Traditions: Midnight Mass
Selon les traditions et les pays, la Messe de minuit n’occupe pas la même place dans l’ordonnancement de la fête de Christmas. Elle peut se tenir en début de soirée, plus tard dans la nuit et même le 25 au matin.
Il y a plus d’un siècle, on célébrait trois Messes de minuit : une première, à minuit, pour rendre hommage à la naissance de Jesus; la seconde, pour souligner son incarnation humaine; la troisième, pour souligner son entrée dans le cœur des hommes.
From one culture to another, the most important thing is to attend this ritual as a family. The church is then filled with superb singing, smells of incense, and glows with a thousand candles.
In Provence and Italy
Midnight Mass begins with the procession of shepherds. A ribboned lamb is carried in a small, illuminated and decorated cart pulled by a ram. This celebration is intended to recall the gesture of the shepherds who presented their youngest lambs to the Child Jesus in the manger.
In other regions of France, the story of the Nativity is recounted by singing and then staging certain scenes from the Gospels. This is also the origin of "living nativity scenes."
The legends
For generations, people have told fireside tales that misfortune awaits those who travel (or worse...) and fail to attend mass on Christmas Eve. Families have reportedly gotten lost on the dark night of December 24th, despite their coachman knowing the route by heart. Passengers have reportedly been swallowed up in the swamps, and their ghosts are said to return to haunt us every Christmas Eve.
And that's not all...It is said that strange incidents can occur during Midnight Mass. For example, animals that begin to speak like humans, bees that suddenly become agitated in the middle of winter, fruit trees that are covered with flowers above the snow but disappear at the stroke of midnight.
As for those who attend the Mass, it is better for them to remain seated until the end, because if they leave during the consecration, they will see the procession of the dead crossing the town or village.
