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 Flight into Egypt by Fra Angelico Scott 275 (1960) 
 The Holy Family by Von Honthorst Scott 292-294 (1960) The Feast of the Holy Family is traditionally celebrated on the first Sunday following Christmas. For 2024, the feast is observed on December 29. This feast day focuses on religious family life, specifically the family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Because of the flight into Egypt following Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, it has been observed by Coptic Christians from the earliest days of the Church. In western Christianity, it began to be celebrated in the 17th century and was proclaimed an annual feast day by Pope Benedict XV in 1921 when it was celebrated the Sunday after Epiphany. In 1969 it was moved to the first Sunday following Christmas. The Catholic Culture website states the feast should: “instill into Christian families something of the faithful love and the devoted attachment that characterize the family of Nazareth. The primary purpose of the Church in instituting and promoting this feast is to present the Holy Family as the model and exemplar of all Christian families.”In observing the Feast of the Holy Family, children should learn values taught by the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph (with these two saints serving as models for their own parents), the importance of family life, and the necessity for young children to obey their parents, as did the young Jesus as told in scripture. 
 Two Scenes of the Nativity: Scott 869 (1990) and Scott 1256 (2003) REFERENCES: |
