Midnight Mass

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My granddaughter and I are going to midnight mass tonight. It's something I used to do with my grandmother and I haven't been in years. I'm looking forward to all the sights, sounds and smells. Smells and sounds are such a huge trigger for memory, for me. Much more so than sights...

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.

I'm going to midnight Mass too! at--well, midnight.

I didn't know you were a Catholic, Persephone29! That's neat. Or are you Anglican/Episcopalian? If that's the case then you're probably in for beautiful Christmas music. Episcopalian music is very pretty.

The Catholic church I am fixing to go to has good music this time of year...which I plan to supplement tomorrow on the Victrola with some 1910s-era mix or compilation records, containing a mixture of favorite carols and others nearly lost to time.

Smells--holiday baking is going on, the church will be full of incense, the air is clean at night even though it is still warm in South Carolina because it's a Southern thing. Sounds--the organ, people singing, fireworks in the distance, the choir (who really need to stop tittering and laughing) and the whole nine yards.

I love midnight Mass.

Resident non-Catholic here...

On Monday I accompanied a “Mass of the Rooster” with Tagalog Christmas carols and ate traditional Filipino fare afterwards. Last night we had a service earlier in the evening at the Baptist church. Midnight masses are beautiful. Maybe next Christmas!

You got homemade Filipino food...all right, that's some "best Christmas ever!" material right there. And talk about people who like to party!

It was a beautiful service, yes Catholic. Elissa was asked to carry the baby Jesus to the manger. The wonderful smell of the incense, the songs. I'm so glad we went. It invoked a lot of really good memories of going to Midnight Mass with my grandmother.

Hope all went well.

My dad actually grew up in the city across from a church built in the back half of the 19th century and they had quite an impressive variety of wooden reliefs, including a pulpit that was in an 1880's world fair. It's one of those places that still does Latin masses and we have relatives who still go there regularly, great place for a midnight mass.

My parents invited me to 4:00 PM on Christmas eve and mentioned that they'd be going to a local suburban church they often go to where there will be an overflow, busses shuttling people back and forth from down the street, and I didn't have to think about it for very long - throngs of people who are there once or twice per year (Christmas or Easter... if they feel like they're in the mood) and in most cases it's not because they're holding more complex views of the world or the interiority of what it means to be human, they just have zero interest - nah... I'll pass, thank you...

Sorry to hear, tech. I know it can be overwhelming.

The Rooster Mass was at a “historically black” Catholic Church. Cities in the Mississippi Delta are no longer segregated, but they still live in the shadows of segregation. So you still have bizarre sights like an “African American” Catholic church that is considered an important landmark while “regular people” attend mass at the Gothic Revival church downtown. Oh, and incidentally—the big Baptist church is across the street to the south and the Hebrew Temple is across the street to the east.

Anyway...Sacred Heart is tiny compared to St. Joseph and serves as a mission to African American and Hispanic people. I walked in to find the choir area equipped with a Hammond drawbar organ, a drum set, and a piano. The regular choir was four women, and their pianist had bailed on them at the last minute. I wasn’t familiar with their usual mass setting, so I couldn’t really help them except maybe on one song. The Filipino choir had obviously practiced on their own a few times, so that was a lot of fun. Certainly a long way from what I’m used to with in-ear monitors! The Spanish choir sang at the end...but bless their hearts they had maybe one decent singer and I think everyone else just picked a random note to sing. I knew the song but there was no way I could follow them.

My wife said, “they sounded really sincere.”

Back in my college days we’d have made fun of these people and avoid taking gigs like that. Makes me wonder why their scheduled pianist didn’t show up. But now when I play gigs like that it’s refreshing because 1) low pressure, and 2) I feel less like they’re just going through the motions. I like my usual Sunday gig because we have energetic music. But even then there are those days when I’m just not feeling it and it feels forced. The Catholics love me because my usual playing style is closer to Pentecostal church music (which is the best, anyway), except apparently I’m easier to work with than actual Pentecostal piano players. Small churches and multicultural and even multilingual churches seem much more authentic in their worship. There’s nothing wrong with big churches, either. My point is that if big crowds and big productions are a problem, especially with sensory issues, these smaller churches have a lot to offer. The risk with mass at the other church is that they CAN feel uptight, stuffy, and awkward. But if going to church is meaningful for you, it’s not hard to find a place where you feel at home.

Pasko na! Simband Gabi na! Kain tayo!

(It's Christmas! Night Mass! Let's eat!)

Yes, the Filipino service was spiritually inspiring and physically filling. No one leaves hungry unless they choose to.

How long is Midnight Mass and is it really at midnight?

Sometime I’d like to go to different churches to see what they are like, from a cultural perspective. I do enjoy Gothic architecture, too.

This is only the second year that our little church has been holding Midnight Mass. Apparently they used to have it years ago but stopped, due to lack of attendance. The church was about 1/2 full. Started at Midnight, ended at one. No food, just the service. It had been at least 15 years since I attended a Midnight Mass anywhere, it was always a source of positive sensory memories for me. I hope it will be something my grandchild remembers positively.