I knew it! today is the next in Huw’s O Antiphon Challenge

O Clavis David,
et sceptrum domus Israël,
qui aperis, et nemo claudit,
claudis, et nemo aperuit:
veni, et educ vinctum
de domo carceris,
sedentem in tenebris,
et umbra mortis.

O Key of David,
and scepter of the house of Israel,
you open, and no one shuts,
you shut, and no one opens:
come, and lead the prisoner
from jail,
seated in darkness
and in the shadow of death.


In the Orthodox tradition, the icon of the name of the Parish is on the Iconostasis (the wooden screen in between the congregation and the altar with icons on it). Since I attend Holy Resurrection, I am continually reminded of the icon of the Resurrection, which interestingly isn’t of the Crucifixion, or even of the empty tomb, but of the Harrowing of Hell. We sing of this wondrous event when we sing the Troparion of Pascha “Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life”

So, what does this have to do with the Nativity of Christ? Today I got in my email from Father Thomas Moore at Holy Apostles'Church a reading from the book The Winter Pascha by Father Thomas Hopko that answers this question explicitly when he talks of the Orthodox Church being the church that asks you to “come and see”.

Come and see! You will witness the mystery of Christ's birth from the
Virgin, His manifestation at the Jordan in His baptism by John, His
victory over the devil in the desert, His proclamation of good news to
the poor, His announcement of liberty to the oppressed, His
declaration of the acceptable year of the Lord's grace. You will
witness His accomplish-ment of the signs of His messiahship: the blind
see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the dumb talk. You will see the
winds cease and the seas calmed. You will behold the table spread "in
the wilderness" in the feeding of the multitudes (Ps 78:19). You will
witness the casting out of demons. And, most glorious of all, you will
see the dead being raised by the word of His power. You will know
indeed that "the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Mt 12:28), and you
will testify truly that "something greater than Jonah" and "something
greater than Solomon is here" (Mt 12:41-42). You will see what "many
prophets and righteous men longed to see . . . and did not see it, and
to hear . . . and did not hear it" (Mt 13:17). And ultimately you will
see the Son of God Himself being lifted upon the Cross in order to
give His broken body as food for His people, and His shed blood as
their drink, that their hunger and thirst for peace and joy and
righteousness, and indeed for life itself, might be forever satisfied.
You will "sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom
of heaven" which is brought to the world by the glorified Messiah (Mt
8:11).


He goes on to discuss that November 30th is St. Andrew’s Day, on which is sung the first of the Pre-festal songs of the Nativity:

When He who was proclaimed by the voice of John the Forerunner,

"The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,"
Came bringing life and salvation to all the earth
You, 0 holy Andrew, were the first to follow Him.
You were offered as the first-fruits of the human race.
You proclaimed to Peter your brother,
"We have found the Messiah
Pray that He may enlighten and save our souls.
Rejoice, 0 Isaiah, and receive the Word of God.
Prophesy to Mary the Maiden.
She is the Burning Bush unconsumed by the fire of divinity.
Adorn yourself, 0 Bethlehem.
Open your gates, 0 Eden.
Enter, 0 Magi, and see salvation swaddled in a crib.
Behold the star shining above the cave;
It announces the life-giving Lord who saves the human race.
Tell us, 0 Joseph, how you led the Virgin
Into the Bethlehem cave.
"After searching the scriptures and hearing the angel,"
he says,
"I am certain that Mary will wondrously give birth to God
Whom the wise men from the East will worship, Offering to Him their
precious gifts."
0 Lord, incarnate for our sake, glory to You



So, in short, today reminds us that to celebrate the Nativity is to celebrate the Incarnation, which is to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ.