On January 1st we celebrate at least four things:

Today is the Octave Day of Christmas. The event of the Incarnation, of Jesus Christ, fully human and fully divine, being born in time, is too mind-blowing to celebrate for just one day, so the Church celebrates for a whole week to allow us to enter the mystery more deeply.

At the same time, it’s as if the eight days are one day; many of the chants remain the same all week, again so that they can be pondered and savoured. For example the Invitatory psalm response each day this past week at Vigils has been:

Unto us a Child is born, come let us adore him.

Secondly, we remember Mary and honour her as Mother of God, Theotokos, literally ‘God-bearer’.
During the first few centuries of Christianity theologians grappled with the question of the nature of Jesus Christ: was he God and only appearing as a mortal? Was he a human being with remarkable gifts but still human? Was he born in the normal way and then adopted by God the Father at his baptism?
Last year we celebrated the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea (325) which defined the two natures of Christ, fully human, fully divine. It took longer for some of the implications of this to be realized and agreed.
At the Council of Ephesus in 431, it was decreed that Mary, being Mother of Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word, was also, logically, Mother of God, since Jesus was God incarnate.

Thirdly, at Stanbrook, we celebrate our Foundation Day when on 1 January 1624 (1625 by our modern way of reckoning) our foundresses took their Solemn Vows.

Fourthly, of course, we celebrate the new calendar year which we pray will be marked by peace for the world and many blessings for each of you.

The photograph with this post was taken by Sr Josephine and shows sunrise during the Octave of Christmas 2025.

Today, the dawn of a new redemption has risen upon us
(Vigils response 30 and 31 December).