It's nice to have friends in high places, our friends the Baratas live near us in the Netherlands and Dave is the Captain of the Coast Guard Unit there. Last year they got to attend a very special event, a Christmas Eve Mass in a cave in Maastricht, and this year Dave brought us to the cave mass as his guests.
We went down on the 23rd and went to the Baratas regular church. We managed to get everyone to take a joint photo afterward.
It is a very small congregation and the Baratas keep the whole church running! It was fun to see them all in action. Dave was the lector, Caroline played the piano, Annie and Barb both sang in the choir and James kept the Hughes kids smiling during the service!
We spent Christmas Eve morning relaxing, eating a wonderful brunch and drinking endless cups of coffee. Charlie was delighted that for the mass in the caves you had to be 12 years old, so he settled in for a nice afternoon of hanging out with the Barata kids.
What is this mass in a cave we were headed for? The Baratas had gone last year and described it t but its hard to picture what it would be like and to understand what it was all about.
Here is a nice description from a blog post on this WW2 site:
http://wwiiresearchandwritingcenter.com/wwii-the-schark-cave-in-maastricht-the-netherlands/
"Every year the Foundation of the Commemoration of the American Christmas Celebration 1944 ( abbr. SHAK1944) organizes a Christmas Eve Mass to commemorate those brave boys who fought for the Liberty of Europe. Every year about 200 American soldiers attend this Service, together with their superiors, the American Ambassador or his representative, the King’s Commissioner of the province of Limburg, the Mayor of Maastricht and some other people." note: (other people=lucky Hughes family)
Here is a great "scene setter" as to what Christmas Eve 1944 was like in Maastricht, Netherlands...(also from the same website)
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| One of the first paintings we passed. |
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| Drawings filled the walls. |
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| Even statues were carved and displayed. |
I didn't expect all the carvings and drawings. Apparently the soldiers in 1944 were also impressed by what they saw when they came for mass. At the end they closed by reading a letter that one soldier sent to his mother. He wrote about the carvings and drawings on the cave walls.
I found the reading of the letter the most moving part of the whole experience. To hear it in the soldiers own words was just so incredible. Here is a link to the letter:
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| The color guard waiting to begin. |
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| They called representatives up from the different services there and had them light a candle to honor some of the men. Here is the Coastie that was lighting a bunch of them. |
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| A carved altar, not the one used for the ceremony. |
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| Altar used for the mass. |
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| Names signed on the wall by those who attended the mass. |
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| Real photo of the men signing...from the program. |
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| Another shot of the altar. |
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| A group of Dutch soldiers also taking photos to remember their trip. |
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| Looks like it might be snowing but its really just the dust in the cave. |
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| A view of the area from our car before we left. We parked the car in a field and walked into the cave. |
It's tough to wrap up this post as there are so many thoughts swirling around in my head after this event! First we want to thank the Barata's for including us, and the SHAK1944 Association that keeps the tradition alive each year. We feel so fortunate to have gotten to attend.
If you want to be awed, I encourage you to read some of the letters on the SHAK1944 website that are written by the Dutch people. Their letters convey their sincere appreciation for the brave American soldiers who left home and family to come and free Europe.
As Americans visiting 74 years later, we are still so impressed and inspired by the brave soldiers who gathered in the cave to share some fellowship before they headed out to an uncertain fate. We are grateful for their efforts that made the world a better place for all of us!
