Clarification on sunday mass and vigil for days of obligation

[babochka]

All this said – it was historically considered a laudable custom to attend ALL the Christmas Masses.

The Von Trapps, for example, used to enjoy going to Midnight Mass, early morning Mass, 9 AM Mass, and noon Mass on Christmas. (IIRC, they only went to Communion at midnight Mass, so they were getting plenty of food during the day to fortify them for all those Masses!)

But yeah, that custom’s not for everyone. Very joyful, no doubt, but strenuous!

I was just talking to my (European) pastor about that. He said that in his home, nobody just goes to church on Christmas Eve and then stays home on Christmas Day. Most people will attend Vespers and Divine Liturgy in the early evening, go home for their Holy Supper, most will come back to the church for Great Compline late at night, and then everybody comes back for Christmas morning. These are Byzantine services, of course, but the idea is the same.