Christmas is full of traditions, but for Rev. Mariusz Majewski at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, it comes down to one symbol: the nativity crèche.  

At St. Thomas, the blessing of the church crèche brings the tradition from St. Francis of Assisi into the Christmas holiday.  

“He wanted for people to experience the ruggedness and the poverty of the holy family of how it was when Jesus was born,” Majewski said. “He felt that even back then, it was over-sentimentalized.” 

Majewski said the peace of the holiday can help ease the burdens of those dealing with pain and suffering.

“In this turbulent and trying time in our country and in the world, I think the source of peace for us is God invading human history, coming to our broken world and all its suffering,” Majewski said. “The message of Christmas is God did not abandon us. God was so close to us that his son became man.” 

St. Thomas the Apostle hosts three different masses for Christmas: at 6 p.m. Christmas Eve, at midnight on Christmas, and at 10 a.m. Christmas Day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. 

“It's a very special celebration, especially here in Coeur d’Alene. Families come together and we have a lot of visitors, kids coming back from college, so we try to make it a family feast,” Majewski said. “All of us come together to worship as we celebrate the birth of the savior.” 

While churches will be fuller than usual for Christmas, fewer people are observing the holiday religiously, according to news.gallup.com. It reported that attendance at a religious service on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day is 47%, 17 percentage points lower than in 2010. It found that 61% of Christian celebrants now say they attend church on Christmas Eve or Day, down from 73% in 2010.

Keeping the faith community engaged is a cornerstone of the Christmas Eve service Rev. Betsey Moe is planning for her first holiday season at Community Presbyterian Church.

Since she has begun to settle into her new congregation of about 85 members, she’s noticed one crucial element that binds them together. 

“Every church service, there’s food afterwards, a potluck, brunch. People just bring and contribute food, so there’s a really robust coffee hour,” Moe said. 

She was installed as pastor in November and said church members have been working hard to make Christmas Eve a memorable spread after the service. 

Breaking down the barriers to pandemic-related feelings of isolation is something Moe said many faith communities are still seeking to overcome.

“Welcoming in visitors is always really important and on Christmas Eve, we take it seriously because for a lot of people, it might be one of the only times they go to a service each year and we are ready to welcome one and all,” Moe said. “It doesn’t matter if you haven’t been to church since last Christmas or 20 Christmases ago, we're just excited to have visitors on Christmas Eve.” 

Kids will get bags of materials to keep them engaged during the service, including a Bingo card to track every time Mary’s name is mentioned. 

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church 

Music is the shining light of services at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church at Christmastime, Rev. David Gortner said.

The choir and congregation will sing "Silent Night" as a back-and-forth song of faith during the Christmas Eve ceremony. 

“We managed to pull together people for a brass quartet, which is fun and a bell choir. We're doing a lot of music,” Gortner said. 

Preaching to one another through song is part of the Anglican tradition, Gortner said. Holiday celebrations at St. Luke’s run from Christmas Eve through Epiphany on Jan. 6, which symbolizes the arrival of the Wise Men.  

“They don’t get there the night of,” Gortner said. “For all their wisdom, they’re wandering around looking for a while and then they go to the wrong place. We continue to celebrate Christmas all through the 12 days.” 

The festive “greening of the church” and the addition of wooden branches shaped like stars also serve as visual reminders of the importance of the holiday to the 133-year-old faith community at St. Luke’s. 

“The heart of Christmas for us is the incarnation of Christ, the promise of Emmanuel, God among us,” Gortner said. “There was that one song from the '90s, ‘what if God was one of us.’ Well, he really was.”

    Ann Shehan adjusts the Joseph figurine in St. Thomas the Apostle Church's Christmas crèche as Natalie Hoonhout offers input on the scene's perspective.

    Community Presbyterian Church in Post Falls prepares for Christmas with advent decorations.