January 1st is the Octave Day of Christmas (the 8th Day is the renewal of the original feast). We return to the same mystery of Christ's Birth. For the Jewish people, the octave is a great feast - and the eighth day after the birth of a son was the day of his circumcision and receiving his name. This is the day in which the Christ Child received his Holy Name of Jesus.
Finally, this is the Feast of our Lady's Motherhood - we rejoice that God has taken a Mother to himself, and has come to us through Mary.
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