christmas Day is the only day of the year supplied with three distinct masses: Midnight, Dawn, and Day. At St. Paul's we invariably observe the Mass for Christmas Midnight and have traditionally observed the Day (John 1). We never observe the Dawn service with Luke 2:15-20 (at least in my memory). I'm wondering if other parishes alternate between Dawn and Day or if the Day service is what is usually observed on the 25th?
Since we have a single service on Sunday morning for the feast of Christ's birth, we alternate the readings year-to-year between Dawn and Day.
ReplyDeleteI've always gone with John as I only have the one service on the morning of the 25th as it is the text which explains the incarnation.
ReplyDeleteOur Christmas Eve service emphasizes the birth of a savior, so the Christmas Day service focuses more on the incarnation, thus the text of John.
ReplyDeleteYou can always merge the readings for the Aurora Mass with the readings for Midnight Mass.
ReplyDelete