The Season of Epiphanies:
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Together with these feasts which emphasize the theme of Emmanuel, there are several noteworthy commemorations of saints from the menaion during these months as

Dec. 25 The Nativity According to the Flesh of Our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ
The Lord chose to save us in a way which restored our priestly role in creation, preserving our dignity and making us coworkers in the divinization of the cosmos. The Lord does not disdain the world that he has created, but raises it to wonders unhoped-for. Let us praise him in the words of the tropar: "Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, has shone to the world the light of wisdom, for by it, those who worshipped the stars were taught by a star to adore thee, the Sun of Righteousness, and to know thee, the Orient from on high. O Lord, glory to thee!" We commemorate the adoration by the shepherds and the magi on this day as well.

This first Feast of the "Emanuel Cycle" sets the tone for the rest: from December 25 to January 4, there is no fasting or abstinence permitted, even on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Dec. 26 Synaxis of the Theotokos
The day after most major feasts in our calendar is dedicated to the person who is in the "2nd role" in the action of the Feast. In this case, although Christmas is clearly about Christ, his blessed mother has the next place of honor. A synaxis is an "assembly," and indeed we come together on this day after Christmas to continue our glorification of our Lord's birth, and today, in a special way, of his mother.

Dec. 27 St. Stephen the Proto-Martyr
On the "Third Day of Christmas" we commemorate the first disciple to give his life in the preaching of the faith, as recounted in Acts 6-8. the 3rd, 4th and 5th days of Christmas are the "Days of the Martyrs," commemorating those who died for Christ.

Dec. 28 the 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia
The evil emperor Maximian Hercules surrounded the Christians gathered in Nicomedia with his troops on Christmas in the year 302, and when the faithful refused to worship idols instead of Christ, the emperor had the entire assembly, 20,000 men, women and children, burned alive. 

Dec. 29 14,000 Holy Innocents
Today the Church remembers the children slain by the soldiers of Herod, searching for the baby Jesus, as recounted in Matthew 2:16-18.  A tragic event in and of itself, it also speaks eloquently to the current worldwide crisis of the lack of child care as well as the epidemic of child abuse.

On this day, we also remember all Christians who have died from hunger, thirst, the sword and freezing. The hardships of life beset us all, and we must pray for those who have died, and work to save the living!

The Sunday after the Nativity: the Holy Righteous Ones— David the King, Joseph the Betrothed, and James, the Brother of the Lord
The first Sunday following Christmas is dedicated to three of the men in Christ's family. The first is David, the king, prophet and psalmist, whose brilliance was marked by his sinfulness -- and repentance. The forgiveness of the Lord was given him though Nathan the prophet, and we recall this in every celebration of the mystery of holy confession.

The second is the righteous Joseph, the Betrothed, the husband of Mary. Historically, there has been little cultus to St. Joseph among Byzantine Christians. He is revered as the upright foster father of the Lord, and the protector of his family. This is his only feast in the Byzantine Calendar.

The third is James, the Apostle, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, who is called, along with his brother Jude, a "Brother of the Lord." This traditional reference has been explained in two ways. First, the Greek word "adelphos" may mean "close male relative" as well as "brother." More popularly, however, it is supposed that St. Joseph, already a widower when he married Our Lady, had children by his first wife, and that James and Jude were among them.

St. James led the first Christian Community, and presided over the Council of Jerusalem [Acts 15:1-35]. He was later martyred for his faith. He is the author of one of the first Christian liturgies, which formed the basis of the later abbreviations by Ss. Basil & John Chrysostom. Byzantine Christians may celebrate the Liturgy of St. James on this Sunday, and on his feast day, Oct 23.

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