Christmas Blessings

Among our many blessings this Christmas (yes, in addition to our family and friends, ever faithful and tolerant Spike is definitely one of them!), we were lucky enough to attend a Christmas service at the Washington National Cathedral.  

We decided to give it a go, thinking that the services would probably be packed and we wouldn't get in, but much to our amazement, we did!

We chose an afternoon service on Christmas Day, "The Blessing of the Crib: A Service of the Christmas Lessons and Carols," which was following by a Christmas Day Organ Recital given by the Washington National Cathedral organist.  We arrived early enough to get seats right in the middle of the nave, at the transept, which gave us an unobstructed view and a guarantee of "surround sound" for the later organ recital.

The Cathedral was simply but beautifully decorated for the holidays.

Decorated stoup for holy water

Wreaths adorned the pillars

Gramma J. had arrived earlier that week to spend the Christmas holiday with us, and she had never seen the Cathedral before, so she was able to walk around and tour the church beforehand, even making it down to the crypts to see the display of Creches (Nativity Scenes) from many of the states as well as countries from all over the world.  

Holy Spirit Chapel

One of our favorite stained glass panels

Looking at the back of the church

View looking toward the altar

Closer view of stained glass in the apse

One of the many small chapels down in the crypt

Joseph of Arimathea chapel in the crypt

The organ recital was amazing!  I think the organist used used every single one of those 10,600+ pipes.  It was thunderous at times but quite delicate at others.  The selections ranged from familiar ones like Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite and the Christmas Oratorio by Bach to other lesser known works.  We emerged from the Cathedral feeling extremely festive and satisfied.

Christmas selfie of the churchgoers

We drove home along Embassy Row and enjoyed seeing varied lights and seasonal decorations along the way.

We hope that your Christmas blessings were many and your troubles few . . . wishing you much love and happiness in the new year!