Christmas Eve Church Service Coloring Page: PDF Sheet

Candlelight Services Through the Years

Moravian Beginnings of the Candle Service

The custom of passing out small candles during a Christmas Eve service traces back to Moravian congregations in Germany in the 1700s, who lit beeswax candles wrapped in red paper to represent light entering a dark world. A Moravian bishop named John de Watteville is credited with handing out the first of these candles to children at a service in 1747, telling them the flame stood for the light Christ brought into the world. The format spread well beyond Moravian churches and became one of the most recognizable Christmas Eve traditions across denominations, with congregations today often trimming the paper collar to catch dripping wax exactly as those first Moravian services did.

Why Christmas Eve Became a Service Night

Holding a special service on the night before Christmas Day rather than only on the morning of grew popular in the 1800s and 1900s as churches leaned into the anticipation of the holiday. A late evening or midnight gathering let families attend together after the workday and any Christmas Eve preparations at home were finished. Midnight services in particular echo an older tradition of marking the exact turn from December 24 into December 25, treating the stroke of midnight as the moment worth gathering for rather than sunrise the next day.

The Tree Beside the Altar

Bringing an evergreen tree indoors and decorating it dates to German folk custom centuries ago, tied to the idea that a tree staying green through winter symbolized life continuing even in the coldest months. Churches adopted the same decorated tree for their sanctuaries once the custom crossed into American Christmas traditions in the 1800s, often placing it near the altar rather than at the back of the room so the congregation could see it throughout the service. Early church trees were lit with real candles clipped to the branches long before electric string lights made the practice safer.

Wreaths as a Circle Without an End

A wreath hung with a ribbon carries an old symbolic meaning tied to its shape: a circle with no beginning or end. Evergreen wreaths specifically borrow the same green-through-winter idea as the Christmas tree, making them a natural pairing for a church sanctuary decorated for a Christmas Eve gathering. Many congregations hang a wreath on the sanctuary wall rather than a door, a placement that lets it double as quiet backdrop art for the whole service instead of a greeting left outside.

Pews Filled for the Year's Busiest Night

Christmas Eve is consistently one of the two or three most attended services of the year at most churches, alongside Easter, drawing in relatives visiting for the holidays and families who attend only occasionally. That surge in attendance is part of why many congregations add extra folding chairs or run more than one service on the same evening. Children holding small candles near the aisle, as shown in this scene, are typically seated closest to volunteers who can help relight a candle safely if the flame goes out.