Christmas Concerts during Advent

[The_Reginator]

Music is part of the preparation for the coming of Christ, not just part of the celebration.

If you do not participate in concerts before Christmas, then I assume that you don’t play ANY Christmas music until Christmas Day. I consider this kind of sad, since the music “gets us ready” for His coming. Music helps us to prepare our hearts and souls to welcome Jesus.

Since childhood, I have always looked forward to Thanksgiving weekend as the time to get out the Christmas records and start playing Christmas music on the piano. It’s the best way for me to start preparing for Christmas, and that’s what Advent is supposed to be–a time of preparation and anticipation.

We pray during Advent, right? (I hope!) Well, sacred/Christmas music is prayer. It definitely brings our thoughts to Jesus and the Nativity.

On Thanksgiving weekend, the Choral Union in our city presented the 65th Annual Concert of Handel’s Messiah. For 65 years, this has been done the weekend of the first Sunday of Advent as a way of helping people begin to PREPARE for the Coming of the Lord. Do you consider that improper? Good heavens, I hope not! We had well over a thousand people come to our concert, and we will be featured next year in the American Profile Magazine. (One elderly woman has never missed singing in a concert for all 65 years, and she’s also on our executive board.)

So, would you sing “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” during Lent or Holy Week?

Christmas music is for Christmas. We endanger truly preparing ourselves by effectively getting rid of Advent as a penitential season.
See The Future of Advent.
I really find that hearing Christmas music and seeing Christmas lights and decorations during Advent distracts me from what I am trying to do spiritually.
Christmas is a lot more special when you leave Christmas until the 25th of December, and then celebrate it until Epiphany. And, of course, we can continue to recall that we are in the Church’s Christmas season all the way until Michaelmass.

There have been many years when I’ve become tired of Christmas music by Christmas Day when I’ve had too much exposer.

 

[The_Reginator]

So, would you sing “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” during Lent or Holy Week?

Christmas music is for Christmas. We endanger truly preparing ourselves by effectively getting rid of Advent as a penitential season.
See The Future of Advent.
I really find that hearing Christmas music and seeing Christmas lights and decorations during Advent distracts me from what I am trying to do spiritually.
Christmas is a lot more special when you leave Christmas until the 25th of December, and then celebrate it until Epiphany. And, of course, we can continue to recall that we are in the Church’s Christmas season all the way until**-] Michaelmass/-].** Oops! That should say Candlemass.

There have been many years when I’ve become tired of Christmas music by Christmas Day when I’ve had too much exposer.

 

[Cat]

So, would you sing “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” during Lent or Holy Week?

Oh, yes! Yes, yes, and again yes! One of my favorite hymns, along with “Low in the Grave He Lay.” I taught these two hymns to my daughters when they were only 3 years old, and we would sing them, all the verses, in the car.

We need to sing this song more often and we need to remember and rejoice in Easter all year long. It’s the greatest truth in Christian teaching. Only we Christians worship a RISEN Christ. All other world religions serve men who have passed on.

Perhaps if Catholics sang Jesus Christ is Risen Today" more often than during the Easter season, they would actually start realizing that the Eucharist is Jesus Christ, Truly Present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. But when the celebration of the Resurrection is limited to a short season (8 weeks), it’s easy for Catholics to forget that our Lord is RISEN.

And yes, I pray the Glorious Mysteries, including the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, all year around, as well as the Joyful Mysteries, including the Nativity. This doesn’t “distract me from what I am trying to do spiritually.”

There is a big difference between the liturgical celebration of a feast and the common remembrance of these feasts by the rank and file Christians.

Christmas isn’t just a liturgical season. It’s a year-round attitude of the heart, an attitude that happily welcomes tiny babies for the sake of the One Tiny Baby, and always remembers that the 2nd Person of the Holy Trinity willingly became flesh for our sake.

Christmas music is for Christmas. We endanger truly preparing ourselves by effectively getting rid of Advent as a penitential season.

