One of my best purchases when I first arrived was buying a Christmas tree at a sweet deal from a missionary family who was just leaving. My family always prided itself on finding a fresh tree each year that could touch the ceiling. Mine's not quite that height, but it certainly helps bring the sense of Christmas. Obviously a fake tree doesn't bring the "scent" of Christmas, so I tried to help with one of those Pine scented air fresheners that you put in your car. Good idea, bad execution - doesn't even smell like pine at all! And of course setting up the Christmas tree always goes best with hot chocolate and rusks!
Another Christmas tradition is our Christmas Eve service at my church. We always turn off all the lights and sing Silent Night while everyone passes the flame along their little white candles. This Christmas I headed out to a nearby lodge that hosts a Christmas Eve service for surrounding farmers. The service was in the afternoon out under the shade of the palm trees. It was led in 3 different languages, German, Afrikaans, and English...and interestingly enough, our closing song was also Silent Night.
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| I somehow ended up as the braai master. |
On Christmas Day I enjoyed a nice big breakfast with my fellow SIM missionaries who live next door. Most people leave town for the holidays, so those of us who are left have to stick together. After breakfast I watched the Patriots game that happened in the middle of the night. Then in the afternoon we hosted a braai (a.k.a. "cookout") for anyone who had no place to go for Christmas. We had people from four different continents, so it was nice to meet some new people and exchange stories of Christmas traditions from around the globe.
So, as I said, sometimes you have to fudge a bit on the details, but I still managed to fit in lots of my Christmas traditions!
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