World #3: In this country Christmas involves lots of lights, noise, parties, shopping. Some of the light displays are awesome – especially if you have lived many years with minimal or no electricity. Sound in this city is mainly music nowdays ever since the mayor banned firecrackers. In fact the residents have been rather in a depression for the last 3 years! They try other noise
-making alternatives such as honking horns, blowing cardboard trumpets, turning up stereos, banging on tin roofing but none of it is as satisfying as blowing up a whole string of big firecrackers.The shops have extended hours and are full most of the time now with people buying clothes, food, gifts. Much of the gift-giving is downward: employers give to employees, businesses give to regular customers. Even the city government distributes buckets of rice, canned meat, oil, noodles, and soap to some of the poorest of the poor via churches.If you ask people what they like about Christmas they will say they like the parties, the gifts, the lights, being with family, giving and sharing. Many churches have special events, cantatas, decorations, and sermons about Jesus’ birth.
World # 2: In the second of my worlds, Christmas is much less commercialized. There are exra lights – even if you have to make them yourself out of plastic soap containers, kerosene and coke bottle caps. Christmas trees often still use real candles (and so obviously don’t stay lit very long). Noise is not quite as noticable – but the boys in the village make bamboo cannons using kerosene and matches or little “bombs” made of shaved match heads which they pound or do something to until it explodes. (Due to the ongoing conflict in my region in recent years, these home-made explosives were banned a couple of years ago much to the dismay of the youth.) They too have more parties but they are more oriented around a religious service with a special snack or meal served afterwards. There is special music and some people try to buy new
clothes. Long hours are spent making cookies (see last post). Nowdays there are more commercially available decorations (see post on ting-ting-ting) and there is some gift- giving, mainly at children’s parties. Otherwise gift giving tends to be upward, employees giving to employer, students to the teacher, and a gift typically consists of food – like a jar of beautiful cookies. There is a lot of personal visiting in people’s houses on Christmas and New Year’s Day and for a week afterwards and that is perhaps why gift giving goes upward. The boss will have a lot more visitors at Christmas than the average employee and so he will be very grateful for your cookies – he can serve them to his visitors.If you ask people what they like about Christmas, the kids will answer “Cookies!” Otherwise people say they are celebrating Jesus’ birth. They like the special events at church and they like the family time together because relatives who live far away usually make an effort to visit at this time of year.
World #1: In the first of my worlds it is cold so making a lot of noise has never been much of an option – who could hear it anyway when everybody is closed up in their houses? So maybe that’s why lights and decorations and gift-giving have become more prominent. There are special foods and a lot of people complain about putting on weight at Christmas time. Churches
do have special services but since Christmas has become more of a cultural institution, most of the partying is not done in connection with church. In fact most parties are not at all religious. Gift giving is common at all levels – within the family, among friends, colleagues, even strangers and is both upward and downward. For many it has become a financial burden – yet maybe because there is a certain joy in being able to give, people still keep doing it. It has traditionally been the time of year for family who live far away to come “home” for Christmas and for many people this is the heart of Christmas. Being alone on Christmas day is thought to be one of the worst things that could happen and so inviting people who would otherwise be alone to celebrate the day together with your family is also a tradition.
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