“DURING this Octave before Christmas, monks in medieval monasteries would receive extra treats or gifts each day. At the Saint Benedict Abbey of Fleury (now Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire), the antiphons were recited each day by monks of different rank beginning with the Abbott.

“When the chanting was finished, one monk would offer a gift to each of his fellow monks. Often the gift would be associated with the antiphon of the day.

“The monk assigned to December 19 might have been the gardener so that he could give a gift from the garden in honor of Our Lord the ‘Root of Jesse’ (O Radix Jesse). The Abbott would always give the gifts on the last day of the O Antiphons (December 23), and his gifts were often very generous.

“Medieval expense records show that the foodstuff the Abbott brought to the table on this day of the Expectation were no meager gifts.”

— “The Golden Nights,” Rachel L. Lozowski

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