Christmas church services

[Tex]

Originally Posted by myboynoah

But All Saints Day is. The French take the whole week off.

That doesn't necessarily mean anything. The Germans take "Fron Leichnam" off (in English: Corpus Christi) and I challenge you to find a single one of them who knows what it is.

But my point is, there are probably several reasons we don't do a Halloween/All Saints' Day celebration in the LDS church, not the least of which is that no one (in America at least) is thinking of Christ on Halloween.

My original comment was meant as a joke, and I'm a little surprised to see it treated seriously.

[RedHeadGal]

Originally Posted by Tex

That doesn't necessarily mean anything. The Germans take "Fron Leichnam" off (in English: Corpus Christi) and I challenge you to find a single one of them who knows what it is.

But my point is, there are probably several reasons we don't do a Halloween/All Saints' Day celebration in the LDS church, not the least of which is that no one (in America at least) is thinking of Christ on Halloween.

My original comment was meant as a joke, and I'm a little surprised to see it treated seriously.

I know you were joking. My point is that Halloween is rooted in an old, traditional religious holiday. Now we just wear costumes, and do trunk or treat at the chapel and eat candy. Fine. But I propose Christmas is heading that way. It's becoming increasingly secularized in the world in general, and when I look to my own congregation for religious touchstones to keep me faith-centered at this holiday, they are not there. I have to look elsewhere. I'm disappointed about that.

[RedHeadGal]

Originally Posted by FarrahWaters

I don't know the poem he read.
This is the one I sent him:

Hymn on the Nativity of my Saviour

I sing the birth, was born tonight,
The author both of life, and light;
The angels so did sound it;
And like the ravished shepherds said,
Who saw the light, and were afraid,
Yet searched and true they found it.

The Son of God, the Eternal King,
That did us all salvation bring,
And freed the soul from danger;
He whom the whole world could not take,
The Word, which heaven and earth did make;
Was laid now in a manger.

The Father's wisdom willed it so,
The Son's obedience knew no no,
Both wills were in one stature;
And as that Wisdom had decreed,
The Word was now made Flesh indeed,
And took on Him our nature.

What comfort by Him do we win,
Who made Himself the price of sin,
To make us heirs of glory?
To see this babe, all innocence;
A martyr born in our defense;
Can man forget this story?

Ben Jonson
(1573-1637)

I don't see what there is to be offended about that. Maybe he just didn't like it? Still, I agree with all, he should have said something first.

And what's the prohibition on Latin? Just songs sung in ALL Latin, I presume, since there is Latin in some hymns we sing now.

Finally, FWIW, the one talk we had that was sort of Christmas-y (the one that was ostensibly about Mary) included the woman reciting the words to the pop carol "Mary, Did You Know?" I hope what he did wasn't as silly as that one was.