Ethiopian Christmas

As you all were throwing out the tree and packing up the decorations, I was celebrating round 2 of the recognition of Christ's birth. This time around was more eventful, with everyone in a communal joyful spirit. Christmas still isn't a huge deal like it is in the western world, but we had a nice celebration here on Monday.

Much of Friday and Saturday was spent in the kitchen, baking 7 different recipes of cookies for the kids' Christmas party. Sunday I, along with 2 others, spent 6 hours preparing and wrapping 85 gifts for all of the housekids.

And Monday all the work was well worth it…the kids did have a special day. But the true meaning of the holiday remained central. We were reminded how there was no room for Christ when he came to this earth. Is there room for him today? Someone here received a card that read: "They say it's my birthday, but I'm not even invited." I appreciated celebrating the holiday in a place where Christ was invited.


The kindergarten had a special Christmas program that we were invited to attend. In fact, Scott and I were the only ones in the audience, so we felt like honored guests. Picture this: 230 5 and 6 year-olds holding lit candles for over 45 minutes! Yes, these kids accomplished that feat – with no burns or tears…just a lot of melted wax on the floor. The thought running through my mind was, could kids in the States handle such a task?