Christmas Day

Merry Christmas to the world! My family ushered in today with the usual ritual of midnight mass and the opening of presents afterwards. All of which means we were up until 4am and I didn't actually fall asleep until 6am.

Midnight mass was quite lovely this year albeit a bit minimalistic because there was no nativity scene at the front of the church. I suspect that was a decision made by the new priest whose personal style I dislike, but I won't get into that now.
A trumpeter as well as the usual choir and organist were present and I have to say that injecting Christmas hymns with a trumpet really does make it seem more festive. I definitely enjoyed the music and of course I always appreciate my Christmas bible reading/Roman history lesson (Emperor Augustus issuing the decree for a census in Judaea while Quirinius was governor, etc.). It always makes me smile.

Of course in my family the festivities usually start on Christmas Eve when my grandparents all come over for turkey dinner. Last night I had to have a nap between dinner and mass just to ensure that I would be able to make it through the gifts portion of the night/day.
I still feel quite tired because I made myself get up at noon so I wouldn't miss the pancake breakfast and suddenly fast forward a few hours during which time I watched Little Women and now it's time to get ready to go to my cousin's house for another dinner. I bet these past two days plus whatever family dinner I have on New Year's Day will be the sole culprits of my holiday weight gain. But... holiday food is so good. What other time of the year do you ever get fed so well?

The only slight down side this year is that it's not exactly a white Christmas, it's more of a gray and hazy Christmas. In the past few days, a lot of the snow we had accumulated has been diminished by mild temperatures and rain. However, with eleven more days of Christmas to get through, I have hope that we may see some more snow before we take down our decorations in the new year.

Anyways, on this lovely day I hope that everyone is having a happy and satisfying holiday no matter where you live and what you practice.