O Holy Night: For Catholics, has Christmas Eve replaced Christmas Day as the go-to Mass?

Rev. Gavin Badway, the rector at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola in Palm Beach Gardens, remembers Christmas Day Mass growing up in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

“When I was kid and I think back, and I’m 57 now, it was packed on Christmas Day,” Badway said.

But those days are gone as a sea change — long seen in other denominations — is being felt among Catholics as families deemphasize Christmas Day Mass for the Vigil on Christmas Eve.

At a time when church attendance is down, it is about keeping seats in the pews and evolving to meet parishioners' needs. That means more choices for churchgoers. Even the once-popular Midnight Mass is going by the wayside.

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Badway recalled when he was ordained 24 years ago there was still large attendance for Christmas Day Mass. He has noticed the demographics change among those who do attend Christmas Day Mass: fewer families, more seniors.

“Christmas Eve Masses are packed, some of them are standing room only,” he said. “But Christmas Day Masses — like the early Masses at 7 a.m. or 8:30 a.m. — it is usually like a third to a half full.”

Yet, ask any nun: old habits are hard to break. Indeed, the Cathedral has scheduled three English Masses and one Spanish Mass for Christmas day. It’s a marathon for the priesthood starting Saturday with the first Mass and then until Monday afternoon.

“You’re exhausted. By the time you visit your family, you just crash on the sofa,” Badway said.

Ah, if he were only Protestant.

Many Protestant and evangelical churches won’t even have Christmas Day services if it falls on the weekday. This year Christmas — in case you are still marking off those shopping days — falls on Monday.

“Traditionally, that is a day people spend time with their families,” said Dr. Jimmy Scroggins, the lead pastor at Family Church in South Florida, a Southern Baptist congregation.

Rev. Tom Lacey, the pastor of the LGBTQ-friendly Church of Hill in Boca Raton, said Protestants have long eschewed Christmas Day services. He says the Catholics — with a history of feasts and nearly around-the-clock Masses around the holiday — are slowly moving away from that tradition.

“Christmas morning services? We never went to that,” Lacey said. “Who would interrupt — the gifts around the Christmas tree, the whole family part of it at home — with a service? We did it the night before.”

With new generations, the traditions of Christmas are changing

For Christians, Christmas is considered the second most important holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, supplanted only by Easter. Much of its traditions have roots elsewhere, though.

Pagans celebrating the winter solstice were the first to bring cut fir trees into the homes at yuletide. The modern Santa Claus owes a lot to 1930s advertising campaigns.

Sarah Rabideau of Wellington is a member of Family Church. She grew up in a strict evangelical household that saw those traditions — and  Christmas itself  — as antithetical to Christian teachings.

Now Rabideau is married to a man whom she describes as “Mr. Christmas” and wants to spend time making new Christmas traditions with him and her two children. The Rabideaus will actually go to Christmas services on Saturday, the 23rd.

“Our church, let’s just say, is considered very churchy — and we don’t do services on Christmas Day,” she said.  “I feel like a lot of churches are doing this. They don't want people to be in church on Christmas morning.”

Vince Denard, who is an usher at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Boynton Beach, noticed the shift away from Christmas Day services among Catholics in recent years, as well.

“People don't want to get up on Christmas Day and have to come to church. They are busy with presents, family, friends and cooking,” he said. "I think it's a generational thing, especially people with kids now."

Lillian Blanchard, 70, a parishioner at St. Thomas More is still of the old generation that prefers Christmas Day and plans to attend Mass on the holy day itself. "It’s just tradition — you get up, go to Mass and open gifts,” she said.

The lights are starting to fade on Midnight Masses

U.S. church attendance never really recovered from the pandemic, falling below 50% for the first time in 2021, according to Gallup. Churches of all denominations are pivoting, whether it be to more convenient times for services or making it more appealing for Millenials and Gen Z through messaging and music.

"You know, at this church you see a lot of white hair... Younger people in general aren't coming to church as much. It hurts my heart tremendously to see that," Denard said.

Blanchard said some days need to remain sacred and Christmas is one of them. “We need to make time for Jesus on the holiest of days,” she said.

Carlos Jimenez, a member of St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Boynton Beach, said as a father of three children, he plans on going to Christmas Eve Mass at either 4 or 5:30 p.m.

“Growing up, I would go to Mass on Christmas Day, but once you have kids, everything changes,” he said. “Now, the earlier the better. Kids are opening gifts, playing with them, and we have friends and family gatherings. It's just a lot.”

There is another change for Catholics: midnight Mass is now in name only at many churches.

Badway said Catholic churches in Palm Beach County took a poll three years ago and found that 98% of parishioners wanted the Christmas Vigil Mass moved to 10 p.m. “I was shocked,” he said.

Not all Catholic Churches are getting rid of the midnight Mass, though. There is still one at St. Thomas More which is so popular that parish officials recommend getting there at 10:30 p.m. just to get a seat.

Even the Vatican has made changes. The centuries-old midnight Mass was moved to 7:30 p.m. (Rome time) in 2009.

And for those who might feel guilty about not going to church on Christmas Day, there is a chance for a double-header on Sunday — regular morning services and then the Vigil service at night.

Scroggins said that Christmas Eve Vigil service is where the magic occurs as scripture, music, tradition and community come together as one.

“It’s a big deal,” Scoggins said. “Our goal is for them to have this transcendent experience. Christmas is about the first coming of Jesus Christ into this world.”

James Coleman is a journalist at the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at jcoleman@pbpost.com and follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @JimColeman11. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Christmas Day Mass: Is Christmas Eve the new day of worship?