Holiday Time in the CoC

[agricola]

there were lilies down front

I don't recall seeing that in C o C!

Elder's wife. Need I say more?

[bnot]

IN the coc - we celebrated all the holidays, but absolutely NONE of them was 'religious'. Not a single holiday showed up at church. Christmas came closest to getting its nose in the door. Once in a while in December, if the song leader was very very daring, we just MIGHT sing Hark the Herald Angels Sing, or Joy to the World (accompanied, generally, by the obligatory sermon mention of how we celebrate DEATH every week, and we don't really know exactly when he was BORN yada yada yada). There were certainly no special services right AT Christmas day, and if that fell on a Sunday, church services didn't change significantly and OF COURSE you turned up both Sunday morning and Sunday night as usual.

Agricola, preach it! Lol. Sunday Christmas was just an ordinary Sunday because we couldn't be like the denominations. In my church, we sang no Christmas songs. One church my family was members at, didn't acknowledge Christmas at all. In fact, celebrating it sent you to hell. I remember a preacher rearranging the letters of Santa to spell Satan on the chalkboard during morning service. Then people chuckled and said "amen brother". It was always stated that we observe Jesus all the time as a way to downplay holidays.

[Lev]

I knew a COC family that claimed to not celebrate Christmas. They did every single thing that other families did, just in denial. They decorated the house with holly and mistletoe: "just winter decorations." They exchanged gifts and cards: "just a nice time to show loved ones that you appreciate them." They took vacations: "just a good time of year to travel."

But if you asked them they would tell you with a straight face: "we don't celebrate Christmas."

Lev

[MissingLink]

IN the coc - we celebrated all the holidays, but absolutely NONE of them was 'religious'. Not a single holiday showed up at church. Christmas came closest to getting its nose in the door. Once in a while in December, if the song leader was very very daring, we just MIGHT sing Hark the Herald Angels Sing, or Joy to the World (accompanied, generally, by the obligatory sermon mention of how we celebrate DEATH every week, and we don't really know exactly when he was BORN yada yada yada). There were certainly no special services right AT Christmas day, and if that fell on a Sunday, church services didn't change significantly and OF COURSE you turned up both Sunday morning and Sunday night as usual.

Once, before my mom lessened her death grip on hardline coC nonsense, she raised a huge stink at a church she attended because, one December, whoever controlled the letter board outside put something on it referencing Jesus's birth. She went to the elders of that particular congregation and raised hell, and they basically said the sermon was meant to bring "the uneducated" in, expecting the usual Nativity stuff. She threw a big fit about the communion trays having crosses for lid-handles, also. If I remember correctly, she left after a few weeks.

I remember HATING the holiday season, because it meant I couldn't participate in so-called 'normal' Christmas stuff. When I was little, I remember getting a furious lecture from my parents after bringing home a color sheet that included a Christmas tree with a star at the top. I joined the school's concert band in fifth grade, and I had to sit through the Christmas concert and make a big show of NOT playing anything with religious affiliation, since a) INSTRUMENTS WITH WORSHIP SONGS OMG NO; and b) I was told I'd be "bringing reproach on the church" by even appearing to participate in songs that tied Jesus with Christmas. The only reason I was allowed to go at all, I think, is because concert attendance was required to pass the class.

Funny thing is, I'm in charge of my office's annual Kindergarten-6th grade Christmas coloring contest now, and I have to be careful not to favor the non-religious entries. Sometimes I can't help it - when a third-grader sends you a coloring of a snowman devouring people, you have to let it win.

[MusicMan826]

Christmas in the CoC is the worst! I remember every year, especially when Christmas fell on Sunday, it was just another service. The only mention of Christmas or Jesus at all was during the Lord's Supper when someone would get up there and say, "The WORLD is celebrating the birth of Jesus today, but WE do what the bible COMMANDS by celebrating his DEATH which we do every Lord's Day!" And of course the preacher would kick off the sermon by bashing all the denominations who are celebrating the birth of Jesus and proceed to preach on something that has nothing to do with Jesus and so his best to avoid even talking about Jesus at all.

One year I recall the preacher being out of town on a Sunday night in December. Another man in the congregation preached and he got with the song leader earlier that week. The song leader led all "Christmas songs" in the song book and the preacher led a sermon on the birth of Christ. Not one time did he mention the word Christmas, but some people in the congregation still threw a major fit. "Are you saying we can't even talk about the birth of Jesus at all during the month of december?" he asked. But some people really did feel that way. Guess that's why in my experience in the CoC you almost never heard a word about Jesus at all during the month of December.

[bnot]

Christmas in the CoC is the worst! I remember every year, especially when Christmas fell on Sunday, it was just another service. The only mention of Christmas or Jesus at all was during the Lord's Supper when someone would get up there and say, "The WORLD is celebrating the birth of Jesus today, but WE do what the bible COMMANDS by celebrating his DEATH which we do every Lord's Day!" And of course the preacher would kick off the sermon by bashing all the denominations who are celebrating the birth of Jesus and proceed to preach on something that has nothing to do with Jesus and so his best to avoid even talking about Jesus at all.

This is so true. The denominations take a beating during the week of Christmas from coc pulpits.

[Lev]

One year I recall the preacher being out of town on a Sunday night in December. Another man in the congregation preached and he got with the song leader earlier that week. The song leader led all "Christmas songs" in the song book and the preacher led a sermon on the birth of Christ. Not one time did he mention the word Christmas, but some people in the congregation still threw a major fit. "Are you saying we can't even talk about the birth of Jesus at all during the month of december?" he asked. But some people really did feel that way. Guess that's why in my experience in the CoC you almost never heard a word about Jesus at all during the month of December.

That's impressive. Good for that guy!

Lev

[KLP]

What I have noticed in some "institutional" CofC is that they have a "Trunk of Treat" in the parking lot on the Sunday or Wed before Halloween. Of course no demonic customs and decorations should be used and they tend to have the fellowship hall open. What cracks me up is when they announce that no one should wear a costume to "services" ...LOL...everyone is in costume all the time.