Christmas is a special time of each year, even more so when Christmas falls on a Sunday, as it does this year.

Area churches are celebrating the Advent season, including Christmas, in various ways. Some churches that have two worship services on Sundays will have just one service this Christmas. Some churches are having Christmas Eve services.

Washington’s First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) will have its Carols and Communion service at 10 a.m. Christmas Day, followed by a traditional worship service at 11 a.m.

First Baptist Church in Washington will conduct a Christmas Eve candlelight worship service at 5:30 p.m. On Christmas, there will be one worship service at 10 a.m. There are no Sunday school classes that morning.

“I think by the time Christmas Eve arrives, all of our hearts are a little more tender than they have been. The dark and the candlelight and the families coming together in the context of worship just becomes a profound moment for us all,” said the Rev. Dr. Greg Barmer, minister of music at First Baptist Church.

First United Methodist Church in Washington has two services Christmas Eve, one at 5 p.m. and a candlelight service at 9 p.m. There is a 10 a.m. service Christmas Day.

Washington’s First Church of Christ will conduct its Christmas Eve candlelight worship service at 6 p.m. The church will have two worship services on Christmas, one at 9:30 a.m. and the other at 11 a.m. in the Family Life Center.

Harvest Church in Washington offers its Christmas Day communion service at 10 a.m.

On Christmas Eve, Beebe Memorial CME Church in Washington continues its free-lunch ministry from noon to 2 p.m. “Beebe provides a FREE LUNCH at the church or in our local Beebe Park for anyone who desires it. We deliver to the sick and shut in and to members who reside in Nursing Homes, if their diet permits. Come early because we serve as long as the food lasts,” reads the church’s website.

At 8 p.m. Christmas Eve, the Rev. Mark Powell will be the guest speaker and celebrant for the Holy Eucharist at Trinity Episcopal Church in Chocowinity. There are no services Christmas Day.

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Washington will have its Christmas Eve pageant and Holy Eucharist at 4 p.m., followed by festival music at 8:30 p.m. and another Holy Eucharist at 9 p.m. On Christmas Day, only one service, Holy Eucharist, will be observed at 10 a.m., with a Spanish-language service at 10:15 a.m. in the church’s chapel.

At Mother of Mercy Catholic Church in Washington, Christmas Eve services include a Mass in English at 5 p.m. followed by a Latin traditional High Mass at midnight. On Christmas Day, Mass in English will be conducted at 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., followed by a Mass in Spanish at 12:30 p.m.

No doubt other churches will be having special services this week leading up to Christmas. Check with your church or a church of your choice to determine when and where those services will be conducted.