Today is Christmas Eve. I suppose after Easter, it's probably the most attended day of worship in churches. But that is NOT a scientific fact, just an assumption or maybe an educated guess.
I'm a Jew so Christmas was never a big deal in my house, but I did go to our neighbor's Christmas Eve party yearly growing up. Aside from my love for mini-hot dogs and Swedish meatballs, which was fervent and only satiated on December 24th, I loved the glow of the tree, the sound of the music and (I can't lie), the present under the tree with MY name on it.
As I got older I even attended several years of midnight Mass at a nearby Catholic church and the service was always beautiful. My favorite part of church is the peace handshake at the end of the service.
Each year I've been at Aspen Public Radio I do a story on Christmas Eve Day about sermons. It's not deep or research intensive, but it's fascinating to me. I ask local pastors what their message will be in their sermon. It's true, it's generally the same. Joy. Peace. Love. The story of Christ. But making it fresh every year, that seems to be the catch. I've heard tales of likening the Christmas story to the movie Avatar, the stars in the sky and the beauty of our modern world. I'm amazed and in awe of those who are committed to their faith and the desire to share it. It can't be easy coming up with a sermon each Christmas Eve, but it's probably not easy coming up with one each Sunday either.
My yarmulke goes off (meaning hats off) to all those who are spreading their message of joy and peace tonight, and hopefully it will stick and 2011 will be a most joyous and peaceful year.
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