Christmas Day Service

The celebration of Christ’s incarnation at Christmas is one of the two poles of the Christian year. The wonderful mystery of God’s dwelling among us in the fullness of humanity, as Emmanuel, foretold by the prophets and born of Mary, provides the material of the feast:

Hark, hark, the wise eternal word,

like a weak infant cries!

In form of servant is the Lord,

and God in cradle lies.

(Thomas Pestel)

Christmas is much more then than simply the celebration of Jesus’ birth, and neither of the great Christmas morning readings (Hebrews 1 and John 1) is taken from the infancy narratives. Christmas, amid all the joyful customs and celebrations of Christmas, invites us to contemplate the Word made flesh- God with us.

The Christmas crib and the nativity play can both be said to descend from the tableau of Christ’s birth that Francis of Assisi arranged when he celebrated Christmas at Greccio in 1223. Christmas carols are a medieval tradition, which has been notably developed from the end of the nineteenth century.

At Transfig we will bless our Christmas Crib at the Traditional services on Christmas Eve at 9 pm as we sing classic Christmas Carols such as,

The Christmas season is often celebrated for twelve days, ending with the Epiphany, however, following a contemporary understanding that has sought to express an alternative tradition, we celebrate Christmas for a full forty days, ending with the Feast of the Presentation on 2 February.

-adapted excerpt from the Church of England