'Twas the night before Christmas … no, wait, it was one week before the holy day when possibly the first Christmas Eve service in the Sacramento region began.

The lights dimmed and the fake snow fell and the worship band retreated to the green room backstage, then Pastor Ray Johnston stepped into the spotlight at Bayside Church in Granite Bay on Thursday night. He welcomed more than 1,300 worshippers to the first of 13 Christmas Eve services – seven days before Christmas.

"You're like our guinea pigs and to those of you in the first row, how does it feel to have snow fall on you?" Johnston said in his opening remarks.

Christmas worship is coming early this year, with prominent evangelical churches in the region ushering in crowds for Christmas services before Dec. 25 and closing on Christmas Day. Bayside, the largest in the area and considered one of the most influential in the country, leads the way with services starting a week before the actual holiday.

Churches have always been active the weeks before Christmas, celebrating with pageants and musicals. Now they are adding a measure of convenience: You can observe the holiday in church early to make way for travel, family, meals and presents.

"This way, people have more flexibility, especially those who go out of town. They can go to church first – it doesn't have to be on Dec. 25," said Bill Clark, chief of staff at Bayside. He said Bayside expects 30,000 people to attend the services.

Clark compared the early worship season to Christmas shopping – both are starting earlier every year.

"Some people may think it's too early, but we believe in giving people lots of options," Clark said. Last year, the church had to turn away worshippers, so it added more services. "We want to be accommodating," he said.

This year, Adventure Christian Church in Roseville is holding its earliest and biggest Christmas service ever.

For two days, Dec. 23 and 24, worshippers can ride around the campus on a train or a horse and buggy before the Christmas service starts. They can stop by a petting zoo, or visit the live nativity scene or take a free family photo. They can eat at the food station or greet Santa and his elves. They can look up during the Christmas service and see acrobatic artists.

The event is free to the public. Church officials, who expect 9,000 people to attend the two-day Christmas service, said this is the first time the church has held its Christmas service over two days.

"Having it over two days gives more people a chance to attend," said Lydia Khachadourian, director of connections for Adventure. "It's a community event."

If turnout is good, church officials may extend the dates next year. "That would be a wonderful problem to have," Khachadourian said.

Traditionally, Dec. 25 is the date Christians throughout the world celebrate the birth of Christ. Some pastors say, though, the holiday does not have to be observed then.

"I think most theologians would recognize that Dec. 25 isn't the day Jesus was born anyway," said the Rev. Donald Baird, senior pastor of Fremont Presbyterian Church in Sacramento. "It's the day Christians chose."

Baird expects about 2,000 worshippers to attend one of four Christmas Eve services this year. The church will be closed Christmas Day.

"It's a good day to stay home with family," said Baird, who noted that many other churches will be open. "I think going to church on Christmas Day is becoming less and less prevalent."

Pastor Rick Cole of Capital Christian Center will continue his tradition of holding services Christmas Eve and taking Dec. 25 off to stay home with his family. "It's also a good day to give the staff a break and make it a holy day in your own way," Cole said.

Churches with strong liturgical history, such as the Roman Catholic Church, celebrate on the Feast of the Nativity, which begins on Christmas Eve and continues through the next day. To them, closing on Christmas Day is unthinkable.

"It's a 2,000-year-old tradition," said the Rev. Monsignor James Murphy, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento."

For Catholics, the days leading up to Christmas are devoted to preparing for the holiday, which is why Catholic churches are not decorated until Christmas Eve.

At Bayside, the lobby and sanctuary have been decorated for weeks with more than 50 trees. Karen Halliway of Sacramento is not a member of Bayside. She heard about the early Christmas observance from a friend and decided to attend.

"I'm going out of town next week and I might not make it to church," said Halliway after Thursday's Christmas Eve service. "This helped me stop and think about what all the rushing around is about."

Call the Bee's Jennifer Garza, (916) 321-1133.