Firstly, Merry Christmas to you all 
Last night, as always, I attended the Christmas Eve Mass at my local parish church which I attended while I was growing up. It was very disheartening to see how much the congregation has declined - the attendance last night was probably a third of that which I remember from twenty years ago.
Part of this decline is due, in my opinion, to the current parish priest. Although quite a young man, he is quite a stickler for tradition and has taken to putting Latin back into his Masses. His viewpoint, which is perfectly legitimate, is that the reforming Vatican II council in the 1960s merely allowed the use of the local language in the Mass and did not require it. I can't argue with that fact obviously and I know that the older members of the congregation like being able to partake in Masses which are more like what they used to get in their younger days.
Having said that, anyone under the age of about fifty, myself included, has never experienced any Latin in the Mass before and hence is somewhat confused by it all. Consequently, many locals now travel to neighbouring parishes on a Sunday morning where Masses are in the (dare I say 'now traditional') 100% English format. This, coupled with the closure of one of the two parish churches, has hastened the decline in number attending Mass in our village.
Previous priests at my parish have always made a big deal about Christmas Eve, knowing that many people who attend only come to that Mass and hence tried to make everyone feel welcome and part of the community, regardless of their religious background. I suspect our current priest doesn't have the time of day for such attendees.
There can be no doubt that the priest is keeping more with centuries-held tradition than any other priest I've ever experienced, but is it right to alienate the majority of your parishioners by doing so?
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Definitely a day for cleaning, washing and watching the telly…