Christmas Eve

A couple of days ago I posted about what Christmas preparations look like in my city and today I'd like to share what Christmas Eve means at my part of the world.

The gospels of Luke and Matthew describe Jesus as being born in Bethlehem to the Virgin Mary. In Luke, Joseph and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census, and Jesus is born there and laid in a manger. Angels proclaimed him a savior for all people, and shepherds came to adore him. source

I'm not fanatically religious, but for me Christmas is a religious event and not a commercial holiday. I'm always happy to spend Christmas Eve with my family and grateful to be together.

There is a special Christmas mass at the church every year.The church is always decorated for this occasion, but modestly, not like shops as showing off is not the purpose on that day. First there's the mas, during which everyone has the time to reflect on their actions and what still needs to be done, where there's need to improve.

After the mass there's always a performance, in which kids of all ages are performing Christmas scenes, like when Jesus was born.

The church is always full, in many cases there are not enough seats and many are standing. Parents, grandparents obviously want to see their children, grandchildren performing. And there are those who have no family, no one to go home to. For them, this event means everything as they get to spend a couple of hours with the community and feel the spirit of Christmas.

The church is handing out small gifts every year, which can be a small pocket calendar with a prayer on it, or a book sign, also with a prayer on it.

A few years ago, when my nephew was 13 or 14 years old, he took part in the nativity play on Christmas eve. He got to play the beggar. The story was featuring three beggars, who were seeking shelter for that night and were helped as the bible says we should help those in need and share the little we have with others.

This is a very good occasion for kids to learn about religion and what the occasion is for as well as to develop some skills by learning poetry, songs etc. The church has a teaching role and they are doing it well.

That night I was invited too to the play and when I arrived to my brother's, my nephew was already dressed up in his dad's old working clothes, the one my brother used for paint the apartment and his old shoes full with holes. To make his costume complete, I gave him my black knitted gloves, to cut off the fingertips, to make it more believable. It was heartbreaking to see him dressed like that, but we all knew what it was for.

When we got to the church, my nephew went to the side door, where the others were waiting to enter the church and we set down. When they came in, the beggars came last as that's how it happens in reality too, they are always last, in the back. So when he entered and went to the wall behind the others, an old lady in the front row opened his purse and wanted to give him 10 lei to buy food, which is around $2.5. Imagine the surprise on my nephew's face when he saw the old lady's gesture. Obviously he told her he's not homeless or a beggar, this was part of the play, so there was no need for the money and thanked the lady for the nice gesture.

The scene was funny but also heartbreaking. It meant his costume was perfect for the role, but also showed how kind-hearted people are. The old lady was a pensioner, most likely living with very little and still was ready to spare the money to help a kid (apparently) in need.

Every year when I go to church and the mass is over, I'm thinking how many of these people are spending Christmas Eve alone, because their kids are far and their best half is not with them anymore. How many don't even have a Christmas tree. At least they can spend some time in the church and feel the warmth of the community.

So what is Christmas Eve like where you live? Feel free to share it in a comment :)