Wednesday, December 25 - Christmas Day

Olivia got home at 2 a.m. again after the caroling finished. Her share of the gifts was a couple of betel nut, so she gladly donated it to a friend. The bell rang dark and early, and we rolled out of bed with sleep still in our eyes. Since the priest was still making his rounds through the villages in our district, our Christmas morning service was short and sweet. Olivia sang with the choir, as usual, and tried to stay awake with all of the other sleep-deprived choir members.

After church, everyone went home to put the finishing touches on their contributions for the “family meal.” Chief Hensi drew names to match families around the village – three in a group. Our family combined with Luke and Siloda, a young couple expecting their second child, and Chief Hensi and his family. Hensi told me that our family’s contribution was every kind of bread and cake we could make, especially banana cake. And lots of black coffee.

We decided to go with a “Christmas Tradition” theme with our cooking. So I made julekage for a Scandinavian custom, pumpkin muffins for my mom’s Christmas morning standby, and banana cake for the Marulaon favorite. I thought that the julekage, with its mixture of dried fruits and lack of sugar, wouldn’t be popular, but Hensi would have eaten the whole loaf. I snuck him several pieces to take home for himself.

Our friends brought amazing fish and lelenga/cassava pudding and pineapple and rice and motued pork. We enjoyed every bite. Our Christmas here looks so very different from our Christmas in America. One of my friends asked me if we celebrated Christmas in America with dancing, too. After we had all filled our bellies, the speeches began. Of course, none of this happened quickly. Church got out around 7:30, but we didn’t start eating until after 10. And the speeches didn’t begin until midday.

After the speeches, the dances began. Olivia learned three different styles: action choruses, custom dancing, and island dancing. And each type had a change of costume. Katherine also worked hard to learn a few dances with a different group of young ladies.

I’m so proud of how much our kids (including Sarah and Benjamin in previous years) have been intentional about being involved with the community and spreading their time among the different family groups in the village to avoid favoritism.

Big feast days like this are a great opportunity to interact with all types of people because most go “home” for Christmas regardless of where they live during the rest of the year. Watching multiple generations interact is so sweet to me. And I love getting to visit with people with whom I don’t normally rub shoulders.

Everybody enjoyed the wide variety of dances. Some were very old, traditional Lavukal dances with singing, and the ladies wore grass/bark skirts, wrapped a banana leaf around their top, and carried a “bow” covered in chicken feathers.

Some dances were accompanied by prerecorded music with a much more modern sound and more modern clothing and accessories. Some were just goofy and had everybody laughing.

After spending Advent in quiet reflection, today certainly radiated celebration. As the sun went down, the community party wrapped up. Our family could hardly keep our eyes open, so we went to bed even earlier than our “early to bed, early to rise” time, thankful for the quiet evening.