The Christmas Eve Mass at Titus Brandsma Parish in Bolswaard will be broadcast by Eurovision tonight from Sunday to Monday. In Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands, the liturgy is celebrated by spectators from different language groups.
A few weeks ago, verbatim scripts for the Christmas Eve Mass, at midnight Sunday through Monday, had to be passed on to the production team at KRO-NCRV. This allowed translation services or commentators for foreign stations handling the broadcast to translate the texts in a timely manner. “It's a completely strange idea that your words will be heard in all kinds of other countries. It's not very common,” says Pastor Arjen Poltsma.
Public broadcasters in French-speaking and Italian-speaking Switzerland, French- and Flemish-speaking Belgium, and Ireland have indicated that they will take over broadcasting anyway. In his greeting, Boltsma will use a few words in other languages, and will continue speaking in Dutch.
Television production is done by KRO-NCRV. “In the morning they broadcast the Eucharist for the Fourth Coming of Snake. This way they won't have to travel far to watch the night broadcast.”
Marathon
This time the Eucharist for the Fourth Advent will be combined with the Vespers celebration on Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m. On Sunday morning at 9.30am, the Eucharist Mass takes place in Whitmarsum, but not in St Francis Church in Bolswaard. “Otherwise it's a marathon. On Christmas Eve at 6 p.m., there's the family celebration, then midnight Mass, and on Christmas morning at 9 a.m., we continue rehearsals for the daytime Mass at 11 a.m.
Traditionally, more people come to church on Christmas than on a regular Sunday. “But because of the late hour, it is difficult to estimate how many people will come. During each TV broadcast, I always invite parishioners to come to church and not sit at home and watch their Mass. The broadcast is intended for people who are sick or prohibited from going to church for some other reason. Then it is important to consider To a half-empty church doesn't help either.
