for New Year’s Eve, dare to show solidarity!
On December 31, Jean, 27, will swap the traditional evening with friends for a slightly less ordinary New Year’s Eve. “I have reached the end of the New Year’s Eve exercise of drinking too much and partying until the end of the night. After a while, you want something else,” explains the young man. Adopted from Lille, he is in the middle of preparing for the “Choir en fête” New Year’s Eve event, in which around forty young people aged 20 to 30 are participating. For five days, these students and young professionals will alternate song rehearsals, times of prayer, marauding and street concerts, and will invite all the people in precarious situations they meet to a big dinner on New Year’s Eve.
“I participated for the first time two years ago, there were around ten young people and twenty-five homeless people. It’s about being as accessible and friendly as possible: games, sketches, music, and above all a lot of spontaneity. We are touched by the simplicity that is enough to have a good time,” shares the young engineer. Rejoicing together and creating links is at the heart of the project: “I spoke a lot with Ludovic, a homeless man with a complicated background, but full of hope and projects. We continue to meet in Lille,” says Jean.
Share the joy of the birth of Christ
The challenge of solidarity New Year’s Eve is taken up by many parishes or associations throughout France. The issue? “Experiencing sharing with great joy,” explains Anne-Lise. In 2020, this Parisian executive celebrated Christmas with the Solidarity Winter operation, which offers parishes the opportunity to accommodate and support homeless people from November to March.
With her husband, Anne-Lise wanted to “share with our children that it was not just a family celebration with gifts. So we celebrated New Year’s Eve with Marc and Vincent, two guests, enjoying a delicious dinner prepared by other parishioners. We laughed a lot, and the children actively participated in the service.”
“It’s also an opportunity to make people who have never heard of it understand that Christmas celebrates the coming of Christ on earth,” explains Rieuc, who is involved with the Miséricordia association in Aubervilliers. The work, born in Chile, aims to serve the poorest and proclaim Christ to them by living among them. Since 2019, a big Christmas Eve has been offered to everyone: mass, Nativity show performed by the children, and a big friendly meal. Christians from “beautiful neighborhoods” come every year to help organize this event, punctuated with games and songs. “180 people, of all origins, all faiths and sensitivities, gathered around the same table, it’s really beautiful,” says Rieuc.
Make Christmas “parochial”
A solidarity New Year’s Eve is also simply about being present for those who are alone. In Nancy, Manon and her family chose to experience a parish Christmas two years ago. “The parish launched “Solidarity Sundays” after realizing that among the faithful, many people, particularly elderly or divorced people, found themselves alone on the weekend. A small team organizes a common lunch where everyone participates as they want. Obviously, everyone gets involved and we always end up with leftovers,” jokes the teacher.
The concept, easy to reproduce, was extended to Christmas Eve. “With my husband and our two children, we decided to participate. Our respective families live far away, traveling for the holidays is not easy. It was also an opportunity to meet other parishioners, and to pass on something different, something deeply Christian, to our children. »
