Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!
As we get ready for Christmas here in the states, I thought it'd be fun to look at how Christmas is celebrated in Kenya and Uganda, since I'll be headed over there in 12 days:)

 

Uganda

As I did some research, I found that much of the Ugandan traditions are similar to ours, especially as Uganda becomes more westernized. Only recently has gift giving and Santa Claus become popular over there, whereas it seems they have had Christmas trees for quite some time. There were a few traditions, though not as popular now, that I did find interesting. For instance, Ugandans used to decorate with balloons, cotton and colored toilet paper. As more families replace their real trees with artificial ones, the new year tradition of burning the Christmas tree is also going to the wayside. Personally, I would consider letting my future household have a real Christmas tree if it meant I could burn it a few days later:)

KENYA

In Kenya, the focus is not on materialism and commercialism, but really focuses on the celebration of the birth of Jesus. While they do use fake snow to decorate, other aspects of Christmas like Santa or trees are not present. Christmas is one of the most cherished holidays of the year. Commonly, people leave the cities, like Nairobi, and travel to their parents and grandparents out in the villages.

 

 

As I continued looking around online, I thought it would be fun to see some of the more... unique traditions from around the world.

 

Austria/nearby areas: Santa has a twin, named Krampus Night, whose job it is to beat and punish children who misbehave.

Spain, Portugal, Italy: As a part of the nativity, a Caganer (shitter in English) is included in the corner. The Caganer is a figurine, traditionally of a man, in the act of defecating, pants around his knees bending over with pile of feces at his heels. While once in traditional dress, the Caganer has changed to look like predominant political figures.

Norway: Households hide their brooms and men fire a shotgun outside to thwart witches and evil spirits on Christmas Day.

Japan: Reservations will be made at the nearby Kentucky Fried Chicken for a traditional Christmas meal.

Ukraine: An artificial spider and web are hidden in the tree and good luck is given to the one who finds it. A Ukrainian folk tale says that a poor widowed mother could not afford decorations for her family’s Christmas tree. One Christmas morning she awoke to find a spider had beautifully decorated the tree with its web, making for a very happy Christmas.

 

 

What traditions does your family have? Do you know why that tradition exists? In my own family, we always have a birthday cake for Jesus, where we sing "Happy Birthday" and read the Christmas story.

 

Have a merry Christmas and a happy 2015!!

 



God Help the Outcasts

♫ I don't know if You can hear me
Or if You're even there
I don't know if You would listen
To a gypsy's prayer
Yes, I know I'm just an outcast
I shouldn't speak to you
Still I see Your face and wonder
Were You once an outcast too?
I ask for nothing
I can get by
But I know so many
Less lucky than I
Please help my people
The poor and downtrod
I thought we all were
The children of God
God help the outcasts
Children of God ♫ – God Help the Outcasts, The Hunchback of Notre Dame

December 5 (last Friday) my school held a Hot Cocoa Thon. In this event, we bless the community by handing out 1000 cups of hot chocolate on the streets of downtown Madison. The temperature that evening dropped below freezing. We split up into four teams and handed out all the cups in about an hour. As we handed out cups, we were blessed by the conversations and connections we made with the community, especially the outcasts of society.

My team handed out the steaming hot beverage by the capital building. As soon as we got there, I saw Henry. Homeless, he had all his belongings with him as he settled in for the night at the bus stop nearby. Hot chocolate in hand, I walked over and gave it to him. Henry was so thankful for the warmth. He and I had a few moments of conversation before he laid down to sleep on his bench. In some ways, I gained some faith in our society as everyone let him be and no one told him to leave. In others, I watched people completely ignore him or give him mean, disgusted looks. Although I didn't have a chance to hear a lot of Henry's story, I know everyone has one, and everyone deserves some decent respect.

I also met George and Matthew as I was passing out the cups. George was under the heat of a vent behind an Ian's Pizza, so he was warm and the air smelled good. He wasn't there long, but he when I did see him, he was always willing to help people out and give them directions. He would say hello to all that walked by, while only a few would bother to even smile back. I was sad to not have more of a conversation, but I do hope he slept warm that night. A little after, we met Matthew. He was waiting for the bus to come, but wanting to tell us how encouraged he was by what we were doing. He kept thanking us and blessing us for being a blessing for the community. I was happy to be doing what I was doing, but having someone else encourage us in it made it mean so much more.

Philip. Oh, Philip. Where do I start with this crazy, awesome man. Another member of our group came along this man and later told us his story. Philip had a space in the shelter that night, but because of his drinking was asked to leave. He had something wrong with his foot (along the lines of a broken ankle or foot, from what I could tell), so he had crutches, but couldn't use them because the pad to the top of one somehow went missing. He ended up praying with us before we left (as our cups had run out) and he would say how we were in his house now, as we stood on the street. Although he was very abrasive and coarse, and perhaps offensive at times, he was harmless and pretty sweet as well. Yet, homeless and slightly drunk, injured and rough, he is a man avoided by many on the streets.

Some were connections we were able to further. There was a couple, where the man questioned if we had spiked the hot chocolate (we actually got this response a lot). The woman quickly rebuked him, saying no, that she had had our good hot chocolate before at FreakFest, our Halloween outreach event. She remembered Christ's goodness and hospitality she experienced then and was encouraged to experience it again. Much of Madison society, especially among the church, is against FreakFest and shuns the participants because it is an event full of drinking and drugs. You could say they are the outcasts of a typical church.

Another group met a lasting connection. There was a military man who was in the season of deeply questioning his faith in Christ. I hear this trial is one common in the military and that many fall away from Christ. He was so excited to meet us and hear what we are doing. The next night, a group actually met with him and went ice skating, having some great conversations. He's even coming and visiting our school later this week, with talk he may join my team for a week in Uganda. Before this event, he didn't have Christian friends to surround himself with. Now, many of our team has made a great connection, and Christ willing, have encouraged this man and cemented him into the faith. He is so curious, wanting to learn more about YWAM. Our team's current prayer is for God to guide him to his next step in faith, which could even be a DTS in the next few years.

Have you ever wondered what life Jesus would have had today? Where, or to who He would have been born? Born to an unmarried, poor woman. A refugee after they fled to Egypt to escape from Herod. At the time, homeless, born in a stable, the low of the low. Guys, Jesus was an outcast. He came to show us that even the least of these, our outcasts in society, are worthy of him, are worthy of the Kingdom of God. If we wish to be like Christ, to live as Jesus lived, we must love all of those around us, love that can be shown simply through a cup of hot chocolate and a conversation.

Another group met