Families Flock To Christmas Eve Mass At Baltimore Churches
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Many Maryland families are celebrating Christmas eve at church.
Weijia Jiang shows us how Marylanders are marking the holiday.
As night fell on Baltimore, a bright nativity scene welcomed hundreds to the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen for Christmas eve mass.
"It has a lot of decorations and candles," Maisie Fischel of Baltimore said.
Inside, pews were lined with several generations of Catholics for a service led by the Archbishop of Baltimore, Edwin O'Brien.
"It was wonderful, the Bishop was wonderful," Ellie Hearn of Baltimore said. "He speaks so clearly and speaks lovely."
He spoke about remembering the meaning of December 25.
"It's a very holy day, when Christ was born. So it's very important to keep in mind," Zach Fischel of Baltimore said.
"People get mixed up what Christmas really is," Sebastion Delgado said. "They're first priority is get a gift, gifts for family. Strictly getting together with family but it's also more than that-- getting together as part of your religion."
Downtown, the Basilica was filled too, offering a festive respite from the hustle the holiday can bring.
"It's just a beautiful basilica to be in," Agatha Rodriguez said. "We really enjoy coming and it's peaceful and just wonderful."
And meaningful for many local families.
"I think tradition is the biggest reason to come here, and to see a building that's been standing here so long," Ray Qualls said. "It's such a part of the city. We all feel like we're part of the city, our family is together and the tradition, it's good."
"We came to go back to where we started off, why Christmas is really important. It's about family, about togetherness, enjoying the really simple things in life," Anna Dechekequalls said.
If you cannot make it out for midnight mass, there will be Christmas day services at churches across Maryland.
