Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve, December 24, is the night
before Christmas Day, which celebrates the
birth of Jesus Christ.
Julaftonen (The Christmas Eve), a watercolor
painted 1904-05 by Carl Larsson (1853-1919)
Religious traditions
Western Churches
Traditional Midnight Mass with Shepherds in
Provence.
Many Roman Catholics and Anglicans tradi-
tionally
celebrate
a
midnight
Mass
(Eucharist) which begins sometime before
midnight on Christmas Day; this ceremony,
which is held in churches throughout the
world, marks the beginning of Christmas
Day. A popular joke is to ask what time Mid-
night Mass starts, but in recent years some
churches have scheduled their "Midnight"
Mass as early as 7 p.m. In Spanish-speaking
areas, the Midnight Mass is sometimes re-
ferred to as Misa del Gallo
("Rooster’s
Mass"). In the Philippines, this custom lasts
for nine days, starting on December 16 and
continuing daily up to December 24, during
which Filipinos attend dawn masses, usually
starting at around 4:00-5:00 a.m.
Lutheran parishes often carry on Christ-
mas Eve traditions typical for Germany and
Scandinavia. "Krippenspiele" (nativity plays),
special festive music for organ, vocal and
brass choirs and candlelight services make
Christmas Eve one of the highlights in the
Lutheran Church calendar. Christmas Ves-
pers are popular in the early evening, and
midnight services are also widespread in re-
gions which are predominately Lutheran. The
old Lutheran tradition of a Christmas Vigil in
the early morning hours of the 25th of
December (Christmette) can still be found in
some regions of Germany. In eastern and
middle Germany many congregations still
continue the tradition of "Quempas singing":
separate groups dispersed in various parts of
the church sing verses of the song "He whom
Shepherds once came Praising"
(Quem
pastores) responsively.
Methodists celebrate the evening in differ-
ent ways. Some, in the early evening, come
to their church to celebrate Holy Communion
with their families. The mood is very solemn,
and often the only visi