Nonsense. I realize that my word is blunt and not the kindest word to use, but your reasoning is utter nonsense with no basis other than your own rather bleak and gloomy opinion. Endanger indeed. That, IMO, is a comment worthy of a legalistic Scrooge. If this is the course that “distracts you from what you are trying to do spiritually,” perhaps you need to re-consider what you are trying to do spiritually.

I agree that if we insert Christmas music into the Advent liturgies, we are endangering the integrity of the liturgy and this in turn endangers our souls.

But for Christians to play and sing Christmas music at times other than Christmas outside of the Mass is not endangering anything or anyone. Quite the opposite. As Dickens wrote, we need to keep Christmas in our hearts all year long. Playing the Christmas songs and getting ready for Christmas helps us to “clean out our houses” and prepare our hearts to receive Christ. Penitence is certainly part of all the preparations–the powerful words in the Christmas hymns and the beautiful decorations (especially the lights, which remind us of the Light of the World) can be and are used by the Holy Spirit to bring us to a place where we are able to feel regret and contrition for our sins, and get ourselves to Confession to get our lives purified for the Coming of the Lord. At least, that’s the way I think MOST Christians handle those “dangerous” hymns and decorations and other feast day preparations. It’s a shame that you are different.

I really find that hearing Christmas music and seeing Christmas lights and decorations during Advent distracts me from what I am trying to do spiritually.
Christmas is a lot more special when you leave Christmas until the 25th of December, and then celebrate it until Epiphany.

I don’t, and I’m guessing that 99% of all others don’t either. It’s a shame that the beautiful music and lights and other decorations bother you so much.

Again, yes, in the Mass, it’s not proper. But outside of Mass, we need to anticipate the Lord’s Coming constantly, not just during a short 12-day feast.

And, of course, we can continue to recall that we are in the Church’s Christmas season all the way until Michaelmass.

There have been many years when I’ve become tired of Christmas music by Christmas Day when I’ve had too much exposer.

Again, it’s a shame. I would work on that if I were you. I really would.

Many of us feel just the opposite–there can never be too many Christmas carols, lights, sounds, smells, etc. Christmas is a glimpse of heaven, and heaven is not just a 12-day deal, it’s forever.

 

[Advent_Puzzle]

The music of the season is so beautiful! But we don’t sing “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” during Lent to prepare for Easter so I don’t think we should sing the Christmas songs during Advent, either.

True, we don’t sing any Easter music during Lent. In fact, any celebrations during Lent are usually forbidden any way, at least in my Polish customs. My wife tells me of her childhood with her family where she wasn’t allowed to play the radio, go to parties, or do anything fun during Lent.

However, as much as I understand and appreciate your attempt to correlate Lent/Easter with Advent/Christmas, they’re not the same. Lent/Easter is somberness turned to joy, whereas Advent/Christmas is anticipatory joy turned to joy. Plus, I’d bet that if you approached your average person and asked them what type of song “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” is, they’d respond “Christmas”!

 

[SMHW]

I join in the chorus here, It’s about ‘Christmas Concerts during Advent’.

In the entire English speaking world the custom is that we have Christmas Music in concerts, say from about mid December to Christmas Eve/Day. Schools, Colleges, Music groups, Municipal councils, churches, all hold their Christmas concerts and pagents during this time. That’s how it goes in this country anyway. Again, I am not talking about liturgical events.

No-one I have heard of has held a Christmas music concert after Christmas Day/Boxing Day.

I’ve been singing in my parish choir for the last 20 years. We started out trying to hold
“Advent concerts” rather than “Christmas concerts”. While a few parishioners had positive things to say, the majority (and this included people who understood the difference between Advent and Christmas) just asked why we didn’t sing Christmas music. (My husband was one of them. He complained A LOT.) Eventually the pastors and choir directors caved. But that’s not to say that we don’t sing plenty of Advent themed songs.

We have long talked about holding a concert after Christmas Day. The problem we find is that everyone takes off and goes on vacation immediately after Christmas. This means the choir is short on both (well rehearsed) singers and audience.

