The longest night, the shortest day, or winter solstice all refer to the same day – the start of winter. We had a longest night service at 5:00 PM. It was also refered to the Blue Christmas. The focus on the service was to acknowledge that not everyone is joyful at Christmas. People are grieving, hurting, sick, or other ailments that weigh heaviliy on our hearts..

 

The service was very moving for me. I had plenty of tears during the service. We sang various songs together and had “The Trio” singing a song as well. Pastor Ronnie shared a message to acknowledge that not everyone is the joyous, happy person. Some of us are the “Bah Humbug” people or the “Grinch” or suffering from depression or other things that keep us down. It’s ok to grieve and be blue. There was an opportunity to light a candle to acknowledge your grief along with praying at the altar.

 

I was grieving the loss of my sibling from 19 years ago. I was grieving the loss of celebrating Christmas at my childhood home where I celebrated Christmas with my family every year of my life because my parents moved this year to a condo which is less responsbility for them. It was a much needed move though still it is change and different. I am stressing over the changes in my personal life as my spouse embarks on the retirement journey while I continue working. This has been quite a year of changes. I am so glad that I went to the service to acknowledge that I am not in that joyous spirit. It helped to cry and acknowledge it’s ok. I am still kinda blue yet trying to focus on others to find joy.