This morning, we slept in until 8:30, and I decided to meander down to the front desk at about 8:50 to check on Mass times (the church's website was rather useless in that regard). Our concierge was rather persistent, and called about six different numbers he managed to find through different avenues. He finally struck gold: someone responded!
Mass time for Christmas day Mass? Nine o'clock! Gah!
Run up the stairs. Knock on the kids' doors. Hurry up, hurry up!
We shuffled off in the correct direction, and found the place at 9:10. Luckily, Mass was just that moment beginning.
The church was absolutely festooned with red and white balloons, glitter streamers, and dangly foil ornaments (bells and snowflakes, if I recall correctly). The creche was similarly ornamented, although it had a traditional Italian-y presepe feel to it: the figurines had white skin and the baby Jesus was about twice the size of the full figures of the adults.
The Mass was all in Hindi, and it was interesting to see the sign of peace: while in the US, we shake hands (or hug family members) and in Italy we shake hands (while not crossing over others' handshakes) or kiss occasionally, here in India you put your own hands together and incline your head slightly. NO TOUCHING.
Another interesting note was the hymnal. It was a bilingual book, in itself not surprising, but I found the choice of hymns they included to be rather perplexing: among the approximately 12 Christmas songs they had were "Feliz Navidad," "Jingle Bells," and "Go Tell It on the Mountain." I was trying to picture Hindu children singing about dashing through snow, tackling Spanglish, or participating in Negro spirituals. But, hey, that's what catholic (little "c") means, so go figure.
After Mass, the church lady handed out pieces of fruitcake to all comers. It was a dry gingerbread with occasional pieces of candied fruit; a very festive offering!
Love to all, and Merry Christmas to you!
Alexandra
Mass time for Christmas day Mass? Nine o'clock! Gah!
Run up the stairs. Knock on the kids' doors. Hurry up, hurry up!
We shuffled off in the correct direction, and found the place at 9:10. Luckily, Mass was just that moment beginning.
The church was absolutely festooned with red and white balloons, glitter streamers, and dangly foil ornaments (bells and snowflakes, if I recall correctly). The creche was similarly ornamented, although it had a traditional Italian-y presepe feel to it: the figurines had white skin and the baby Jesus was about twice the size of the full figures of the adults.The Mass was all in Hindi, and it was interesting to see the sign of peace: while in the US, we shake hands (or hug family members) and in Italy we shake hands (while not crossing over others' handshakes) or kiss occasionally, here in India you put your own hands together and incline your head slightly. NO TOUCHING.
Another interesting note was the hymnal. It was a bilingual book, in itself not surprising, but I found the choice of hymns they included to be rather perplexing: among the approximately 12 Christmas songs they had were "Feliz Navidad," "Jingle Bells," and "Go Tell It on the Mountain." I was trying to picture Hindu children singing about dashing through snow, tackling Spanglish, or participating in Negro spirituals. But, hey, that's what catholic (little "c") means, so go figure.After Mass, the church lady handed out pieces of fruitcake to all comers. It was a dry gingerbread with occasional pieces of candied fruit; a very festive offering!
Love to all, and Merry Christmas to you!
Alexandra
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