Washington Hockey Ampersand Ovi & Willy & Stromer & Pro & Carly Shirt

Washington Hockey Ampersand Ovi & Willy & Stromer & Pro & Carly Shirt

Christmas Eve Day tends to be pretty quiet. I can sleep in, pray the Office leisurely, make a Washington Hockey Ampersand Ovi & Willy & Stromer & Pro & Carly Shirt hour around ten and the church will be silent. The ladies (and a few of their husbands) come into decorate the church around ten, usually signalling my retreat back to the rectory. Definitely have some Christmas music on, either TSO or a capella carols. Might take a break from the music and watch a movie. After a late lunch, the madness begins. I head over to the Church early and help the ushers set up overflow seating, making sure that they all know where anything that might have gotten moved is (I have memorable experiences of the hunt for the gifts at an overflow Mass). As the first people arrive, go to greet them. About half an hour before Mass, shift to making sure we have bodies for the various roles, particularly servers. After the insanity of the (~4:00) “children’s” Mass, the church empties out. If there is another Mass (typically ~7:00) it is much more sedate. Then a quick dinner and a nap, before the “Midnight” Mass (typically moved up to ~10:00).

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Washington Hockey Ampersand Ovi & Willy & Stromer & Pro & Carly Shirt hoodie, tank top, sweater and long sleeve t-shirt

The English term Christmas (Old English, Cristes maesse) is actually of Washington Hockey Ampersand Ovi & Willy & Stromer & Pro & Carly Shirt recent origin: the feast day only began to be widely celebrated with a specific liturgy (the Cristes maesse) in the 9th century. The earlier term Yule, from the Germanic jōl or the Anglo-Saxon geōl, referred to the feast of the winter solstice, and made no mention of Christian church liturgy or practices. On Christmas Day, the Church traditionally celebrated three Masses. The first of these took place at midnight and celebrated of the actual birth of Christ. None of the contemporary Christmas customs have their origin in these liturgical affirmation (or masses), and most are of a much more recent date. The exchange of gifts originally took place in the early hours of the 25th when people returned home from the first, midnight mass. When it became customary to open gifts later in the day, the times of many church services were altered – another example of how far from the idea of the liturgical ‘Cristes maesse’ the holiday has come.

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