The Greening of the Church was held on Sunday, November 29, 2009. In years past this service has been known as the Hanging of the Green.
The celebration of Christmas for Christians is such an important part of the church that it is easy to assume it has always been celebrated. But the major Christian festival for the early Christian church as Easter. Around the fourth century, Christmas became part of the Christian calendar and by the year 336, December 25 was generally established as the date of Jesus' birth. Soon afterwards, church leaders began to feel the need for a period of preparation leading up to the actual celebration of the Christ Child's birth - thus we have the Advent season.
The observance of the Hanging of the Green is an old English custom of decorating one's home with evergreens and other festive wrappings for Advent and Christmas. For all of us here at First Baptist Church, Lithia Springs we continue a very special tradition with the decorating of God's house with evergreens on this, the first Sunday of Advent, 2009.
