Over the past few decades many places in the world have developed a much more casual attitude concerning the way people are dressed for different occasions. Once upon a time people would dress quite formally if they were traveling by airplane, but today comfort rules in economy class. Similarly, the phenomenon that is known as “Casual Friday” in the workplace allows many people to leave the tie or high-heels in the closet one day a week and don Birkenstocks instead.
However, the one place that I never imagined that the ultra-casual clothing trend would be able to infiltrate was church. I will be the first to admit that I haven’t been to church for a long time, and so times may have changed, but the last time that I attended church it still wasn’t really acceptable to attend worship in casual clothes.
Now back when I lived in Small Town, Iowa, I belonged to a pretty laid back congregation: The pastor and most of the congregation were young and as a result, from time to time people would attend church in informal attire. I don’t ever remember seeing anybody in jeans or sweat pants, but most of the men didn’t wear ties, the ladies often wore pants, and on occasion a sleepy toddler would show up in his or her pajamas.
The more conservative members would sometimes complain that people didn’t dress as “properly” as before and from time to time we would hear reminders that God only listened to the prayers of people that showed their respect by dressing properly, but overall the issue of how to dress for church really wasn’t one. However, even if people were tempted to “dress down” for a normal Sunday service, I personally don’t think anyone would have considered going to church on Christmas in anything less than their “Sunday Best.”
As I am sure is the case with many others, at our church the Christmas service was more than just a mere worship service. There was a social hour with coffee (and punch) and cookies beforehand, the children’s Christmas pageant took place, the choir sang more than just their usual three or four hymns, and it was one of the few occasions where communion was offered. In my mind it was most impressive service of the year and the members of the congregation marked it as such by dressing in their finest.
As is the case in most of Europe, regular church attendance in Germany is very sparse and I confess that I have not yet experienced a German church service. However, though we are not even remotely religious, tonight A. asked me if, as a cultural experience, I would like to attend Christmas Eve Mass. (Amusing, since when I did go to church I wasn’t even Catholic!) I did seriously consider it… until I realized that I had nothing to wear that was even remotely appropriate for the occasion and I just couldn’t fathom going to church in anything that couldn’t be considered my best!