Thai-Style December

Shiny holiday baubles weigh down December for most in the Western world.  The holiday party at work, the neighborhood cookie exchange, the potlucks, the tree cutting and decorating, the white elephant gift exchange, putting up the lights, the school parties, buying the gifts, the mall runs, the gift wrapping...the list could go on and on.  The month that is supposed to be celebrating the Prince of Peace turns into a fleet of chaos, stress, and anxiety.

In Thailand, Christmas is different.  Christmas is only celebrated by Thai Christians.  Others have heard of the day, but have no idea of its meaning.  One of my Thai friends admitted, "Before I was a Christian, I thought Santa Claus was Jesus."  The positive side of this fact is that the celebrations that do take place are more centered on Christ. 

What if we took some pointers from the simplified, yet Christ-rooted Thai Christmas?  Here are three examples...




1.  Take a tradition like caroling. The students visited neighbors, shops, and other ministries, not only singing carols in Thai, English (and Feliz Navidad because it's catchy), but they also praying and encouraging the families they visited. 


2.  Parties.  Simple is okay.

 

 Just include the reason we're celebrating.

 

Worship and Christmas songs.

 Some prayer and thanksgiving for the past year.

 Plenty of silly games.

 And snacks...especially those that you have to eat blindfolded to win a game. 

3. Self-control...words only used with "no" or "none" in December for most of us born in America.  Can you believe, we actually had to work hard at giving away our Christmas cookies?  That was because everyone just at one! 

 Using knives as cookie cutters allowed us to be extra creative.   We had an elephant and a camel along with snowmen, trees, and the BJD house. :)

 The fun was in the making and fellowship.  

 Decorating.  Thanks to a team who left us with Christmas sprinkles!

 And admiring before giving them away. 

Woops...someone got anxious in tasting before the picture!  :)

Have a wonderful holiday!
And don't get too busy to remember...

The Prince of Peace whose birth we celebrate.

Cookies and Neighbors

The comforting smell of fresh baked cookies fills the air and somehow gives us a little boost of encouragement for the task at hand.

Seven plates of cookies sit on the table.

We pick up the first one and head to our neighbors right next door. Knock, Knock, Knock. The door opens. A Latino man talking on his cell phone stands in the entrance. He raises an eyebrow and walks away, leaving us standing on the doormat. Another Latino man comes to the door, we introduce ourselves saying we live next door and wanted to give them some cookies. “No las comprendo.” (I don’t understand them.) He chuckles uncomfortably. Using my limited Spanish, I introduce myself again and hand him the cookies. A small smile breaks his confused expression, “Gracias, me llamo Raul.” His name is Raul, and the door closes.

Maybe this is going to be harder than we thought.

Plate number two, the neighbors across the hall. I toss up a little prayer as we walk between our door and theirs, Lord bless this meeting, help us communicate your love and grace. Knock, Knock, Knock. We hear some kids running and laughing though the house. This sounds better already; kids love cookies. A dad opens the door, two kids peeking around his legs. When the kids learn the cookies are for them, and that they are free, their eyes light up excitedly. Mr. Gregorio leaves us to meet Dennis and his little sister while he puts the cookies on his own dish and brings us back the empty green plastic plate. I guess we’ll be using that again.

Before we leave our living room we pray over the third plate of cookies. We walk down stairs to the apartment right beneath us. Excited and hopeful of another positive chance to meet more neighbors, we knock at the door, a bold sign hanging on it, “Take shoes off before entering.” Kids are talking and giggling inside, but at the knock everything goes silent. Out of the corner of my eye I see a face peek through the blinds by the front door. No one answers. We knock again, but the door stays shut. Maybe they were home alone and not supposed to answer the door, maybe they thought we were selling the cookies and were told not to open the door. Hopefully we will get to meet them another time soon, and maybe bring over some cookies.

Plate number three goes to apartment number four. The door is answered by “Shorty.” We soon learn we can call her that too. She lives with the Fernandez family. Shorty thanks us for the cookies after confirming they are free and invites us to stop by if we ever need anything, “And we all speak English,” she adds. I comment on the happy Christmas tree in the living room, the kids smile, and the door is shut.

The next plate of cookies is supposed to go to the door with a big pine branch wreath on it, but when no one answers, we take it to the next family. There we meet Martina and her two kids. The cookies are gratefully accepted and bring a smile to the kids’ faces. “Come back soon,” she calls out as we walk away.

The last plate of cookies is ready to be taken to the last family. Knock, Knock, Knock. The door opens wide and a welcoming smile invites us in. We sit on the floor and play with the kids while we make small talk with the parents. Laughter and “yumms” are exchanged as the cookies are enjoyed. As we wave goodbye, “See you soon!” follows us out the door. Jon and Jenna are on our missions team. But it’s always nice to visit with a friendly face.