One of life's lessons that has stuck with me ever since: it's all about the anticipation.
Now, of course, I'm a more responsible adult. There are far fewer presents under the tree with my name on them, and I'm just fine with that. My wife and I open them Christmas morning, and then work on getting everything ready for Christmas dinner and our company. The real meaning of Christmas has taken on the greatest importance for me, more important than any gift waiting to be unwrapped. (Although that shouldn't be taken as an indication that I'm willing to forgo presents altogether. Some things never change.)
Christmas Eve remains a special day, though. December 24—12/24—still has that power, not unlike other special combinations of numbers, whether it be your birthday or another day, like July 4. It begins with errands and baking, and ends with Midnight Mass, and in-between there's the pleasure of driving through mostly deserted streets, looking at front windows illuminated with Christmas trees and, oftentimes, families spending the evening together. It's all about the anticipation.
So what to write about on Christmas Eve?
A few years ago I wrote about Axel, the legendary Minneapolis-St. Paul kids' show host, and what better time than Christmas Eve to listen to his famed rendition of "The Night Before Christmas."
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That's a lovely sentiment, Mitchell--one with which I wholeheartedly agree. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to you and yours, Mitchell; I look forward to many more enjoyable hours reading your posts in 2026!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts. I am a big fan, too. Christmas Eve can is magical. Thank you for the blog - and Happy 2026!
ReplyDeleteChristmas and those services that creep into Midnight. I loved the First Baptist Charleston 11 PM services (and the wonderful music of that time, because of a friend in college). That door of "pre-LaRoche" and "LaRoche and Beyond" could be seen with the sacred works and my first taste of John Rutter's choral music.
ReplyDeleteNow in the area closer to home we're bombarded with a bad Midnight Mass at Holy Trinity Catholic that is too folksy and Vatican II that would not allow me to see Derek Thomas' study of church history, and the one 20 miles from home at Gethsemane Baptist in St. Matthews, whose minister is the brother of the President of the state chapter of National Right to Life (writing this a night shy of Epiphany) featured material from Whitney Houston sung by one church member with karaoke, an awful pop culture version of O Holy Night (shows what happens when Dr. LaRoche put my music on the "Larson Line" -- after learning the real Cantique du Noel), and another pop song sung by another church member with karaoke. There are no males singing, which proves the point that we've feminised everything where for men church is a spectator sport while everything is sung by young girls because their radio station they rely is female-oriented. Thankful that SCCL's Holly Gatling (St. Peter's Basilica nearby) and the local SCCL chapter leader the Zaleskis (St. Joseph's nearby) had great midnight masses that are complete of the story that makes me understand Derek Thomas and his reference to church history when from 2020 to 2023 we had him on the last Sunday before Christmas for a Q&A, and learned more that weaker churches do not want congregations to know.
Clement Moore's version of The Night Before Christmas has also, in my thought, affected the way we see St. Nicholas; after learning the story from Derek Thomas about the real Nicholas of Myra in the Council of Niacea and the Feast of St. Nicholas on December 6, it's completely different now. The St. Nicholas Mr. Moore and later Coca-Cola did removes the real story.