Christmas Stories from Afar

Wooddale Worldwide, the missions’ arm of Wooddale Church, has 85 global partners serving in 26 countries. Many of them will celebrate Christmas “on the field." One of the advantages of living overseas is the customs and traditions that you get to incorporate into your family. Christmas is a wonderful time to learn new traditions that are unique to the countries where our global partners have made their home. Perhaps we can adopt a few!

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Christmas in Bulgaria
We invite you to join us on a short journey to explore some of the exciting sights, sounds and smells that accompany a Bulgarian Christmas.
Our journey begins as we enter a Bulgarian home on December 24 and find the family gathered together for the traditional Christmas Eve meal. We notice that the table is set with an odd number of meatless dishes; we count eleven, even though the usual number is seven. Our host explains that, during the 40 days of the Advent season, they have been fasting from animal products, including meat, cheese, yogurt, milk and eggs. Today is the final day of their fast.
As we near the table, we see and smell the fabulous aroma of Bulgarian stuffed cabbage, Banitza (a cheese-filled pastry) and nuts. While we are enjoying our meal, the grandfather, being the oldest family member, cuts and passes out bread from the traditional round Christmas loaf. We all wait to see who will find the coin that has been hidden and baked inside the bread. The winner celebrates, for he is believed to have good luck in the upcoming year. For dessert, we are treated to a delectable fruit soup.
Tomorrow, the fast will be broken and the celebration of Christmas will continue. Merry Christmas from Bulgaria!

¡Feliz Navidad!
Christmas in Spain
From Paul & Sarie: In Spain, one of the things we have come to love at Christmas is seeing the bélens. A bélen literally means “Bethlehem,” so it’s not just the nativity scene, but the whole village of Bethlehem that gets set up in your house – often taking over a whole room. Many store fronts and offices set up extravagant bélens, and they are fun to discover. Another tradition that we have come to appreciate is the gift-giving tradition on January 6 – King’s Day. This is the day where families and friends exchange gifts in remembrance of the three kings who brought their gifts to baby Jesus. We like that the emphasis on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is centered on the family (unfortunately, not necessarily on Jesus) and that the day for gift-giving is another day. When our kids were little, they really enjoyed going to the King’s Day parade the night before, and we always include a delicious roscón (pastry) for breakfast on King’s Day morning.

Christmas in East Asia
From Erik & Gina: When we first arrived in East Asia in 1999, IKEA® was our Christmas haven. It played carols and had wrapping paper and Swedish ornaments that appeared to be made of straw. Outside, the only evidence of Christmas was a sad little tree by the bank door with colored tinsel and a Santa face plastered to the window.
Now, there is more evidence of Christmas (and IKEA has become crowded). The nearby market has several stalls that sell bright, inexpensive Christmas decorations that are almost blinding in their brightness. When people buy them, it’s not likely for celebrating the birth of Christ, though Christmas in the language literally means, “Holy Birth Holiday” and Santa is “Holy Birth Old Man.”
But we do know that there is a growing segment of the local people who DO understand the meaning of Christmas and, although their houses probably won’t have decorated trees or mistletoe, they will make the most of this holiday. There will be gatherings of believers, snow or shine, to sing and rejoice in Christ’s birth. They will stand on the streets, or near subway stations, and stop people to ask, “have you heard about the good news of Jesus?” They will use this holiday to share their fledgling faith. Maybe that’s really the best way to celebrate.

Christmas Where You Are
No matter the locale, celebrating Christmas is about celebrating Jesus. God sent his Son to redeem us. Celebrate the true meaning of Christmas – make Jesus your reason for the season. Merry Christmas!

Want to hear from our global partners on a weekly basis? Contact Carol at carol.buchanan@wooddale.org to be added to the weekly prayer email.