How do you celebrate Christmas?
It depends on where you live!

Restoration House Ministries recently held its quarterly luncheon for church leaders in New England, focusing on the ethnic plants that have formed through this ministry. Five different ethnic groups were represented and authentic foods from their countries were served. After the meal each minister shared how Christmas is celebrated in his native country.

Kei Eun Chang (Manchester Korean Christian Church, Manchester, NH) shared that in Korea, the church gathers for worship both day and evening. There are plays and music about the birth of Jesus. Early in the morning, they go caroling -- like the angels at the announcement of the birth of the Christ. A traditional Christmas meal is Rice Cake Soup. The families share the day with cards and small gifts, but not gifts like in the U.S. They share small gifts.

In Liberia, West Africa, Seokin Payne (Oasis Christian Church, Providence, RI) said the Christians gather at the church building and sing carols on Christmas day. They sing carols about Jesus' birth in Bethlehem and the baby lying in a manger. The church gathers to give thanks at seeing another Christmas. The children receive gifts of clothing, usually a new suit of clothes. So you would see many, many children walking about all dressed up in new clothes. Then the families will go together to the cinema or to a soccer game.

New England Church Leaders Gathered for Quarterly Luncheon

In Liberia, there is a tradition of Santa, but very different from the typical one here in the U.S. Two weeks before Christmas, the young men will go door-to-door telling the story of how Santa was coming to Liberia, but his ship went down and he was the only survivor and now he needs to raise money to get back home. The young men sing to raise money to send him back after Christmas is over. They do this every year! In a public place if someone you pass says, "Hi, Merry Christmas to you," this means they are expecting a gift (of money) from you.

In the Chinese culture, Brandy Lee (Manchester Chinese Christian Church, Manchester, NH), who didn't know Christ until he was 29, said that in Hong Kong people would generally go to a movie on Christmas Day, and there was no mention of Jesus. In the city, Christmas is very commercialized.

Wing Wong (Chinese Christian Church, Malden, MA), a fourth generation Christian, shared his rich Christmas experience in Hong Kong. When he came to the U.S. in 1970, his first impression of the Christmas season was that it was very quietly celebrated in the congregation. As a child in Hong Kong, Christmas was celebrated in the schools with programs over several nights and thousands of people would come to watch. On Christmas Eve, they would go to the church building to worship at 7:00 p.m. At 9:00 p.m., they would take a bus and go house-to-house caroling. At the houses, they were welcomed with goodies to eat and candies. He said they would always wear clothing with big pockets to fill with treats. The caroling would continue until the wee hours of the morning when they would return to the church building and sleep on the floor. On Christmas morning, all would rise and at 10:00 a.m. would enjoy Christmas worship with a choir singing carols. This was a warm memory for him.

Wing recalls one Christmas in Hong Kong when they had the young people spend the night in their home. They also had friends visiting from America who presented Wing's family with gifts. Seeing all of the other young people there, Wing and his wife gathered ornaments and other articles around the house which they wrapped and presented a gift to each one present. For many, this was the first Christmas gift they had ever received. When he came to the U.S., the practices were not the same. Now as a pastor of a church here in the U.S., the young people will sometimes spend the night at his house, if there are not too many, and they will go to Chinatown to carol and then celebrate Christmas Eve at the church.

L-R: Wayne Long (Hisportic Christian Mission), Ariosvaldo Da Silva, Eun Ho Moon (Manchester Korean Christian Church), Wing Wong, Rinn Sim, Brandy Lee, Seokin Payne, Kei Eun Chang

In Cambodia, Rinn Sim (New Life Cambodian Christian Church, Lowell, MA) said there had been a 30-year civil war and during that time Christmas was never mentioned. Rinn came through the killing fields of Cambodia and later when he was in a refugee camp in Thailand, he heard of Jesus and became a Christian. Cambodians had never heard about Christmas until missionaries came to their country. Rinn himself had never heard of Christmas until he came to the United States. Now in Cambodia, they do celebrate Christmas as Jesus' birth. They do not share gifts, but they share meals together and they share candy. They celebrate Jesus Christ.

Ariosvaldo Da Silva (Moriah Christian Church, Nashua, NH) shared that Christmas was one of the good things Brazil had inherited from America. The celebrations are similar -- they decorate the cities with lights and trees and play Christmas music. All the country participates -- there is much talk about Jesus and lots of food is enjoyed. Families enjoy a turkey meal at Christmas similar to the one we would have here in the U.S. If a family cannot afford a turkey, they are invited to share with another family who does.

In Brazil the churches celebrate Jesus, but there are two major differences. The snow we have in this country is real, but in Brazil they use "false" snow on their trees -- cotton! And they purchase presents, but they buy them in payments. By the time the next Christmas comes, the payments from the past Christmas are completed.

Christmas across cultures! Christmas is celebrated differently -- from fake snow to no gifts to asking for money through a Christmas greeting. But when Christians celebrate Christmas, the one common fact is the birth of Jesus. Even In Cambodia, which did not celebrate the birth of Jesus until very recently, the timeless message of God becoming flesh is honored. As those who gathered for that luncheon listened to their brothers from different cultures share their stories of Christmas it was evident that the birth of Jesus had brought us together in New England for the purpose of proclaiming his birth in this culture.