What's your Christmas service like?

SOrry I didn't manage this when I got home from church yesterday morning - Andreas was still awake and needed help to get to sleep - or in any of our jam-packed day. We did have a wonderful day, filled with people and presents and playing and food, but not a lot of time to sit and spod. We had womump for the first time in over a decade! So obv very extra exciting. Thank you!


Anyway, we always go to Midnight Mass, which starts at 11.15 with carols and readings. It always annoys me when people laugh at people saying 'what time is Midnight Mass?' because almost every church has pre-Mass carols which are not at a set time. Ours involved 4 readings from Isaiah, and 7 traditional carols, which is a bit more singing:reading than other churches I've been to, but reasonable. And we always end with one of those over and over pieces that doesn't have a set length, in case timing is slightly different, to lead up to Midnight.
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Then comes the Mass itself, which is much as I described earlier.
Starting with O Come all ye Faithful and a procession in which an altar server brings the baby into the crib in front of the altar. We sing 'Yea, Lord we greet thee, born this happy morning' and Christmas begins.

We had the Gloria for the first time since the beginning of the church year 'And suddenly, there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts, praising God, and saying...'
Readings were Isaiah 9:1-6, Psalm 96, Titus 2: 11-14, Luke 2:1-14

During the Isaiah, The people that walketh in darkness have seen a great Light... for unto us a Child is born, Judith leant over and said 'Is he talking about Jesus? Like the other day?' I think she meant Zephaniah 3:17-18 'The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in His love, He will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals.'

Sing to the Lord a new song says the psalm; the grace of God has appeared, saving all says the epistle. The Luke is the nativity story, up to the shepherds.

Sermon was a bit rambly, but about how Christmas is not a clean package to be left in church, it's messy, blood and tears and screaming, like all birth is - it's about locating a time and a place for Jesus, growing a relationship, and taking that relationship into the world and letting it affect our other relationships.

Everyone's happy, everyone's singing their hearts out, and the church is packed. More carols at the Offertory (It came Upon the Midnight Clear), Communion (Silent Night, In the Bleak Midwinter and a 7th century carol sung as a solo by the church's prettiest singer. Not my favourite carol but redeemed by singing talent) and at the end Hark the Herald, meaning the organist can end with a glorious voluntary on the theme. It's a good high note to end on :)


Everything as normal, except the preface and Eucharistic prayer are special for Christmas.


Then on the way home, cjwatson sang Stille Nacht (very quietly so as not to disturb people in houses), which is my favourite part of Christmas.