Merry Christmas!

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Christmas Around the World

Here are some interesting world Christmas traditions and facts, courtesy of Wikipedia:

• South Korea is the only East Asian country to recognize Christmas as a national holiday.

• A unique feature of Christmas in Japan is the Japanese type of Christmas cake, often a white whipped cream cake with strawberries.
  

  Christmas tree in downtown Beirut, Lebanon

• In Lebanon, churches are open all night for praying and people go to visit friends and families, often to villages in the mountains.

• In the Philippines, Christmas Eve (“Bisperas ng Pasko”/Spanish: Vísperas de la Navidad) on December 24 is celebrated with the Midnight Mass, and immediately after, the much-anticipated Noche Buena – the traditional Christmas Eve feast. Family members dine together around 12 midnight on traditional Noche Buena fare, which includes: queso de bola (Spanish: “ball of cheese”; this is actually edam cheese), “Tsokolate” (a hot chocolate drink) and jamón (Christmas ham).

• In many places in Mexico, children receive gifts not on Christmas but on January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany, when, according to tradition, the Three Wise Men bring gifts not only to baby Jesus but also to children who have placed written requests in their shoes.

• In Columbia, the unofficial start of Christmas festivities takes place on December 7, Día de las Velitas, or “Day of the Candles.” At night, the streets, sidewalks, balconies, porches, and driveways are decorated with candles and paper lanterns, which illuminate cities and towns in a yellow glow to honor the Immaculate Conception on the following day, December 8. Activities such as musical events and firework displays are planned by cities and held during this time.

• In Czech Republic and Slovakia, people are taught to fast on Christmas Eve until a ceremonial dinner is served, in order to be able to see a “golden pig”. Carp is a popular dish for the dinner. The gifts are displayed under the Christmas tree , and people open them after their Christmas dinner.

• In Germany, Saint Nicholas puts goodies in children’s shoes on Saint Nicholas’ Day, the 6th of December. Sometimes St. Nicholas visits children in kindergartens, schools or at public events. They have to recite a short poem or sing a song in order to get sweets or a small gift. “Knecht Ruprecht” (the servant Ruprecht – dressed in dark clothes with devil-like traits, usually noted as a long, bright red tongue and with a stick or a small whip in the hand) sometimes accompanies St. Nicholas. His duty is to punish those children who haven’t behaved during the year. Usually he doesn’t have much to do. He merely stands near St. Nicholas as a warning to be good and polite.

• In Hungary, there is a popular folk custom during December and especially on Christmas Eve, in which children or adults present the birth of Jesus. The custom is called ‘playing Bethlehem’ (Hungarian: Betlehemezés), and it is an acting performance, in which the actors are wearing costumes and telling stories about the three kings, the shepherds, Mary, Joseph and of course the birth of the Holy Child. A Christmas crib and a church are used as the scene. The actors go from house to house, and they receive gifts for their performance.

• In Russia, Christmas is celebrated on the 7th of January (which corresponds to December 25 in the Julian Calendar).

• In Denmark, everyone looks forward to dessert on Christmas Eve, when the rice pudding is served with a single almond hidden in it. Whoever finds the almond will have good luck for the coming year, and the lucky finder is entitled to a small gift.

• In Nigeria, people decorate homes (compounds) and churches with woven and unwoven palm fronds, Christmas trees and Christmas lights. There are festive jubilations on the streets, fireworks, traditional masquerades on stilts parading about and children milling about displaying their best clothes or Christmas presents.

Does your family incorporate any unique traditions into your Christmas celebration?

The Most Meaningful Gift

There’s something inexplicably thrilling about opening a gift, isn’t there? I don’t know about you, but for me, usually the gift itself can’t compare to the feeling of anticipation, wondering what’s on the other side of that beautiful wrapping paper and sparkling bow.

A wrapped gift speaks of possibility. It speaks of love. There’s something to a gift, more than just slapping a few bills into a card. When you give a gift, you have to know the person you are giving to pretty well if you hope for a gift that pleases. You have to think about their personality and their tastes when you’re selecting the gift. And then comes the labor of love – folding and wrapping the paper, taping it down, fixing every wrinkle, taping again, tying a ribbon, sticking on a bow. Time and effort are required for giving a gift, and it is the time and effort that appeals to me when I anticipate opening a gift. My heart rejoices that my gift giver chose to spend so much time and effort on me.

