The Feast of the Holy Family is celebrated on the first Sunday after Christmas. Although major feast days dedicated to each member of the Holy Family—Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—also exist, the Feast of the Holy Family commemorates their life together, and the celebration focuses on religious family life. Because of the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt, a feast for the Holy Family has been observed by the Copts from early times. In Western Christianity, however, veneration for the Holy Family as a group did not arise until the 17th century and was not officially recognized until the feast day was formally instituted in 1921 under Pope Benedict XV. Originally celebrated on the Sunday after Epiphany (January 6), the Feast of the Holy Family was moved to the Sunday after Christmas in 1969, bringing it within the Christmas season.
On years when there is not a Sunday between Christmas (December 25) and Mary, Mother of God (January 1) because they fall on Sundays, the feast is celebrated on Friday, December 30.