Explaining Christmas

It’s that time of year – what’s referred to as “the holidays”. Now that I find myself in a country and culture that is not my own, I am redefining Christmas and what the essential pieces are of “the holidays”. What I mean is that since I’m not surrounded by the western “hustle & bustle” of the whole month of December (or really since the end of October) I find myself evaluating what it is about these special times of year that I miss and what it is that makes them special. There have been a few times when I’ve tried to explain these things to my Malawian friends only to get blank stares and to realize they don’t understand the essence of what Christmas means to me.

Adventists in general here don’t celebrate Christmas except for the gift they might get from their employer or the possible relatives that come for a meal and don’t forget the public holidays granted by the President (more on that later). Otherwise Christmas is considered irrelevant because, after all, Jesus was not born on December 25!! Some I’ve heard even going out of their way NOT to have a special meal on that day to show disdain for such random date setting.

So the essential things that I miss and that I think are the important part of this season is obviously being with family – not just being around on “the day” – but really BEING with them – eating, cooking (especially those two), playing, reading stories, sitting by the fire, explaining the mysteries of Santa, hauling wood, and all the other wintery things that make up life at home (I realize this isn’t the same for everyone – I can only speak for myself and my “home”). I think it is also the comfort of knowing you are surrounded by those who love you and who you love and re-affirming those relationships. I don’t understand how all the traditions of Christmas build those relationships – it’s a mystery to me – but I know it does and that is what I miss. It is also a time of remembering and valuing the gift of Salvation that was given by Jesus coming and being “God with us”.

Although the things above are what I’m used to and what seems “Christmas-y” to me, this year it will be different. I haven’t bought presents for anyone. Christmas morning we (ex-patriots) are going to hand out gifts that were donated for the patients here and some knitted baby caps for the newborns. Then in the afternoon we will get together for a meal and a few games at Sue and Kelvin’s house and probably dessert and carols at Cristy’s and my house. Our house is decorated with lights, candles, and a potted palm with bells – and with Christmas music it does seem festive. But I guess as mentioned above – those decorations and food are not the essence of Christmas for me.

As to public holidays (i.e. where all businesses shut down) – the President of Malawi is fond of announcing public holidays about a week before they happen. So last week on Thursday he announced that the 24^th through the 2^nd of January would ALL be public holidays. This wouldn’t seem like a problem except that EVERY employee expects to be paid for all of these days – whether they work or not. So where we originally had planned two public holidays on the schedule, we all of a sudden have seven!!! Needless to say some employees nearly revolted when we told them that only those who work would be compensated! This kind of grasping and striving goes a long way to negate the Christmas spirit that I had.

This post is sort of muddled with some random thoughts on Christmas and maybe that’s why it’s hard to explain to people here because there are so many aspects. I’m thankful for many things – having a friend like Cristy here, seeing small improvements in the Hospital’s business, having made it through another year of life, having plenty of food and clothes and even some to share, and many other things. But I feel like it would be unfair to say that there is not a bit of sadness and loneliness in my heart this Christmas season. So for now I think I’ll finish making my pita bread and go to the hospital to post this online. Merry Christmas to all!