Wednesday, December 25

Wow!  What a night!  While we were waiting for the bell to ring announcing the beginning of the Christmas carols, Aaron read us Dicken's “Christmas Carol”.  We made cookies with red and green M&Ms and brewed a press of decaf coffee.  Around 9, Katherine decided she wasn't going to be able to stay up, so she crashed in her bed.  All of us were fading fast, and around 9:30, the Master of Ceremonies knocked on our door to tell us that the caroling had been moved to tomorrow.  Nobody planned ahead to buy petrol for a generator to power the lights for the evening's activities.  So we quickly went to bed.  

Knowing that the District Priest could come as early as 10:00 p.m., Aaron and I both had trouble going to sleep in anticipation of the big round of bells that would ring to arouse the village.  Around 12:30, Aaron and I both noticed the fire being lit for the incense and lots of flashlights moving around.  Soon the bells bonged to wake everybody for the service.  Aaron closed our curtains, since the church is right next to the house.  He was preaching, so he walked over to the church, but I stayed home with the sleeping children.  I had asked several of my friends if this was okay, and they had all assured me that it would be fine to stay home.  In fact, several of them were planning to stay home, too!  Aaron finally returned home a little bit after 3:00 a.m.  The bells for morning prayer rang around 5:30, and our Christmas Day in Marulaon began!

After morning prayer, we awaited the next bell which would ring to tell us to take our lelenga off the hot stones and bring it to the tables that had been set up for the village feast.  Small forked branches had been pounded into the ground, and roofing iron was set on top, then covered with a tablecloth of banana leaves.  All of the food was piled together, then several ladies distributed it evenly around the three long tables.  

The rest of us stood around the edges of the tables (no chairs) and waved away the flies.  The flies were a little bit interested when the lelenga was put on the tables, but when the fish arrived, the flies descended in hordes!  

Marualon took up a collection to buy a pig.  Last night, we donated three of our precious onions, one for each group to make stew with the pig. 

Everybody was asked to bring their own bowls and spoons, and each group (we're in Group Two) ladled out even servings of the precious stew. 

Then Moses opened up with prayer, and the feasting began.  If you've ever played “Spoons”, then you might have a small idea of what the feast table looks like after the “amen”.  One second before, the table is full of food, one second after, everyone has grabbed every bit of food within reach.  If you are slow, you'll be hungry.  

(This is just about the whole village!)

There was plenty of food to go around, and it was delicious! Everybody found a place to sit down and finish eating. We brought our woven mats, Christmas presents from 2011, I think.  

All of the “big men”, including Aaron, made welcome speeches, and then then we were given a rest time.  Our family went home and played “Hand and Foot”.  When the bell rang to return, we made two big bowls of popcorn and two gallons of tropical punch Kool-Aid (I hit the sale rack at Target last summer and bought Kool-Aid for $.11 a packet!).  Now it was time for the carols.  Our family was second, and we got big laughs when we paraded off at the end of “Angels We Have Heard on High”.  

After the carols, the dances began.  Chief Leonard came over and asked Aaron to join his group for a reprise of the coconut scraping dance they had performed last year for St. Matthias Day.  So Aaron jumped up to join the group and practice for a few minutes before they performed.  Thankfully, their group was last. 

(My friend Daisy and her granddaughter sat behind us during the dancing.)

Sarah's group was second, though.  I am so proud of her!  She worked hard to be prepared in her dancing and in her costume. 

Kiko loaned her some ancient shell money to wear around her head. Nobody knows how to make it anymore, and nobody uses it anymore, either.  But allowing Sarah to wear that piece of her family history was really special.  

Sarah looked beautiful, and the girls did a fabulous job dancing.  

Aaron and Chief Leonard's group was small, only six dancing, and it was different from the other groups in that this group had both men and women.  Two married couples, another young man, and Aaron.  And they were absolutely hilarious!  I wish I could put video on the blog.  Their antics ended the afternoon with everybody hooting and hollering and laughing as the last speeches were said.  

Everybody was ready to go home and take a nap after a full night and a fuller day of celebrating Jesus' birth.