when does christmas start in the catholic church
the evening of December 24
title: Christmastide text: Christmastide Christmastide (also Christmas Time or the Christmas season) is a season of the liturgical year in most Christian churches. In some Christian denominations, Christmastide is identical to Twelvetide, a similar concept. For most Christian denominations, such as the United Methodist Church and the Roman Catholic Church, Christmastide begins on Christmas Eve at sunset or First Vespers, which is liturgically the beginning of Christmas Day. Most of Christmas Eve, understood as 24 December, is thus not part of Christmastide, but of Advent, the season in the Church Year that precedes Christmastide; in many liturgical calendars, Christmastide is followed by the title: Christmas text: Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is preceded by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night; in some traditions, Christmastide includes an octave. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world's nations, is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as culturally title: Christmas text: respect, even if they disagree with it. <categorytree depth=0>Public holidays by country</categorytree> Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is preceded by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night; in some traditions, Christmastide includes an octave. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world's nations, title: Liturgical year text: purple; blue in some traditions, such as Methodist, Episcopalian, and Lutheran. The Christmas season immediately follows Advent. The traditional Twelve Days of Christmas begin with Christmas Eve on the evening of December 24 and continue until the feast of Epiphany. The actual Christmas season continues until the Feast of the Baptism of Christ, which in the present form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on the Sunday after January 6, or the following Monday if that Sunday is Epiphany. In the pre-1970 form, this feast is celebrated on January 13, unless January 13 is a Sunday, in which case the title: Proclamation of the Birth of Christ text: Proclamation of the Birth of Christ The Proclamation of the Birth of Christ, Kalenda Proclamation, or Christmas Proclamation, is a chant sung before the Midnight Mass for Christmas in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. The long text is a timeline, in which each verse represents the years from an historical event, either secular or religious, until birth of Jesus Christ, and the number of years – expressed in centuries or years – decreases until the day of the first Christmas. Originating from the Roman Martyrology, traditionally read during the hour of Prime, the proclamation places the birth of