'Blue Christmas' Service Offers Time for Quiet Reflection

For some, the holidays may not be the most wonderful time of the year.

In fact, they might be the worst time, depending on the circumstances. For that reason,  in Regent Square hosts its annual “Blue Christmas” service at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, continuing a tradition that allows people to reflect in a more quiet way on what the holiday season means to them.

“It’s also for people who have experienced some sort of loss of a loved one, a job, health or whatever it might be and they don’t really feel very ‘joy to the world,’” said the Rev. Beckie Hickok. “It’s an opportunity to acknowledge the season.”

The service also is generally held on the “longest night of the year,” in the technical sense, marking the solstice. The service is for anyone who simply needs a moment to calm down and quietly think about life.

“We also get people who come because they welcome the opportunity for some quiet time in the midst of the Christmas rush,” Hickok said. “One of the things we talk about in the church is the difference between joy and happiness. Happiness is a very secular word, it’s like ‘I got a great price on these jeans,’ but joy is a more sacred, holy word in the sense that we are able to experience joy in the midst of dark times, because of the coming of Christ.”

The Blue Christmas service also serves as an alternative to the more festive Christmas Eve services at various places in the region.

“Sometimes, you just don’t feel like being around all those happy people singing those happy songs,” Hickok said.

All of the music in the service is instrumental, and also will include handbells. There is no congregational singing during the Blue Christmas service. Hickok will say a few words, and those attending also will have a chance to light a candle, offering up whatever loss they have experienced this year to God.