Feast of the Circumcision of Christ

The Feast of the Circumcision of Christ is a Christian celebration of the circumcision of Jesus in accordance with Jewish tradition, eight days (according to the Semitic calculation of intervals of days) after his birth, the occasion on which the child was formally given his name.

The circumcision of Jesus has traditionally been seen as the first time the blood of Christ was shed, and thus the beginning of the process of the redemption of man, and a demonstration that Christ is fully human, and of his (parents') obedience to Biblical law.

The feast day appears on 1 January in the liturgical calendar of Eastern Orthodox churches, all Lutheran churches, and some churches of the Anglican Communion. In the General Roman Calendar, the 1 January feast, which from 1568 to 1960 was called "The Circumcision of the Lord and the Octave of the Nativity", is now the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and the Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord. In Western Christianity, the Feast of the Naming and Circumcision of Jesus Christ marks the eighth day (octave day) of Christmastide while the Synaxis of the Virgin is observed on 26 December in the Byzantine rite, in Greek Orthodox, Eastern Lutheran and Byzantine Catholic churches. Given that the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ and the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus fall on New Year's Day, it is often observed through a Watchnight Mass that starts in the late hours of the previous day and continues into the early morning.