The Season

Christmas is only a couple of days away. I am reminded of celebrations of Christmas in other cultures.

In the Akan tradition the children dress up in their best clothes and go door to door showing off their finery. When the children come to your door you are expected to dote and to give them candy. It is a very interactive tradition and there is not so much focus on the giving and receiving as there is on the birthday celebration. The celebration has a different facet for each sector of society, and the celebration lasts a week. I particularly enjoyed the day when all of the men got together to drink and to mend old schisms. It was like a big beery cathartic forgiveness session- but sometimes the younger guys just got pissed all over again.

In Ireland there was definitely a greater focus on the religious aspect of the holiday. The cathedrals were packed and the families celebrated with big meals and quality time.

In Korea the Christians were the minority, but not so much of a minority as you might expect. There were plenty of decorations and intense participation in the Christmas related secular activities by the majority Buddhist population. It was as if there were a religious holiday for the faithful and a separate celebration of secular consumerism. Believe it or not I enjoyed that too, because it made my authentic Christianity more important to me, and I engaged in deeper reflection on the nature of the Messiah and how His coming affected me personally. And then I bought doo-dads.

Christmas a stone's throw away from Mecca and Medinah was very strange. I was so used to cold at Christmas that the searing desert heat kind of dampened my holiday spirit. But then everywhere I went people were wishing me Merry Christmas and I couldn't help but feel good about it, especially since many of these Arabs were wearing traditional Bedouin garb and there were camels all over the old walled city. I kind of felt like I was in the Christmas story. And I felt good knowing that the predominant religion of the area was mandated by its prophet to be tolerant of other religions. But it may have been easier for them to be tolerant of Christianity because they believe that they cannot get to heaven except through Jesus.

And now there is the unique culture within my four walls. My nuclear family is still forming our Christmas traditions. These include Dad making a turkey with the secret recipe stuffing, Kid not sleeping and saying that she wants everything she lays her eyes on, and Mom reminding us at every chance that the celebration is bittersweet because the gift is also the sacrifice. I wonder if the solace and comfort I feel are a consequence of the season or if it is the other way around.

Whatever your tradition, we wish you the best!