Christmas and Protestant Carols (Teachings of the Orthodox Church) Christianity. Orthodoxy. Catholicism. Sense of life. Articles for Christians.
You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery;'                but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.                If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.                If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.                'It was also said, 'Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,'                but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.                'Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, 'You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,'                but I tell you, don't swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God;                nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.                Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can't make one hair white or black.                But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No.' Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.                'You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.'*                But I tell you, don't resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.                If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.                Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.                Give to him who asks you, and don't turn away him who desires to borrow from you.                'You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor,* and hate your enemy.*'                But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,                that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven.               
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Christmas and Protestant Carols (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)
   

QUESTION:

I converted to Orthodoxy two years ago and, while I do not regret my decision, I have to admit that during the Christmas season, I find myself missing the Protestant church I grew up in and raised my sons in. I feel guilty about this, but truly, there were very good times and many precious memories of those years.

We have a small Parish which is predominantly older. I ask myself if this is why I grieve for the past. I miss the Christmas carols, the children's Christmas plays and pageants, but mostly the music.

Do you ever hear of this? Surely I am not the only person that experiences this?

ANSWER:

While I have never encountered anything related to what you have written, it does indeed seem possible that one may have a nostalgic attachment to one's past experiences, and it is quite common in most parishes to have Nativity pageants and other celebrations in conjunction with the celebration of the Feast of Christ' birth. Perhaps your parish has no such things, but most do, especially those in which there are many children.

It is important to realize, however, that our participation in the Nativity of Our Lord is fulfilled in the reception of the Eucharist on the Feast and in our participation in the liturgical services. While pageants and tree-trimming ceremonies and carol sing-alongs help to capture the spirit of the season, they are quite secondary to the liturgical services, which offer our worship to God and express our thanks to Him for the Supreme Gift of His Son, rather than merely providing an entertaining way to observe the season.

Our Nativity celebration focuses on worshipping the God Who took on our human nature to bring us into His eternal Kingdom; other celebrations are more focused on us and our enjoyment of the holiday season. While there is nothing wrong with such things, as evidenced in many parishes, they are indeed quite secondary to our liturgical celebration, especially the celebration of and participation in the Nativity Liturgy.

I might add that in the Christian West, Christmas has in some respects taken precedence over Holy Pascha, the Feast of Feasts. While Western Christmas celebrations may be a bit more "glitzy" than ours, it is our celebration of Holy Pascha that is second to none, and that stands at the very heart of all we have and all we do as Orthodox Christians.







Published in January 2011.









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