Hanging of the Christmas Greens

December 3 at 10 AM

     Some may see the coming of Christmas just in terms of dollars and packages, but there is a history and value to Christmas preparation. That value comes from Old Country traditions brought to Baldwin County by pioneers. Zion Lutheran Church's "Hanging of the Greens" for 2006 seeks to discover some of the past of its people and the countries of their heritage. The custom liturgy for the First Sunday of Advent begins with, "Do you wonder how Scandinavians a hundred years ago ended up in Silverhill, Alabama? How about the Czechs and the Slavs of Bohemia--how did they get here? Do you wonder how they brought Christmas with them or why we celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus like we do now a hundred years later? Join us now as we remember the founders of our town of Silverhill and of this little Lutheran Church begun in the Christmas Season in 1905. Let’s begin by seeking the Lord’s blessing ...."

     This card stock version of the Nativity creche dates to the mid-1950s and was the product of the St. Paul Catechetic Guild. Pictured here in our Zion Lutheran Church Museum, it will be incorporated into Zion's "Hanging of the Greens" liturgy on Sunday, December 3, at 10 AM. Click photo to enlarge.

     The service is filled with hymns and snippets of celebration and church artifacts of the Christmas Season remembered. It concludes with the first Eucharist celebration of the new church year as the First Sunday in Advent commences with the "Greens." By the end of the service the church will be decked in its Advent/Christmas decorations for 2006.

     Friends and visitors are invited to join the congregation in celebrating the coming of Christmas on this first Sunday in Advent. Zion Lutheran Church is located a block off State Highway 104 at 15875 4th Avenue at 7th Street in beautiful Silverhill.