How I like to start the Christmas Season

I started a new Christmas tradition three years ago that gets the Christmas holiday off to a great start every time. My wife sings with the Ephrata Cloister Chorus and every Christmas the Chorus puts on a short Christmas program in early December.

The program follows the traditional Lessons in Carols order of worship with the Cloister Chorus singing some of the carols along with frequent audience participation. If you haven't heard the music of the Cloister, they sing a cappela in hushed, almost whisper voices, so the music is very soft. Some of the carols are in English and a few are in German, which adds to the ambiance. (Silent Night has a powerful affect when sung in German and it makes all those years of high school German worthwhile).

The program is great, but the setting makes it even better. The program is held in the Cloister meeting room, the Zahl. The sidewalks throughout the Cloister are lit with candle lanterns and all the buildings have candles in the windows. Because the program is popular you have to wait in line in the crisp December air. Of course, it's not much warmer when you get in the Zahl since it's not heated, but that just adds to the atmosphere.

I appreciate the program for it's simplicity. In the midst of the craziness and commercialism that overshadows Christmas, to worship the babe in the manger in the most simplistic setting is just the way I like to get the holiday season started.

Check out Christmas at the Cloister December 12 and 13; tickets are required.