More Americans skip church services on Christmas
December 23, 2011
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, David Gibson notes that church attendance has been falling on Christmas Day, as many Americans prefer to stay home and enjoy secular traditions in celebrating the feast. Some Protestant churches will even be closed on Sunday, recognizing that reality. Gibson remarks:
Perhaps it's a bit puritanical to insist that believers dump their cherished family traditions to march off to church on Christmas morning. But it's also self-defeating to complain about keeping Christmas holy when churches close on Dec. 25.
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Posted by: -
Dec. 24, 2011 10:00 AM ET USA
FredC, that is the best idea I've heard in a long time. Catholics can take back the holiness of Christmas Day itself by shifting the gift-giving to January 6. It certainly would bring our focus back to Jesus Christ on Christmas Day ... where it belongs.
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Posted by: FredC -
Dec. 23, 2011 7:21 PM ET USA
Has Dave gone so far that he does not distinguish between Protestant and Catholic. The Catholic tradition is centered on Christmas Mass. We should shift the gift-giving to January 6 to emphasize the holiness of Christmas.
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Posted by: Defender -
Dec. 23, 2011 4:26 PM ET USA
Exactly 40 years ago (Christmas Eve), I went to Mass in Vietnam. I remember hearing the sporadic discharge of weapons, but I remember the deep holiness of the Mass even more (much of it still in Latin). The solace and comfort it gave then as it does now, far outweighs the musings of polls and opinions of those who do not understand.
