This is part of the series The Gifts Of The Holidays: Celebrating Thanksgiving And Christmas. Read more from the series!

My family has a tradition that I’d never heard of when I was a kid: Christmas Eve services.

I first heard of this idea when I started my first youth ministry in El Dorado Springs, Missouri. We had a candle light and communion service on Christmas Eve. It was a completely new idea for me.

Here’s the basic concept: On Christmas Eve, churches gather for a special service, incorporating Christmas carols, candles, and communion. It’s brief, but very special.

As a kid, I’d never even heard of this. My family always spent Christmas Eve with my dad’s side of the family. If my church had one of these services, I never knew about it.

But now, it has become a very special part of our celebration.

I love the time it gives for my family to remember specifically the sacrifice that the baby in the manger came to be. It brings it home for us.

As a minister, my role has been pretty big in these services over the years, making it harder to be with my family during this service. But that all changed when we moved to Mountain View. Our candle light service here is on the Wednesday before Christmas. That means that Christmas Eve is free for me to spend with my family. And so we choose to go to another church in the area, where some close friends of mine are on staff. We get to celebrate Christ as a family; no part to play, no responsibilities to fulfill.

I love it.

It has heightened the meaning of this worship opportunity for us in ways beyond description.

And this year, my mom lives close enough to join us for this special opportunity.

Christmas Eve isn’t simply a time for wrapping the gifts for the kids; not for us. It’s a time for remembering what Christ came to do. It’s a time for remembering who he is.

Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions? Does church play a part in those traditions? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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