I had no clue, even with my years in Catholic schoool. Here's what I found:
Novenas have a long history. The typical period of mourning that the ancient Greeks and Romans observed extended through nine days and culminated with a feast. The pagan character of the practice so offended Christians that they shortened their mourning period to seven days in order to distinguish themselves from nonbelievers. Sometime during the Middle Ages, Christmas novenas, which called to mind the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy, began to appear in France and Spain. (The liturgical use of the O Antiphons in the days before Christmas is a remnant of this practice.) Other liturgical novenas arose, most notably one that precedes the feast of Pentecost. This is based on the biblical account of the disciples, who, after the ascension of the Lord, waited nine days for the coming of the Spirit (Lk 24:49, Acts 1:4).
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2005-04-01 07:02 pm (UTC)Novenas have a long history. The typical period of mourning that the ancient Greeks and Romans observed extended through nine days and culminated with a feast. The pagan character of the practice so offended Christians that they shortened their mourning period to seven days in order to distinguish themselves from nonbelievers. Sometime during the Middle Ages, Christmas novenas, which called to mind the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy, began to appear in France and Spain. (The liturgical use of the O Antiphons in the days before Christmas is a remnant of this practice.) Other liturgical novenas arose, most notably one that precedes the feast of Pentecost. This is based on the biblical account of the disciples, who, after the ascension of the Lord, waited nine days for the coming of the Spirit (Lk 24:49, Acts 1:4).
There's more at http://www.americamagazine.org/gettext.cfm?textID=2899&articleTypeID=1&issueID=429