I agree wholeheartedly that it would be wonderful to have Christmas Concerts during the actual Christmas season but it is a lot less practical than you might think. And practicality during the Advent/Christmas season is important.

 

[PatriceA]

I would go. I would fervently support anyone who believed in keeping Advent a holy season of anticipation, and didn’t shred the Christmas tree and burn the stockings on December 26th.

It isn’t liturgy, but liturgy governs the spirit of our lives. We don’t drink green beer on St. Valentine’s Day, and we don’t rejoice that “Christ is risen!” on All Souls Day (well, maybe we do, if it’s Sunday?)

[bibledrb]Ecclesiastes 3:1-11[/bibledrb]

If you are using your line of rational and applying it to other days of significance in the Catholic calendar, than you shouldn’t be drinking green beer on St. Patrick’s Day since it falls in Lent.

But this is a concert, not the liturgy. And I have been to concerts during Lent that included Handel’s Messiah which would also not fit into your rational either.

 

[The_Reginator]

Nonsense. I realize that my word is blunt and not the kindest word to use, but your reasoning is utter nonsense with no basis other than your own rather bleak and gloomy opinion. Endanger indeed. That, IMO, is a comment worthy of a legalistic Scrooge. If this is the course that “distracts you from what you are trying to do spiritually,” perhaps you need to re-consider what you are trying to do spiritually.

I agree that if we insert Christmas music into the Advent liturgies, we are endangering the integrity of the liturgy and this in turn endangers our souls.

But for Christians to play and sing Christmas music at times other than Christmas outside of the Mass is not endangering anything or anyone. Quite the opposite. As Dickens wrote, we need to keep Christmas in our hearts all year long. Playing the Christmas songs and getting ready for Christmas helps us to “clean out our houses” and prepare our hearts to receive Christ. Penitence is certainly part of all the preparations–the powerful words in the Christmas hymns and the beautiful decorations (especially the lights, which remind us of the Light of the World) can be and are used by the Holy Spirit to bring us to a place where we are able to feel regret and contrition for our sins, and get ourselves to Confession to get our lives purified for the Coming of the Lord. At least, that’s the way I think MOST Christians handle those “dangerous” hymns and decorations and other feast day preparations. It’s a shame that you are different.

I don’t, and I’m guessing that 99% of all others don’t either. It’s a shame that the beautiful music and lights and other decorations bother you so much.

Again, yes, in the Mass, it’s not proper. But outside of Mass, we need to anticipate the Lord’s Coming constantly, not just during a short 12-day feast.

And, of course, we can continue to recall that we are in the Church’s Christmas season all the way until Michaelmass.

Again, it’s a shame. I would work on that if I were you. I really would.

Many of us feel just the opposite–there can never be too many Christmas carols, lights, sounds, smells, etc. Christmas is a glimpse of heaven, and heaven is not just a 12-day deal, it’s forever.

Cat, why can’t we enjoy each season as it comes? Why must we rush Christmas? I am aware that most Christians celebrate Christmas early, but Catholic Christians too?
Why not experience the whole of Christian life through our decorations, songs, attitudes, etc?
I am no scrooge during Christmas. Your words are way off the mark, it is simply a matter of doing things in their appointed times.
Our Christian lives involve times of celebration as well as times of suffering. We must welcome both gladly. Before the joy of Christmas comes a time of penance. It is often called ‘little Lent’.

Christmas is not a glimpse of heaven, it is heaven descending to earth. At Christmas we remember the most important and amazing event in all of human history.
Christmas is indeed a season, not eternity. As with other Church seasons it brings us closer to eternity.

I am a music lover. But if I hear a favourite song or piece of music too often I no longer appreciate it – I can even get tired of it. The same goes for Christmas. Too much celebration too early makes the season less special. That’s fine for the secular world I suppose…

Why don’t you join the conversation here: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=516699
It was inspired by the article: The Future of Advent

 

[Aramis]

Cat, why can’t we enjoy each season as it comes? Why must we rush Christmas? I am aware that most Christians celebrate Christmas early, but Catholic Christians too?

