73 year Christmas eve tradition lives on

By Margot Thomas

A PANAMA Christmas tradirion that began in theSecond World War will be be repeated again on Christmas Eve,Wednesday December 24, at a church that marked its 100th anniversary earlier this year

Seventy three  years ago Panama City was blacked out, for Christmas, following the entry of the USA into WW II after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Panama was another possible target of the Japanese navy and the military commander had ordered a complete blackout.
But in the midst of the darkness some tiny glimmers of light were brought to the city at the behest of two lower rank regular US soldiers. They asked the pastor of the military church (now known as Balboa Union Church) if they could light some candles on Christmas Eve and place them on the lawn in front of the church in honor of their families back home.

Mrs Marie Van Clef was moved by the request and approached the commanding general who gave permission for candles to be lit at the conclusion of the service.
A tradition was born, and every year, everyone attending the inter-denominational service on Christmas Eve, is given a candle to be placed in prepared spots lining the path to the church which stands high on a hill overlooking what was an important part of the Canal Zone and was completed in the mid- 1920s.
It is a simple but moving memory of a time long gone when the beliefs of a few brought a little light into a dark world. Many of those who participated in those early ceremonies went on to serve on the battlefields of the Pacific and Europe as America and its allies fought to recapture the islands and territories invaded by the Axis forces, and many never returned from the long and bloody conflict.
This Wednesday  the tradition will be continued. The service is followed by refreshments. All are welcome.