Reviewing Christmas

Christmas was joyful here among our Christian friends! It was a pretty funny feeling though to also be around neighbors that had no idea what we were talking about when we would share some food or small gifts with them because it was the time of “our festival” (something they do understand) to celebrate Jesus’ birth. We did have both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services with lots of Christmas songs (both western melodies and indigenous), and reminders about keeping the focus on the meaning of God’s gift to us rather than the fun of the celebration.

There was not much hype leading up to Christmas, nor were there the familiar visible signs or decorations around town of course, although we did see one person with a fake tree in their home as well as a church that leaves a Christmas tree up all year around. Many of the Christians we know had a big feast by slaughtering a goat or chickens (or both), cooking it in sauce, and sharing it with neighbors and friends regardless of religion. Some of the food was then brought back to their home villages later in the day to celebrate more. We saw a few toys given as gifts, but we mainly know of people buying special outfits for Christmas and other clothes.

An ecumenical New Year's Day service