According to the Daily Telegraph, many British churches will be starting midnight mass on the early side to avoid problems with tipsy worshippers.Journalist Jonathan Petre reveals that some priests are starting "midnight" mass as early as 6pm out of fear for their parishioners' safety.
"In Newcastle Upon Tyne, the Cathedral of St Mary in the heart of the city’s entertainment district, is holding its Christmas Eve Mass at 8pm because of fears of drunken louts disrupting the service," writes Petre.
Leave it to the Brits to discover the true meaning of Christmas!
3 comments:
Well... what can I say, it's a bit rough up north ;-)
Seriously though, if your church is in the middle of an "entertainment" district (i.e. surrounded by drinking establishments), you'd be sensible to take precautions. If the service and pub closing time coincide, you could end up with rowdy groups of drunken men and women who think singing Christmas carols sounds like a fun thing to do after a long session in the pub.
I've not heard of any other such reports though, and I'm pleased to confirm that our local church are holding the Midnight Holy Communion at 11:00 PM as usual :-)
Il n'y a plus de traditions!
Having read the previous comment, it does seem sensible though...
The Brits do like their drinks.
Haha. I can see the rationale behind a 6pm midnight mass, I suppose. But it is still funny. As I read this, I was thinking about all the drunk parishoners attending mass... having been at home celebrating and then heading off to mass! :)
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