 St Mary's Church, Dymock
| Seasons & Festivals - Christmas |
| The church exists first to offer worship (honour) to God and to thank him for the gifts he gives us, and secondly to honour and support each other because we're all fellow creatures of God, and so that honours him too.
Firstly: God deserves our worship because he's the supreme being who made us out of nothing in order to have a relationship with him. We destroy that relationship by our disobedience (sin), but God restores it again through the life and work of Jesus Christ. To help us to focus on God, the church divides the year into eight main Seasons, each with one or more Major Festivals. They remind us of the important times in the life and work of God and Jesus, and consequently have major significance for his followers and so are observed by most Christians. (Return to top)
Secondly: We honour each other because Jesus told us to - he taught us that we should care for our neighbour as much as we care for our self, because in doing so we honour God who made us all. As well as the seasons and major festivals, therefore, the church celebrates several 'Special Days' throughout the year to remember, honour or support each other and our work in God's world. Celebration of the "Special Days" is usually optional, Christians chose which they want to remember. (Return to top) |
| Christmas |
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The season of Christmas lasts 12 days and runs between Advent and Epiphany. It begins with Christmas Day, December 25th and celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is the second most important Festival after Easter (which is the most important), although most people prefer Christmas as it's a season of merriment and partying in the otherwise dull period of midwinter (at least in the northern hemisphere). It gets its name from Christ Mass, the Mass or Service for Christ. (Return to top)
No one knows the date of Jesus' birthday. Most cultures have many festivals and the Roman Empire was no different, they had a Festival in winter called 'Saturnalia' after one of their gods, Saturn. It involved much merriment and was very popular, so the early Christians who lived at that time adopted that date as the date for celebrating Jesus' birthday to direct the Christians into worshipping Jesus rather than Saturn. (Return to top)
The season of Advent used to be austere, a time of reflection and preparation before the exertions of Christmas itself. In more recent times, there has been commercial pressure in the shops to sell Christmas products and presents, with corresponding emphasis on joyful Christmas activities rather than the more austere Advent ones. So in the secular world, Christmas preparation and celebration now tends to start some months before December 25th and occupy the period previously taken up by Advent. (Return to top) |
| Church-Related Christmas Customs |
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| Carol Singers |
Christmas Carols: Carols (special songs) are often sung before Christmas (see 'Nine Lessons and carols') but are usually sung at the special Services on Christmas Day and at Services held during the 12 days of the Christmas season. The music of traditional carols follows a typical medieval chord pattern, and that's what gives them their special sound. (Return to top)
They were often sung by a group of singers moving round the area, sometimes often collecting money for a good cause such as a charity, with the singers being invited into people's homes for a warm drink and traditional food such as mince pies, and this still happens in many places today, although more usually now during the Advent season before Christmas Day. (Return to top) |
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Dymock's Crib Service
on the Village Green |
Crib Service: Many churches hold a special Service a few days before Christmas, or on Christmas Eve (December 24th), aimed especially at children, where the focus is on the manger or crib in which the baby Jesus was laid immediately after his birth, together with the account of Mary and Joseph's journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, sometimes with a real donkey and people to represent the characters in the story. For the past 4 years, Dymock has held such a Service on Christmas Eve on the village green in front of the church (with a live donkey and characters). Many of the children come dressed as angels, shepherds or wise men. (Return to top)
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| Midnight Communion: In the last 40 years or so, it has become common for many churches to hold a celebratory Service starting at say 11:30pm on Christmas Eve (December 24th) so the Service has progressed to receiving the bread and wine that remind us of Jesus at, or just after, midnight - the 'First Communion of Christmas'. In many churches, this Service is candlelight to add to the celebratory atmosphere. Dymock holds such a Service every year, but in recent years not by candlelight. (Return to top) |
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| Christmas Day Communion: Many churches hold a special Service of Holy Communion (Mass) on Christmas Day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. This will usually include Christmas Carols and is often especially celebratory with the best robes for the clergy, great church decoration - especially flowers, and special anthems or religious songs if there is a choir. (Return to top) |
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Projection Screen
for Family Service |
Family Christmas Service: Some churches hold a non-Communion 'Family' Service on Christmas Day as well as the Christmas Communion Service, whilst others hold only the Family Service, since the celebratory Communion was deemed to be have been held at midnight - Dymock adopts this latter approach. (Return to top)
The Family Service is very informal and the children are encouraged to bring one of their Christmas presents to show everyone during the Service as a reminder that it's Jesus birthday we're celebrating. (Return to top) |
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