Yet Another Reason To LOVE Being Orthodox...

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

I've returned back to my little place here after getting to spend some time with my parents and we were blessed to have a White Christmas! Granted, I drove up at a time that I had been getting told for some days previous that the anticipated storm would have passed but no - I got to actually *drive* in the snow as it came flying down! While a little nerve-wracking at first what with the local Highway Patrol apparently overly eager to close down roads at the first hint of bad weather, I got home just fine and a blessed time was had with my family. I even got to use my ice scraper today!

Before being with my biological family I got to greet the Feast with my parish family and it too was a blessed time. I also got to be reminded yet again why I love being Orthodox: More than one day in the year to sing those wonderful Christmas hymns & carols. I remember growing up in my parents' Protestant church relishing in each Christmas hymn & carol the Sunday before Christmas, and being disappointed when we returned back to the 'regular' hymns the week after Christmas even though I was still feeling very festive! Not because Santa had been particularly generous that year, but because of the *purpose* of Christmas Day. Even as a child myself I felt that Christ's birth deserved more than one week of Christmas hymns & carols, but alas.

Then I discovered the Orthodox Church, and my home parish.

My first year there (Liturgically, that is) it was a joyous thing to me to hear the first Christmas hymn - during Advent! Granted, it was more about the anticipation of Christ's Nativity - but still! I chalked it up to it being the first Sunday in Advent and went on. Then the next week - another Christmas hymn! And the week after that...and the week after that - until finally Christmas Eve and the entire Liturgy was *filled* with Christmas hymns & carols! Perhaps to clarify I attend a Western rite Orthodox parish, so we do sing a lot of hymns that might be more familiar to those all ready coming from a Western tradition. Needless to say, that inner child in me that was getting its questions as to what happened to the Church after the Book of Acts finally answered was also finding that there are others who share her sentiment of Christ's Birth deserving more than one week of Christmas hymns.

And now to quote the overly enthusiastic infomercial announcer: But wait - there's more!

I got to discover Epiphany and how each Liturgy in between Christmas and Epiphany is marked with the singing of Christmas hymns and carols and....wow! Each one a friend, and each one sung with the appropriate joy & gusto it deserved to appropriately herald the arrival of the Newborn King.

So needless to say, I am eager to go to Church tomorrow even though I was there a mere two days ago so as to physically gather with the Church to celebrate the Incarnation with the entire Church for the Gift that God in His mercy provided to us out of His sheer love for us. And once more I get to live out the truth that it's never too late to have a happy childhood.

Christ is Born! Glorify Him! :-D