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Hernando Today

Local Churches Holding Christmas Services

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By TEREZKA OLSON Hernando Today correspondent

Published: December 21, 2008

Nazdar,

Prajeme Vam Pozehnane i Vesele Viandce. Narodil sa Kristus Pan.

We wish you a blessed and Merry Christmas. Christ is born. Wishes to our friends and neighbors in the beginning of this month - they celebrated Hanukkah; and the day after Christmas, Kwanza begins.

At Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, candlelight worship service will be held at 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day, the worship service will be held at 10 a.m.

At. St. Mary Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve will be the Vigil Mass, at 7:30 p.m. will be Christmas carols, at 8 p.m. will be solemn Mass. Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. Christmas day. The office will be closed Dec. 24-26.

I would like to share with you how we celebrated Christmas Eve when I was growing up. Remember, this is a no meat day (Dec. 24), and all that cooking and baking sure smelled good, but we could not touch. On a white tablecloth was placed a lit white candle; we blessed ourselves and prayed to Our Father and Hail Mary prayers. A plate containing a white 3- by 5-inch wafer square, like the round Communion wafers, were on the plate.

A spoon with honey drizzled the sign of the cross on this wafer. We blessed ourselves with it; and as we did, Mother gave out a walnut to everyone at the table. Each of us cracked the walnut; it depicted how health would be in the upcoming year.

If both halves were good, you would be well all year; if only one half was good, and so on. Next, an apple was cut into equal parts, as for the family members; we all ate the apple then we were served a soup called Jesus Soup, consisting of prunes, lentils, mushrooms, sweet cream and sauerkraut - very delicious. Then followed by a disk of square pieces of what raviolis look like - filled with prune jam (Lekvar) and homemade noodles like linguini, tossed together with poppy seed and Lekvar, all mixed together.

Then came a dish of round pieces of dough, first baked, then blanched in boiling water. Some are larger balls, like a golf ball size and filled with Lekvar and the smaller ones are empty; these, too, were covered with prune jelly and poppy seed. Then we went to Midnight Mass. We believed the gifts came from the Baby Jesus.

The tree was decorated, but no gifts under it. When we came home after Mass, there were gifts everywhere. My Mother must have been a track star, as we lived six blocks from church. But she went to Mass with us; I never did find out.

Also, another tradition on Christmas is that we always had something with foul or chicken. Since these birds scratch backwards, we believed they are scratching away the old year. On New Year's, we ate a pork of some type because the pig goes forward, rooting with his nose, denoting going into the new year ahead; and to all a good night and a very Merry Christmas.

Margaret Boza and Olga Fuente of Tampa were in Masaryktown last Wednesday. The last time they were here was 16 years ago. They enjoyed seeing all the changes and still think it's a nice place.

Our troops still need lots of the same stuff, so please keep sending it as donations to "Lea's Prayers & Postage."

Last but not least, be generous or do what you can for the many needy families, the numbers grow monthly. Holy Trinity Mission Food Pantry thanks you and will accept all you can do. Make it a new year for many who cannot eat otherwise. Oh, by the way, what do snowmen eat? Snowflakes!

Birthdays & anniversaries

Happy birthday wishes to: Jack Cumper, Dec. 22; Alejandra Ortiz, Dec. 23; Jim Zrimsek, Dec. 26; C.J. Toland, Dec. 27.

Wedding anniversary wishes to: Patrick and Anna Judd, Dec. 21; Frank and Mary Louise Hartman, Dec. 24; George and Diana Rodriguez (36 years), Dec. 26; Larry and Vikki Farrow, Dec. 27.

S Bohom

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