Of course. The Roman Missal says at the end of the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord:

Ordinary time lasts from the Monday after this Sunday to the Tuesday before Lent.

Mark, there's a clear rubric for that situation. From the Roman Missal:

The numbering of Sundays and weeks in Ordinary Time is calculated as follows:
a) The Sunday on which the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord occurs takes the place of
the first Sunday in Ordinary Time; the week that follows is counted as the first week
in Ordinary Time. The remaining Sundays and weeks are numbered in order until the
beginning of Lent.
b) If there are thirty-four weeks in Ordinary Time, after Pentecost the series is resumed
with the week that follows immediately the last week celebrated before Lent; it should
be noted, however, that the Masses of Pentecost Sunday and of the Solemnity of the
Most Holy Trinity take the place of the Sunday Masses. If, however, there are thirty-three
weeks in Ordinary Time, the first week that would otherwise follow Pentecost is
omitted.

Thanks, SkirpR… I'm still trying to wrap my head around (b), but I trust that it'll make sense to me eventually!

EDIT: The Wikipedia article on Ordinary Time explains it pretty clearly, too:

The actual number of weeks of Ordinary Time in any given year can total 33 or 34. When there are only 33 weeks (which is more common^[1][2]), the week that would normally follow the resumption of Ordinary Time following Pentecost Sunday is omitted. For example, in 2011, the Sunday before Ash Wednesday was the 9th Sunday in Ordinary Time, but the day after Pentecost Sunday began the 11th Week in Ordinary Time.

(Emphasis mine. For those interested, note the footnotes there about "Dominical letters.")

Given that the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is still part of Christmastide, who sings Christmas Carols on the Feast of the Baptism and specifically which ones? As pointed out on CanticaNova, it seems odd singing about the infant Jesus when he is an adult in the gospel. I was also thinking that this being the octave of Epiphany, it might be good to sing some Epiphany songs, but most of those highlight the star or the magi. Aside from Songs of Thankfulness and Praise, and non-seasonal baptism hymns, what hymns are good for this feast? And don't say, "sing the propers" as that is a given but not always an option in every situation! ;)

I've been doing this for awhile but I'm never satisfied with my hymn choices for this particular Feast.

This issue has never proved much a quandry for me personally. I suppose this is due to the apparent overlapping of the metaphysical implications of both the nativity of our Lord and His baptism. That, in historical perspective, Jesus "ratified" an extent sacrality into a sacrament allows us to commemorate both perspectives, ie. choosing "River of Glory" or "On Jordan's Bank" as an ACAptus. I do think that, short of singing the assigned propers, seasonal or other psalms, using Christmas carols simply to "demarcate" the feast's calendar relation to Christmastide has little incentive for me.

Also, I never would have thought otherwise re: the placement of the Baptism in/out of the Christmas season. The Baptism of the Lord is in the Christmas volume of the Liturgy of the Hours, and after Evening Prayer II it clearly states, "After the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Ordinary Time begins."

adam

you might not be aware that since the 1960's or so, everything in catholic theology has been up for grabs. hec, i went to a seminary course once where the resurrection was counted to be a myth. i had a problem with that, and told them so. tis one of the reasons i wasn't hired to be their music director later in time. C'est la vie.

If the USCCB met in a room and actually discussed the error, they most likely would correct it. It's the "bigger fish" to fry, I suspect. Websites, (while important in our daily living) hold very little authority since they can be hacked, revised, and then published so easy without another pair of eyes ever seeing it first. Here's my motto: If you see it on the internet, I would hold it highly suspect.

My intent wan't to rehash the calendar issue, but rather discuss appropriate alternate musical choices. I think we are all in agreement on Songs of Thankfulness and Praise and then perhaps When John Baptized by Jordan's River (though that one isn't in our hymnal). I have also used Baptized in Water again to highlight the Baptismal theme, but what about Christmas Carols? Most people are no longer in the Christmas spirit at this point since they got their fill during Advent. Perhaps it's enough to simply use the same seasonal ordinary to show that the Feast is part of Christmastide.

What about hymns that relate to the propers, something that highlights the Holy Trinity? Come, Now Almighty King perhaps?

I Bind Unto Myself This Day (St Patrick's Lorica/Breastplate) is also very appropriate. If you do the Christ Be With Me section (rarely if ever done in US Catholic practice as best I can tell), I prefer the setting to Deirdre*, rather than Stanford's more Welsh original tune.

* Which can be lovely on its own at a VERY stately processional tempo.

"Most people are no longer in the Christmas spirit at this point since they got their fill during Advent"

Earl--while this is true, the church is still in Christmastide. Most people want Christmas immediately after Thanksgiving and forego Advent, too. What they want and what is liturgically correct are two different things. Personally, I, too, can let go of all the Christmas hymns. Between being DM for my parish and also the school music teacher preparing for the Living Nativity throughout both November and December, I'm pretty much done with it all. But, that doesn't negate the fact that Baptism is still Christmastide.

Bottom line, I believe that the Baptism of the Lord is still Christmastide. Correct?

My pastor says it is still Christmas, but I use hymns related to the baptism. There is no space left for Christmas carols.

There is no Sunday of the First Week of Ordinary Time is a better way to think of it. Just like the week of Ordinary Time that follows Pentecost and that in which Lent begins are shortened, so too the first week.