It’s All About Christmas Eve

It’s All About Christmas Eve

September 17, 2015 by

It can feel like you have a lot of options when you’re planning your Christmas services. Unlike Easter, Christmas bounces around a lot and that gives us some flexibility with the dates of our services. You may think you have options, but you don’t. It’s all about Christmas Eve.

So says church communication pro Maurilio Amorim:

“It’s built in to the psyche of our culture to be in church on Christmas eve, to be with family, to be with friends, to have an emotional connection to that day. Even if I’m not a church attender.”

Watch the video:

Other Options Don’t Pan Out

There are other choices for Christmas services. You could put your effort into the weekend before Christmas. And sometimes that might work. But our culture is so focused on gearing up for Christmas that you might end up feeling like you’re celebrating too early.

You could try to be all things for all people. Do a few weeks before Christmas, do the weekend before Christmas, do Christmas Eve. That’s a good way to burn your people out.

When it comes down to it, Christmas builds up to Christmas Eve. That’s the height of our festive frenzy. Christmas Day is big as well, but mostly for people to sit around the house in their PJs, opening presents and being with family. Christmas Eve is when people are still willing to go out, still want to get that final, climactic dose of Christmas.

That’s where your church should be. Focus your Christmas efforts on Christmas Eve.

More:

God Rest Ye Stressed Communicators: Planning Christmas for Your Church

Post By:

Kevin D. Hendricks


When Kevin isn't busy as the editor of Church Marketing Sucks, he runs his own writing and editing company, Monkey Outta Nowhere. Kevin has been blogging since 1998, runs the hyperlocal site West St. Paul Reader, and has published several books, including 137 Books in One Year: How to Fall in Love With Reading, The Stephanies and all of our church communication books.
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One Response to “It’s All About Christmas Eve”

  • Rodger Patience
    September 18, 2015

    Except for the majority of the world’s Christians, for whom Christmas Eve is the *beginning* of the season, which lasts for twelve days beginning on December 25 for Western Christians or January 7 for many Orthodox Christians.

    Why not observe a counter-cultural practice of Advent, quiet in the face of all the hype and consumerism. Why not bring that quiet season to a lovely close on Christmas Eve?

    Why not invest energy in celebrating Christ’s Incarnation for a couple of Sundays after Christmas Eve, then remind yourselves of your own baptism on the Feast of the Epiphany?

    Why not market the *church* instead of playing to the “psyche of our culture”?


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