Capt Lightning
Well-known Member
- Location
- Historic Buchan, Scotland
Why are there midnight church services? Has midnight any significance or is this just a social occasion or a 'let's be first to celebrate'?
Why are there midnight services?
- Thread starter Capt Lightning
- Start date
fuzzybuddy
SF VIP
- Location
- The Sticks, Northeast PA.
The reason for midnight church services is on Christmas day, you can say " I went last night".
dilettante
Well-known Member
- Location
- Michigan
Night shift workers who sleep all day?
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
Midnight Mass has always been a thing. It's a vigil seeing the arrival of Jesus
Michael Z
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern Wisconsin
I think it is an old church tradition. Many modern Protestant churches no longer have this midnight service (ours does not). Christmas Day was widely accepted as the birth day of Christ by the public where as now it is well known that the actual day was likely months earlier. But in days past, this fact was not widely known (or shared) so the stroke of midnight signified that special birthday.
I like to think of the celebration of Christ’s birth as something to celebrate every day of the year. In our church we have Christmas programs and concerts celebrating that birth a week or two before Christmas, which is just fine by me and sometimes there has not even been an actual service on Christmas Day but only a Christmas Eve early evening service.
I like to think of the celebration of Christ’s birth as something to celebrate every day of the year. In our church we have Christmas programs and concerts celebrating that birth a week or two before Christmas, which is just fine by me and sometimes there has not even been an actual service on Christmas Day but only a Christmas Eve early evening service.
Oh, the memories of Midnight Mass at Christmas, and at Easter! ... we had double holidays, with Russian Christmas being on January 7th.
Always went to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve for years when I was growing up ... the whole family, along with my grandparents.
It was such a natural thing to do back then.
The service always lasted 2 hours, and always felt very special and surreal into the night.
I remember getting permission to bring my then boyfriend (later husband) to service with me.
His upbringing was Roman Catholic, and mine was Greek Orthodox (Russian) ... both were similar in tradition.
Always went to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve for years when I was growing up ... the whole family, along with my grandparents.
It was such a natural thing to do back then.
The service always lasted 2 hours, and always felt very special and surreal into the night.
I remember getting permission to bring my then boyfriend (later husband) to service with me.
His upbringing was Roman Catholic, and mine was Greek Orthodox (Russian) ... both were similar in tradition.
Last edited:
Capt Lightning
Well-known Member
- Location
- Historic Buchan, Scotland
Having been brought up as a Presbyterian (but now a non believer) anything other than a 'normal' service was viewed with some suspicion. I don't recall anything special in addition to the usual Sunday morning service except that the one before (or on 25th Dec) would have carols.
Google says.....
The Mass is celebrated at midnight because of the belief that Christ was born at midnightbased on the psalm, “When all things were in quiet silence, and night was in the middle of its course, your Almighty Word, O God, lept down from heaven from his starry throne.”
The Mass is celebrated at midnight because of the belief that Christ was born at midnightbased on the psalm, “When all things were in quiet silence, and night was in the middle of its course, your Almighty Word, O God, lept down from heaven from his starry throne.”