Merced County churchgoers celebrate birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas services

Thousands of Merced County families joined the ranks of Christians globally on Thursday, going to services to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas Day.

Some residents began their Christmas celebrations by going to midnight mass, while others attended services later in the day.

“The birth of Jesus -- that’s the reason for the season,” said Nancy Ayala, as she exited Christmas service at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Thursday morning.

For the Ayala family, like many other Merced families, celebrating Christmas Mass is a long-standing tradition. Nancy and her husband Frank have attended Christmas Mass at Sacred Heart for as long as they can remember. On Thursday, they were accompanied by their three children, son-in-law and two grandsons.

“Jesus is the greatest Christmas gift,” Frank said about his reason for regularly attending service on Christmas Day. “We like to share this gift with our family.”

The Ayalas typically attend a midnight Mass, but to include the children in their family, they have reworked their tradition and now attend the church’s 9 a.m. service.

“We’ve been doing this forever and at this church...this is where we got married and our children were baptized,” said Nancy. “After Mass we continue the celebration at home with tamales.”

Thursday’s service was officiated by Rev. Jesus Reynaga, who reminded churchgoers that the love and joy felt on Christmas Day should be extended throughout the season and year. After prayer and readings, Rev. Reynaga invited followers to sing “happy birthday” to baby Jesus.

Some who also enjoyed this year’s Christmas service were Antonio Ortega and his three children. Ortega, a Merced resident, has been attending Sacred Heart for the past 15 years. His children, now 15, 14 and 7, regularly accompany him to holiday services.

“Sometimes people forget the real reason behind Christmas,” Ortega said. “I like to tell (my children) that the real gifts are coming together and sharing the love of God.”

Ortega also sees the opportunity of joining the celebration as becoming involved in the community. “It brings everyone together,” he said. “And it just starts your Christmas Day off right.”

Merced native Ronnie DeAnda, said he has plenty to be thankful for this year, but mostly he gives thanks for getting to see another day. “I show up and pray for my family,” DeAnda said. “God let us open our eyes again this morning, and that’s reason enough to be grateful.”

DeAnda said that the ceremony brings back lots of memories of when he was growing up in Merced and attending morning Mass with his parents and siblings.

“This is a very important tradition for us, even for those of us who at one point strayed away from the church,” he said. DeAnda believes that as churchgoers get older they tend to have a deeper appreciation for the significance behind the holidays.

“Service today was very nice,” he added. “Father (Reynaga) does a good job administering his flock.”

A Christmas Eve mass was also offered at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

This story was originally published December 25, 2014 at 1:43 PM with the headline "Merced County churchgoers celebrate birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas services."