With their snow-covered landscapes and ancient traditions, the Alps tend to make Christmastime an especially magical experience. After all, this is the part of the world from where “Silent Night” captured the imagination of millions. However, one Christmas celebration in Slovenia is special even by the always-romantic standards of the Alps.

Every December 25, a midnight Mass in held in Our Mary of the Snows chapel in Velika Planina, a high-mountain pasture high above the Ljubljana Basin. Velika Planina is best-known for being a high mountain pasture with distinctive, semicircular wooden huts inhabited by herdsmen from the valley. But after the herdsmen drive their cattle back to the valley each September, most of Velika Planina empties out – with only occasional caretakers remaining.

On Christmas Eve, however, more than a hundred people make their way to Velika Planina. Some take the cable car; others brave their way on foot through the high snow. Many carry torches to light their way, adding to the winter magic. When they arrive to the chapel, they ae treated to a traditional Christmas Mass in an incomparably beautiful environment. In fact, the annual celebration is now so so popular that the chapel has become too small to accommodate everyone, and some visitors have to stay outside in the piercing high-mountain weather. But most don’t mind the inconvenience, and are happy to play a part in an authentic Slovenian tradition.

The mere existence of the midnight mass on Velika Planina is somewhat of a miracle. The original chapel was burned down by the Germans during World War II and the building wasn’t restored until 1988, on the initiative of the local grazing association. For most of the year, the chapel caters to the spiritual needs of the herdsmen, but on one night in December, it draws an increasing number of Slovenians who are determined to spend an unforgettable Christmas high above the worries of everyday life.