Christmas Eve – taken from Celebrating Christmas
There’s an old quote, ‘It is better to travel hopefully, than to arrive’, attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson. There is something appealing about anticipation when we think about Christmas Eve, the day before Christmas Day.
Across most Christian denominations Christmas Eve is a time for services and celebrations. In part, this arises from the idea, present in the Jewish faith, that a day begins at sunset. Some churches ring their bells and some hold services on Christmas Eve. Some have a late-night candlelit carol service ending just after midnight, which allows participants the experience that they have finally journeyed into Christmas Day. Since tradition holds that Jesus was born at night (based on Luke 2:8), churches celebrate communion on Christmas Eve, often at midnight, in which case it is often called Midnight Mass.
The idea of Jesus being born at night is reflected in some cultures and languages where Christmas Eve is referred to as the ‘Holy Night’, something echoed in the well-known Christmas carol ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’.
As with Christmas celebrations generally, there are enormous variations between different countries and cultures on Christmas Eve. So, for example, in some countries there is a tradition of having a long evening family meal, which takes on the role of the Christmas dinner.
Everywhere there is a sense of anticipation on Christmas Eve, whether it is part of a sacred or secular celebration. Christians can remind themselves of Jesus’ humble coming in the past and his anticipated glorious coming again in the future.
