Christmas and Protestant Carols (Teachings of the Orthodox Church) Christianity. Orthodoxy. Catholicism. Sense of life. Articles for Christians.
“I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.                “You shall have no other gods before me.                “You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.                “You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.                “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. You shall labor six days, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.                “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.                “You shall not murder.                “You shall not commit adultery.                “You shall not steal.                “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.                “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
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Christmas and Protestant Carols (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)
   

QUESTION:

I converted to Orthodoxy two years ago and, while I do not regret my decision, I have to admit that during the Christmas season, I find myself missing the Protestant church I grew up in and raised my sons in. I feel guilty about this, but truly, there were very good times and many precious memories of those years.

We have a small Parish which is predominantly older. I ask myself if this is why I grieve for the past. I miss the Christmas carols, the children's Christmas plays and pageants, but mostly the music.

Do you ever hear of this? Surely I am not the only person that experiences this?

ANSWER:

While I have never encountered anything related to what you have written, it does indeed seem possible that one may have a nostalgic attachment to one's past experiences, and it is quite common in most parishes to have Nativity pageants and other celebrations in conjunction with the celebration of the Feast of Christ' birth. Perhaps your parish has no such things, but most do, especially those in which there are many children.

It is important to realize, however, that our participation in the Nativity of Our Lord is fulfilled in the reception of the Eucharist on the Feast and in our participation in the liturgical services. While pageants and tree-trimming ceremonies and carol sing-alongs help to capture the spirit of the season, they are quite secondary to the liturgical services, which offer our worship to God and express our thanks to Him for the Supreme Gift of His Son, rather than merely providing an entertaining way to observe the season.

Our Nativity celebration focuses on worshipping the God Who took on our human nature to bring us into His eternal Kingdom; other celebrations are more focused on us and our enjoyment of the holiday season. While there is nothing wrong with such things, as evidenced in many parishes, they are indeed quite secondary to our liturgical celebration, especially the celebration of and participation in the Nativity Liturgy.

I might add that in the Christian West, Christmas has in some respects taken precedence over Holy Pascha, the Feast of Feasts. While Western Christmas celebrations may be a bit more "glitzy" than ours, it is our celebration of Holy Pascha that is second to none, and that stands at the very heart of all we have and all we do as Orthodox Christians.







Published in January 2011.








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