Hundreds attend local Christmas Eve services

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — It’s Christmas Eve, and around the Cape Fear folks are celebrating with beloved holiday traditions. One of the most common? Christmas Eve church services.

Friday evening, First Baptist Church of Wilmington was among the hundreds of local houses of worship to hold a Christmas Eve service. This was the first time since the pandemic they’ve held a Christmas Eve service.

To spread out their usual crowds, they held a service at 3pm, 5pm, and 11pm. It’s their tradition to end the service by lighting candles and flooding the sidewalks of downtown with light while singing Silent Night.

After a year streaming services online, ministers and church-goers were excited for the normalcy.

“We weren’t able to gather for our Christmas Eve communion service,” Pastor Jim Everette explained. “And so people received our service online and they were at home. This year it’s been wonderful. Some people are wearing masks, some are not. But the fact that we’re all able to stand together, to worship together, the Christ child that draws us together. That’s wonderful.”

“It was really refreshing actually, said PJ Eby, a church member. “Last year, it just didn’t feel quite the same. You didn’t know exactly what was missing. But this year, you get back into the church and you’re like, this feels like Christmas. This is what it’s about. This is what we were missing.”