Most people think that Christmas church services are reserved for those who celebrate that particular religion. For example, midnight Mass at Catholic Church is often perceived as being just for Catholics who are practicing, but it’s not the case. Visitors are always welcome in church, but they are especially welcomed at Christmas time, which is the time for giving and a time full of showing love to all of those. It’s all about ramping up the narrative to love thy neighbor, and Christmas is the perfect time to do it.Christmas is a happy and generous time when people remember how it all began.
Some of the visitors who come to church are often from the area, but aren’t regular at the church because they are just home for Christmas. If you’ve never been to a Christmas Mass before, you probably won’t know what to expect. You probably also won’t know that Christmas Mass isn’t just on Christmas Day. Christmas prayers are said throughout the festive season, especially in the lead up from Advent at the start of the month. The Sundays of Advent are always precluded by a lit candle, three purple ones and then a pink one. The Mass at Christmas time talking about the birth of Jesus and how he came to be is often more comfortable and cozy than any other time of the year. Churches will arrange a special programme for Christmas services and they are not the same as every other Sunday worship service. Here’s what you should expect if you decide that this year is the year that you would go to Christmas mass.
- Christmas Eve services.
All churches do things differently at Christmas time, but most of them hold two separate service days, one on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas Day. A short gathering in the evening on the 24th of December is called the Christmas Eve Service, and usually there are two. There is a standard Midnight Mass as we cross from Christmas Eve into Christmas Day, and there is the Mass that is done earlier in the evening, which is encouraging for families and children to attend before they go home to set out their gifts for Father Christmas. A congregation will always encourage families to come to the Christmas Eve church service because it’s a time to gather together and sing Christmas carols and worship and remember the birth of Jesus Christ. The late night services are more of a reflective and mournful time, because while it’s an exciting time of the year, it’s a moment for usually the loneliest of souls to come together very late into the evening to sing carols and worship and feel included. Usually the late service will begin around 11:30 PM and finish as the midnight bells chime. As Christmas Day itself can be quite the holy day, it’s a nice way to ring in the date and go home feeling full of love. Singing carols are a big part of this particular church service and they will always be Christmas themed. From Silent Night to once in Royal David City, you will always hear carols being rung through on Christmas Eve and it can make you feel very festive if something that you grew up with. - Christmas Day Church services.
During the Christmas Day church service, this happens earlier in the morning between 9:00 and 10:00 AM. It’s usually a short service and it’s done that way to ensure that families can get home to celebrate the rest of their Christmas Day without taking too much time from their togetherness. It’s a celebratory service, and again, it’s full of Christmas carols and worship for the birth of Jesus Christ. If you consider how you would celebrate your birthday, this is just celebrating the birthday of Jesus. Of course, we all know that the calendar has been set long after Jesus was born. It’s a pure guess on the actual day of his birthday, but it’s one that we’ve stuck with for many years.And will do for many years to come. It’s a bright and upbeat event and everybody’s always happiest on Christmas Day. They are ready for the year ahead and they are full of love in their hearts. And that is often something that spills out during the Mass itself. The theme was uplifting and special, and the expectation after mass is that everybody dissipates back to their homes to do nothing but celebrate and feel joyful with their families.
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