It is said that Christmas doesn't come to Mineola until the Nassau Pops Symphony Orchestra plays its annual holiday concert. As it has for every year for the past 16 years, the Nassau Pops Symphony Orchestra is once again bringing the Christmas spirit to Mineola through the gift of music. However, those who have attended the concert in the past may be surprised to find out that it will not be performed at its traditional venue, the Corpus Christi Parish, but rather at Chaminade High School.

The Nassau Pops planned to continue the longstanding tradition at the parish, where the orchestra has performed at Christmas time since 1986, but conductor and musical director Lou Panacciulli was disappointed to learn that the Corpus Christi Church was denying the orchestra the church for the concert during the Advent season.

Corpus Christi Administrator Father Robert Batule said the parish had scheduled an Advent lessons in carols on Sunday, Dec. 16, the same day the Nassau Pops had scheduled the Christmas concert.

Panacciulli said he had been informed that the Corpus Christi Parish would not host the concert with the other event planned for the same day. With the Nassau Pops' concert being a yearly event planned to take place in the parish, perhaps either the concert or the Advent lessons could have been switched to a different day. However, Father Batule said the Advent lessons in carols should be planned on a Sunday afternoon during Advent, which lasts from Sunday, Dec. 2 until Christmas.

Father Batule acknowledged that the Nassau Pops' Christmas concert could have been held on another Sunday in the parish "if it was an Advent concert, but it's a Christmas concert and we wanted to celebrate and highlight the Advent season during Advent," he said.

According to Father Batule, Advent lessons in carols is a traditional way of celebrating the Advent season by reading aloud Scripture from the Old and New Testaments with Advent hymns to back up the Scripture readings. Advent lessons in carols is taking place at Corpus Christi for the first time during Father Batule's 9-year tenure at the parish.

He added that it is "more liturgically correct to have Advent lessons in Advent than it has to have a Christmas concert in Advent," as he indicated that a Christmas concert during the Advent season may not be appropriate. Father Batule said he would have been more agreeable to holding the Nassau Pops' concert during the Christmas season, after Dec. 24.

While the Corpus Christi administrator questioned whether a Christmas concert would be appropriate during Advent, the Nassau Pops has been holding a concert before Christmas at the parish for over a decade.

Maestro Panacciulli was disappointed that he could not continue the tradition of bringing holiday cheer to the parish with the free Christmas concert.

The Nassau Pops' Christmas concert has packed Corpus Christi for years and representatives for the orchestra wanted to bring the holiday spirit back to the community. Therefore, orchestra representatives searched for a new venue for the concert and found one in Chaminade High School, a Catholic high school located within the Village of Mineola.

Although Maestro Panacciulli felt as though the orchestra has been dismissed from its traditional Christmas concert location, he said he was extremely happy to keep the concert in Mineola since the orchestra considers the village to be its home.

The Nassau Pops also performs two free summer concerts in Memorial Park each year and Panacciulli said there would always be a special place in the orchestra's heart for Mineola. The Christmas concert is thought of as the Nassau Pops' Christmas gift to the residents of the village.

The Christmas concert will take place on Sunday, Dec. 16, at 3 p.m. at Chaminade High School, located on Saville Road and Jackson Avenue in Mineola. The Nassau Pops plays selections from the Christmas album, including a variety of traditional holiday favorites as well as Christmas melodies with religious significance. Also, expect the orchestra to end the show with their signature song, God Bless America.

As always, the concert is free. For more information, call 565-0646.