Just remember: almost 1% of Catholics won’t be celebrating Christmas until January 7. Of course, those are Catholics of the Eastern Churches in Union with Rome.

As do almost all of the Orthodox.

 

[Cat]

I am a music lover. But if I hear a favourite song or piece of music too often I no longer appreciate it – I can even get tired of it. The same goes for Christmas. Too much celebration too early makes the season less special. That’s fine for the secular world I suppose…

I don’t. I can listen to songs a million times and never get tired of them. I play piano, and December is a very busy time for me, as lots of individuals and groups are hiring accompanists. I never get tired of playing Silent Night and all the other carols over and over and over again. These hymns and songs always seem fresh and new every time I hear or play them.

We just finished singing Handel’s Messiah for the 65th year in our city. Those of us who are on the Board of the organization that present this concert live with “Messiah” all year long as we make preparations for the annual concerts. We never, ever, get tired of this music, ever.

Same for Nutcracker. Our family has been involved in Nutcracker in some form (either on ice or the ballet) for around 25 years now. Never, ever get tired of it. Beautiful music, beautiful Christmas story.

We usually attend at least one presentation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. (Tonight we’re going to a premiere of an original work, a new version of this show that present a young Charles Dickens as he writes A Christmas Carol.). Never get tired of it.

We watch all the television specials and have since we were children. I love them all.

I have several Christmas albums, including an album of piano arrangments of various Christmas carols, that I play constantly, whenever I’m home, starting on Thanksgiving weekend until the Christmas season is over. I never get tired of it.

I think a lot of people are like me in the U.S. For most of us, it’s not materialism or secularism. We simply enjoy anticipating the Great Day–Christmas. And isn’t that what Advent is all about–anticipation and waiting and hoping?

Again, I’m not saying that we should do this in the Mass–I believe we need to stick with the proper liturgy and play/sing hymns appropriate for the Advent season.

But in our homes and in our privates lives–hymns and carols and lights and trees are NOT “grave evil” like artificial birth control. The Church can make suggestions, but I don’t believe that they have authority to tell Christians that putting up a tree or playing/singing Christmas carols is “sinful.” I have never heard anything like this in my diocese, and my bishop is pretty rock solid when it comes to adhering to Canon Law (he’s a Canon Lawyer).

I personally believe that at this time in Church history, it would be an extremely poor public relations move for the Church to come out strongly against Christmas carols, lights, parties, concerts, etc. during the Advent season. There are literally crowds of people streaming out the door of the Catholic Church into the “Church Lite” sects of Protestantism, or into the (supposed) freedom of No Church At All.

Those of you who prefer to keep Advent by living by the light of a Advent wreath candle and banning Christmas carols in your personal spaces can do so. No one is stopping you. Just say no when someone like me invites you to a Christmas concert or play during Advent.

Finally, I’ll say what I’ve said before–if there is a Catholic church offering some kind of Christmas concert during Advent, I think we should be charitable and make the assumption that the bishop in that diocese is in full support of the concert and has given permission for the concert to be held.

 

[heart4home]

We do many things during this season to help prepare our children for the “Coming of Christ”.

We light our Advent Candle every night and read scripture and a story book utilizing a Jesse tree to help our children understand the story of Christ, and why we need a Savior etc.

We have a little box on our table where the children can offer there prayers, sacrifices and service for others, that we then wrap and place under the tree for Jesus on Christmas morning.

There are so many ways we can prepare for Advent while still enjoying all the beautiful music and lights etc. of the season. They don’t need to be a distraction.

I remember one time attending a Steve Green Concert in the middle of July and I was taken by surprise when he started his concert belting out “Joy to the World”, but I soon realized how appropriate that song is for every day of the year

Is there some reason though that you couldn’t hold the concert between Christmas and New Years. I realize many travel so maybe this is a problem, but it would certainly seem like an alternative that could make most happy.