Tuesday, December 25, 2007
X'mas Eve Eye Opener
It's Christmas Eve, the day didn't start off extremely well. In the evening, a call from my neighbour-cum-coursemate, inviting me to some event at 9pm in a church nearby. Well, thinking that I've been staying in for the past couple of days, it was a good idea.
Like Malaysians, we started to leave our houses only at 9pm, when we should have arrived by then :P It was raining outside, not a very good start. When we arrived, there were quite a number of people having titbits, and drinking in a common room beside the church. I was handed a glass of the drink, I was told it was made of hibiscus, with some ginger in it, they call it 'mold wine' (not too sure what the exact name is, but it sounded something like that). The wine wasn't bad at all. People were drinking, chatting and occasionally eating. The people there seemed very friendly. The room was warm. After that, there were some activities regarding the Bible. It was actually a Christian gathering!
*Note: The next part would make me seem shallow, but it was really my first time and provided me with a new experience. To Christians, I'm sorry if there's anything wrong in the next part, my apologies.
Around 10.30pm, everyone entered the church, which was just a door away from the room. It was a church service. Well, seeing that everyone joined in, including an unexpected friend which isn't a Christian either, I tagged along too. It was dim in there, besides the couple of lights from the backstage, the whole place was only lit by candles. The design inside was like what you would see in the movies, awesome! Not knowing what to do, I sat beside my friend and consulted him(shows that I really didn't know anything). Soon, the priest (if that's what they call him) began talking. In a moment, everyone stood up and sang along with the play of the organ (situated behind the stage, which was why the lights were turned on there). Their songs were slow, but very sweet to the ears. Then, a couple of people recited a small part of the Bible.
Then it was the turn of a middle-aged man, he talked about a real story, a pilot who managed to survive a helicopter crash, while the co-pilot died, in the Middle East. As the pilot was about to faint, he saw a cross in the sky. When the pilot woke up, his commander gave him a photo that was taken at the site, and there it was, a cross in the sky! The pilot then decided to be a Christian. An interesting story. Then there was a prayer by a lady.
Soon after that, another song followed, and a small donation was conducted. There was also a moment when people shake hands, hug and greet each other "Peace be with you" (or something like that) after the song. Just before the final song 'Joy to the World', there was this ceremony they call 'Communion'.
In this, people go to the priest and they would be given a small piece of a bread and also a sip of wine. I'm not too sure about the exact story, but it sounded something like: Jesus took a bread and tore it into half, saying that it was his body and he will share it with everyone, and the wine is his blood, and would share it too. So, that is why they share the bread and wine.
Finally, the song "Joy to the World", and it was slightly past 12pm when the whole service came to an end. It was really an interesting experience, was my first time in a church service.
Guess my previous post was not exactly right. It was an great experience, and a good way to spend the Christmas Eve night. Glad I went for it and didn't reject my friend's offer. WOW! That's an experience worth remembering I would say! MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!
It was still raining when I walked back home.
-ck-
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