Christmas Trees in church

[Diaconia]

And you should.

It carries a prejudicial tone to others, and is usually associated with an attitude of “holier than thou.”

I know you did not mean that, and I know you do not carry such an attitude; now you DO know, so if you were to continue that would be wrong.

As an aside to everyone reading this particular thread consider how the Divine Liturgy ends, and the beautiful way Eastern Christians think of their parishes (emphasis mine):

May Christ, our true God, risen from the dead, through the prayers of His most Holy Mother, and of the holy, glorious and illustrious apostles, and our holy father John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, and of Saint (N . . . whose church it is) and of Saint (N . . . whose feast it is) and of all the saints, have mercy on us and save us, for He is gracious and loves mankind.

Our parish church belongs to St. Anne or St. John the Baptist, etc.

In response to your initial query: Many parishes decorate for Christmas (including trees) ahead of time because there just might not be much time or help if you wait until after the 4th Sunday of Advent. This year, for example there is about one day to get that accomplished.

I pray your Advent remains calm, quiet and prayerful as we await the coming of the Logos, the Word of God who dwelt among us,
Deacon Christopher

 

[resolute]

And people are incorrect to have an issue with the term Novus Ordo . This has been stated again and again by the moderators of the page…the policy of Catholic Answers is that the various terms are equivalent

Thank you Don, that is very good to know. Prior to this thread, I too had seen them used interchangeably without incident.

 

[resolute]

In response to your initial query: Many parishes decorate for Christmas (including trees) ahead of time because there just might not be much time or help if you wait until after the 4th Sunday of Advent. This year, for example there is about one day to get that accomplished.

Thanks Deacon. I was asking because a Protestant was telling me that Christmas trees were prohibited in the Bible because of Jeremiah 10:2-4. My response was that the church I attend has Christmas trees so they must be okay. I came on here to find out if other Catholic churches had Christmas trees too, even EF parishes. I wasn’t expecting all the semantics and drama over how I phrased my question. At least I was able to gather that most parishes do have Christmas trees, not just my local parish, so that’s good.

 

[Diaconia]

Once in a great while you will find a priest who forbids any Christmas decorations until after Advent concludes, but they are rare.

Your Protestant friend would find many more offensive things to him in our churches than a Christmas tree. They think statues and icons are idols, etc. Most don’t like crucifixes (only plain crosses). Bibles with extra books, etc.

When I visit a Protestant church I am often saddened by how plain and sterile they are.