Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Prayers
Christmas is the only day of the year on which every priest may celebrate three Masses: at midnight, at dawn, and during the day. Medieval writers saw in them the threefold birth of the Son of God: from the Father before all ages, of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem, and in the hearts of the faithful by grace. The prayers of those Masses, together with the collect of Christmas Eve, are a beautiful way to keep vigil and to celebrate the Nativity at home.
Pray the Christmas Eve prayer at supper or before Midnight Mass, and the three Christmas prayers on Christmas morning at the Nativity scene or before the family meal. Before the midnight prayer, read aloud the Gospel of the shepherds (Luke 2:1-14), which ends with the song of the angels: "Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will."
The Prayers
Christmas Eve
O God, who makest us glad in looking forward year by year to our Redemption, grant that we who joyfully hail Thine only begotten Son for our Redeemer, may with full confidence behold Him when He shall come to be our Judge, the same our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Christmas at Midnight
O God, who hast made this most sacred night to shine forth from the brightness of the true light, grant, we beseech Thee, that we may enjoy in heaven His happiness, the mystery of whose light we have known upon earth. Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Christmas at Dawn
Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that, filled with the new light of Thy incarnate Word, what by faith shineth in our minds, may show forth in our works. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Christmas Day
Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that the new birth of Thine only begotten Son in the flesh may deliver us who are held by the old bondage under the yoke of sin. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
The days after Christmas are crowded with feasts: St. Stephen (December 26), St. John the Apostle (December 27), the Holy Innocents (December 28), and Pope St. Sylvester I (December 31). It was St. Francis of Assisi who arranged the first living Nativity scene, at Greccio in 1223.
See also: Christmas Prayer (Traditional), Christmas Novena (December 16–24), St. Andrew Christmas Novena, Feast of the Holy Family Prayers, Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Epiphany Prayer, The O Antiphons, and Advent Wreath Prayers.
Sources: Collects of the Vigil of Christmas and of the three Masses of Christmas Day from The Roman Missal, translated by Edward A. Pace and John J. Wynne, S.J. (New York: The Home Press, 1916), public domain. Scripture from the Douay-Rheims Bible (Luke 2:14).
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