Christmas Eve 2007
Categories: friends, feast-days
Date: 26 December 2007 01:50:55
Christ is Born!
Glorify Him!
Christmas Eve, my friend Annette [who is over from her time in London with her fiancé Max for Nila and Andrew's wedding] and I went to visit St Philip's Church Hill for their Christmas Eve service. Alexis and Frank, two good mutual friends, attend St Philip's, and were married there earlier this year. It was a lovely service, relaxed and informal; and I noticed that the woman who taught me music theory in the class I went to was playing the piano at the service. The only strange thing to me was that no-one sung the Christmas Carols: only the minister, Annette and myself. And I in a rather off-key manner! At one point the minister walked away to do some duties, so it was just Annette and I -- and, God forgive us, we did laugh a bit during the middle of the final carol as it was so different to what we are used to and all we could hear were our voices. But it was very, very nice, and a friendly clergy. We had a nice dinner [great food; most appalling service] sitting outside at Eastbank at Circular Quay afterwards.
We then planned to look at some Christmas lights, but on the way found out they were turned off! Annette and I then went to my parish for the Nativity Liturgy: it was Annette's first Orthodox Liturgy and while she said it was different, she said she did like the chanting and the prayers. We were a bit late, may God forgive us, but it truly was a beautiful service: I do love my Western Christmas music, and Western sacred music in particular, but the chants and hymnography of the Byzantine Orthodox Church has me. A few quick 'Hellos' and 'Christ is Born!' before heading back home, with a rather delicious Christmas fruit pudding which I enjoyed the next day.