Second Christmas

This Christmas passed off with considerably less stress and strain than last, as I knew what to expect this time. Of course St Rita of Cascia doesn't like everything to go completely smoothly, so fifteen minutes before Midnight Mass was due to start it was pointed out to me that one of the selected hymns wasn't in the service booklet we use for this occasion. What would be less disruptive - to rearrange the hymns, or hand out hymn books to people already in the church? I chose the former, and despite our novice organist (novice to this organ - in general terms he's far from being a novice) balking and warning me not to expect anything wonderful out of him for the new hymn, it was splendid. I'd insisted that our curate should preside, as she's leaving soon, and in deference to her dodgy throat we eschewed incense on this occasion. We'll just have to have extra next year.

Thanks to the entire parish continuing to be encased in ice, we were about a third to a quarter down at the midnight and the 10am on Christmas Day, and, at the 8am, about half what we were last year. Even at the Crib Service, which is usually the one young families come to, we lost about a tenth on last year's numbers. The Romans suffered the same so this was no surprise.

It's a bit cruel when Boxing Day is a Sunday. I insisted that there be no 8am mass and instead we just gathered at 10 - only about 30 of us, but there was a nice feel about the whole event. It gave a chance to sing Good King Wenceslas as the first hymn, which nobody could remember singing as part of a service before!