O Come All Ye Faithful

One of my favorite memories of Christmas from years gone by is going to midnight mass, which I haven't done in the last few years. There was a solemn but peaceful atmosphere about the whole mass, and the church decorations seemed to have more meaning at that hour. This was one of the few times during the year that our church burned incense, and that odor added to the mystic aura that was in the air with the telling of the birth of Jesus. And the music. The choir always seemed to be in top form that night, and Silent Night and Oh Come Oh Come Emanuel would be playing in my mind the rest of the night. It was also one of the few times we had wine at the mass, and it made us kids feel a little more grown up. The mass was always a lot longer, but afterward, on the drive back home, there was a renewed sense of holiness that seemed to keep us kids from fighting with each other... for a little while.
We haven't gone to midnight mass for quite a few years, opting to go on Christmas Day instead. The one thing I, personally, didn't like was that it was - and still is- so crowded that you have to get there about 45 minutes early to get a seat or risk standing in back for an hour and a half. Being someone who gets more than a little claustrophobic when stuck in the middle of an overcrowded church I'll settle for going during the day when it isn't so crowded, but when I was young that didn't matter as long as I was there, surrounded by the rest of my family.