Christmas traditions

WARNING: this is LONG! :-) As my hubby changed the channels tonight, I saw the mass from St. Peter's Basillica on later. I was drawn upstairs to a tradition that began many years ago. I don't know how or why, but it was on every year past midnight, my mother watching it when I came home at midnight from the youth service at our church. In 1999, as I was up all night packing to move to Marshall, MO, after we opened gifts at Dad's, if I remember, I couldn't find anything else on at that late hour and listened to it while I was packing. Mom had been gone for 9 years by then, and I had never really wanted to watch it. Something inside of me saw the beauty of the ceremony that I had never seen before that night. Now, I seem to be the one that is watching it in my mother's place. I don't know of anybody else in the family that watches it as we never have been Catholic, but I love hearing the translation, the young voices, and seeing people from all over the world gathered in one place, as Christ's believers will one day be when he comes to get us and take us home. And maybe part of my Lutheran roots recognizes some of it, even in Latin, since the responses are the same in any language if you know where they go in the service. (Peace be with you; and also with you in the service transitions) Hearing scripture chanted is more beautiful than someone just reading it, perhaps because it is different than every other day in my life.

The other thing that made tonight different was that we watched a choir concert that was put on in Decorah, IA, just 15 miles or so from where I was born. They have a Lutheran college there with 2500 students, about half of whom are in the music department in some way, from singing to playing instruments. I understand how they feel about their music as I loved choir in high school, and didn't care if people saw me singing along at the concerts, even though I wasn't in the actual choir that went on tour. These kids tonight reminded me of the St. Olaf College kids, where 2 of my friends went to school. High quality performances, done because they love it. The heart gives something that just a voice and talent can't.

There was another show after that in which they had various churches from around the nation singing. If I knew the songs, I'd sing along, especially the ones from the Messiah. That was always my favorite set of songs every year in choir. They were challenging, but so beautiful when we had it right in the end. The kids at Decorah said they feel the music. It's not just a performance for someone else, they get something out of it. I have that sense when I hear certain songs and sing along and direct in my goofy way. I'll never do that as well as our director did, and I've found it wasn't as easy as he made it look, but I have fun.

And isn't that what we should have in our worship, fun? I don't think it should be a hum-drum, boring kind I see so many times on TV or have experienced at times in my life. I think it should be alive, and interactive with the LORD. I guess I see Him looking at us as I do little ones, who try with all their might, put their whole heart into it, and don't even have to know someone's watching to put joy in the performance. I feel like a child, asked to sing a song in my imperfect way for Him, but He still smiles because I'm singing it for Daddy. And I love Daddy and know he loves me. Who cares what anybody else thinks? They see, I hope, what we have.

That's another tradition. The children's program on Christmas eve. They aren't perfect, sometimes they are down right embarrassing to their parents (easy for me to say since I'm not one), but they do seem to enjoy it, at least the ones that aren't scared to death like I always felt. But I remember things from those programs in school, even 36 years later. I can sing most of Silent Night, the first verse, in German; I remember O Taunenbaum in part; I know Vom Himmel Hoch first verse. I learned all those before 1980, but I can remember singing them in front of all those people with the other select kids who had a talent for German. I remember Luke 2 in King James because my class had to say it in 1st grade, by pairs. I don't even remember what my part was because I learned everybody else's too.(I did that alot in programs) Tradidtions stay with you for a very long time.

I'll save more traditions for another day. Later is Christmas day, and that has it's own traditions.

I should get my reading done in Nehemiah. To all, a Merry, and blessed Christmas. I hope anybody who stumbles across my blog will find the God incarnate, 100% man/100% God come to earth, the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all if they only receive the gift. Please take the gift if you haven't already, and open it up. It'll change your life. (Read the book of John in the Bible to start the opening process.)