How I'll be Spending Christmas Eve

This is the interior of our church. After 15 years I am still amazed sometimes that I found this place for a spiritual home. It is as grand a cathedral as one could want but it is also a warm and vibrant community. I will be spending the better part of the late afternoon here, drinking hot cider and hanging with Stina while we save places for our families for the Vigil Mass.

The Child woke this morning, as expected, vibrating with joy. She decided that she wants to be my elf today. "Do you want to be a cleaning elf or a cooking elf?" "I want to be an everything elf!" she declared. I'll grab onto that while I can.

We will be doing a lot of cooking. She has already put a post it note on the chicken cookie jar noting that the 3 cookies within are to be saved for Santa. She has wrapped presents for the pets. All the decorations have come down from the attic and after I get a few things simmering we'll set up the tree. Finally, I'll be spending a ton of time burning CDs for the dinner guest gifts.

All this has to be accomplished by 3, when I'll head to the Cathedral to meet Stina. Seats used to be reserved for the families of choristers but they don't anymore so we have to be pro-active. The Vigil mass gets as crazy as the Midnight Mass. It's every parishioner for themselves. We figured out that if we get there early we do a much better job of preserving our Christmas Spirit.

This waiting time, chatting with one of my dearest friends, is as much a part of my Christmas tradition as any of the rest of it. It's a quiet time, sitting in the darkened Cathedral, sacristans bustling around putting finishing touches on the altar platform or walking through their liturgical paces. It's a two hour calm before the whirlwind of fun and joy that is Christmas.

These next few days will have a familiar character...our own family liturgy. The form for tonight is familiar in the way we decorate, the soup and bread for dinner after Mass, the search for "the enchanting creche in the woods" (a tradition The Child has developed) and reading "Twas the Night before Christmas". The Child will leave treats for Santa and the reindeer and then to bed. The Spouse and I will bring in the presents, drink some nog and listen to the radio. Finally, I'll crawl into bed and start reading "A Christmas Carol". Every year has it's own twists and adjustments. It's not that we have to do everything just so but the underlying pattern is always there and it is what makes today, and especially tonight, feel like Christmas Eve.