Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity

Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity is of semi-double rite and its liturgical colour is white.

At Mattins all is sung as on the feast of the Nativity except the lessons. In the first nocturn the Incipit of the Epistle to the Romans was traditionally assigned to the 30th but was moved to the 29th in the 1911-13 reform, so today the first nocturn lessons are a continuation from Romans. In the second nocturn the lessons are from St. Leo on the Nativity. In the third nocturn the homily is taken from St. Augustine's writings on the second chapter of St. Luke's Gospel. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the antiphons from the Nativity, Quem vidistis etc., are sung with the Dominical psalms. The chapter and antiphon on the Benedictus are proper to the Sunday as is the collect. Following the collect of the Sunday a commemoration is sung of the Octave of the Nativity.

At the Hours the antiphons from Lauds are sung with the festal psalms.nThe hymns of the Hours are sung with the Doxology of the Incarnation. At Prime (Pss. 53, 118i, & 118ii) the lectio brevis is proper to the Sunday, Itaque jam non est servus.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Mass formulary isDum mediumetc. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Octave of the Nativity. There is no third collect (except for an oratio imperata etc). The Credo is sung and the preface and communicantes are of the Nativity.

Vespers of the Nativity are sung, from the chapter of the Sunday within the Octave with a commemoration of the following day's feast of St. Silvester and of the Octave of the Nativity.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' Mattins has the psalmody of the Nativity (with the curtainled Ps. 88 ) and one nocturn of three lessons. At Lauds there is no commmoration of the Octave. At the Hours the antiphons and psalmody of the Sunday are sung, rather than the festal ones. There is no proper Doxology (or melody) at the hymns of the Hours and the short lesson at Prime is 'of the season'. Mass has but one collect. Vespers are of the Nativity without any commemorations.