In Luke 2, we find the story of some lowly shepherds who received a surprising gift of their own.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

On that Christmas day, long ago, these shepherds received news of the greatest gift imaginable. God the Father had just sent His Son, the Messiah, to redeem a fallen people. Even as He sent Jesus to us, He knew the pain His Son would experience on the cross. Talk about time, effort, and labor of love.

God’s love for us was wrapped up that night in a baby lying in manger. This Christmas, let your own gift giving and receiving remind you of the greatest gift of all.

What is the most meaningful Christmas gift you’ve received? How does the love represented in that gift remind you of God’s love?

Christmas Traditions

For most of my life, my family’s Christmas tradition has been the same.  On Christmas Eve, the whole extended family would head to my maternal grandparents’ house.  We would spend a few hours eating and catching up with one another.  At some point in the evening, my grandma, Nana, would complain that we had run out of an essential item–for example, milk or toilet paper.  My grandpa, Papa, would volunteer to go out to the store and get some.

The night would continue, and we children would begin to get antsy to open our presents.  “Wait just a few more minutes; we have to wait for Papa to get back from the store,” we’d be reminded by whichever parent, aunt, or uncle was in earshot.  Our impatience mounted, and we continued playing and talking, trying to take our minds off the goodies waiting under the tree.

Suddenly, we would hear a noise on the roof, and Nana would exclaim, “I think I hear Santa on the roof!”  We would run to the window and try to catch a glimpse of Santa and his reindeer.  While we were searching, a loud knock would sound from the door downstairs.  One of the adults would open the door, and our hearts would leap with nervous excitement as we heard Santa booming, “Ho, ho, ho, I heard there was a Christmas party going on here!”

Santa would be escorted to the living room, where each child would take turns sitting on his lap.  As little children, we were intimidated by Santa’s presence and rarely chatted with him for long, but we also felt great wonder and pride that Santa had chosen to visit us.  After each child had a turn with Santa, he would leave and the adults would finally let us open our presents.

In the midst of the chaotic present opening, Papa would return from the store.  “Papa, you missed Santa!” we would exclaim.  We were so excited about opening our gifts that we never stopped to remember that we were supposed to wait to open presents until Papa came back from the store.  I suppose the adults forgot too in the midst of the chaos.

For years, I felt so sorry that Papa always just missed seeing Santa and being there for gift opening.  How ironic that every year we HAD to have something from the store at just that moment!

As I grew older, I realized that perhaps it was a little too ironic that Papa missed Santa each year.  I really put two and two together when I noticed the physical similarities between Papa and Santa.  (Both had long, white beards and bellies that shook when they laughed, like bowls full of jelly.)

Two years ago, my Papa passed away after a long battle with a brain tumor.  Christmas hasn’t been the same since his passing.  No one can fill the boots and suit of Santa like he could.  I suppose the children of our family must think Santa has been too busy to visit us lately.

In spite of the sadness that we feel more acutely around this time of the year, when the absence of Papa and Santa are so glaringly obvious, we continue to make a point of meeting together as a family on Christmas Eve.  Last year, the electricity went out at Nana’s, so we opened presents by oil lamplight.  Who knows what adventures await us this year?

How has your family celebrated Christmas?  Do you find your traditions evolving over the years, as loved ones come and go?

For many of us, my family included, the Christmas season can be a painful reminder of what we have lost.  We should never feel discouraged from mourning for lost loved ones.  But at the same time, it’s important to remember to place our hope in Christ and the resurrection we share with Him, even as we share in His death and suffering.

I’m glad that my family has chosen to keep the heart of our Christmas tradition the same.  Relationships with one another are still important, and we honor Papa’s memory by gathering together in love.  Rather than dwelling in a place of despair, we celebrate life–the new life brought into our family through births and marriages, the life experienced in our fellowship with one another, and the life of a precious Baby born so that death might no longer have the final word.