Christmas Service Schedule
December 24
9:30am Royal Hours (First, Third, Sixth, and Ninth Hour)
7:00pm Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil
How do we prepare to Divine Liturgy? Very light breakfast, no lunch or a very light lunch if your health requires it, no supper until after Divine Liturgy.
Pray throughout the day. Try as much as possible to put aside the rush and demands of the day, or at least try to practice detachment as you do them. Keep the day holy so the next day (Christmas) can be holy too.
How Do We Read the Christmas Icon?
The Nativity Icon above chronicles the Christmas Story. The figures in the icon starting clockwise are:
- The Angels who proclaimed the birth of Christ
- The Shepherds
- The Midwives who helped in the birth of Jesus
- Joseph (puzzling over what the Birth of Jesus meant and how it came to pass)
- The Old Man who represents the temptation of Joseph towards doubt (the devil coming to tempt Joseph)
- The Kings of the East
- The Newborn Jesus
- Mary the Theotokos – The Birthgiver of God
Icons do not function as snapshots of an event. Rather, they chronicle a story, a narrative of events. That’s why the Christmas Icon recounts events that happened at different periods of time.