Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

As I write this, the shoppers are about to finish up at the malls around Niagara, and everyone will settle down to enjoy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with friends and family, I hope.  However you choose to celebrate and whatever your particular celebration might be, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season with the best of wishes for 2013.

For me, it is a long-standing tradition I spend Christmas Eve preparing for the annual Midnight Mass broadcast at the Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria in downtown St. Catharines.  Luckily for me it is about a three-minute walk from my house, so if I end up going down to the wire at least I don't have far to go when the broadcast starts, especially if the weather is bad.

This will be the 80th consecutive broadcast of Midnight Mass on 610/CKTB in St. Catharines, where I have hung my many hats for over 31 years now.  Almost 25 of those years have been spent handling the duties on Christmas Eve; in fact I am only the third person to host these broadcasts since they began, and that makes me very proud.  How much longer can I go?  I'd like to think I can make it all the way to the 100th broadcast, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.  At any rate, you can listen tonight starting at 11:30 for the traditional carol service, followed by the Midnight Mass at, well, midnight.  It goes to about 1:30 or so, which makes for a late night for your humble scribe, but all in a day's work, they say.

Years ago, I had to write the script from scratch every year on my trusty old Underwood manual typewriter, which I still have, by the way.  But it was a long, laborious task using lots of correcting fluid and testing my patience for about three hours.  Now, of course, with computer technology being what it is, I can write the script in much less time by simply revising the previous year's script.  I always add new elements each year, but the basic framework remains the same throughout.  I think I have moved to my third generation computer since I starting using them to write the script many years ago.

There have been lots of disasters along the way, including computer crashes, negotiating an unfamilier laptop one year, and the worst year of all, of course, back in 1998 when I fell a couple of days beforehand and ended up in the hospital, imploring the doctor to let me out for the broadcast.  I had to make do with makeshift notes that year as I had destroyed my writing arm, but with the aid of painkillers I made it through and went straight home to bed afterwards.

Last year was basically very smooth and problem-free, and I hope we can build on that tonight,  providing of course I get the script written in time, so that is next, followed by a peaceful walk in the night air to relax and then change for the trip to the Cathedral.

The music I listen to while writing on Christmas Eve is very important to me, and I rarely deviate from the formula.  I usually listen to a couple of very old, traditional carol collections by the Percy Faith Orchestra (Music for Christmas) and The Philadelphia Orchestra with the Temple University Concert Choir (The Glorious Sound of Christmas) before graduating to more serious fare for the latter part of the evening.   Last year I starting listening to a couple of lovely new recordings, Christmas Noel with the Netherlands Bach Society and On Christmas Night, with the Choir of St. John's College, Cambridge.  They provide the perfect backdrop for the evening before I move on to two of my favourite recordings of all time for Christmas, Vaughan Williams' On Christmas Night with the City of London Symphonia and Joyful Company of Singers conducted by Richard Hickox, and the ever-popular Christmette, or Mass for Christmas Day by Michael Praetorius, with the Gabrieli Consort and Players conducted by Paul McCreesh.  The sound on this disc is amazing, and I never tire of hearing it year after year.

As much as I enjoy the evening and the broadcast itself, the favourite part of Christmas Eve for me is yet to come.  As I gather up my things to head home about 2 am, I walk quietly to my home, passing silent homes, some still with lights on inside and out.  I always have my tea once arriving home and listen to A Charlie Brown Christmas with the Vince Guaraldi Trio to relax me for bed.  Nothing ends the night better for me.

So, that is the plan for me this evening.  I hope whatever you do this evening, whomever you spend it with, it is a very special time for all of you.  This time comes but once a year, and once the commercialism is over with, the real meaning of the season is there, waiting for you without fail, year after year.

Merry Christmas to you and yours from my house to yours; may the day be as special to you however you choose to celebrate it tomorrow!

December 24th, 2012.