Cross-cultural Christmas

We are so thankful to be spending just over three months back in the UK on our Home Assignment. This furlough time gives us an opportunity to reconnect with our family, culture and all of our wonderful supporters. We are looking forward to enjoying fellowship with our supporting churches, and also taking some time to rest and recharge, ready to rejoin the Malagasy mission field in April. We have returned just in time for Christmas, which we spent with both sides of the family. And whilst we were enjoying the festivities, it made me reflect on and compare Christmas in the UK with Christmas in Madagascar.

Last year was my first Christmas out of the Northern Hemisphere. We put up and decorated a Christmas tree in our house in Tana, we went to a Christmas market and we even had a slap-up meal on Christmas Day, with all the trimmings you would expect. The family was there and the presents were plentiful. And yet, I didn't have that "Christmassy feeling". You know the one I mean. That feeling in your heart and stomach of wonder, excitement and cosiness. The anticipation and then the ecstasy.

The inflatable snowman outside the shopping centre in 30°C seemed disingenuous. Muppet Christmas Carol had lost its appeal with Afrobeats playing outside the house. Even the presents, receiving swim shorts as opposed to a knitted sweater. The Malagasy culture just seemed ill-suited to Christmas.

But when I got off the plane 10 days ago and felt the chill (and dark) of an English winter, the "Christmassy feeling" was back. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire! A cup of hot cocoa as the snow falls outside. Father Christmas in his traditional red coat, rather than Bermuda shorts. No mention of a barbeque.

As I have reflected on all this, I have had to repent. Ultimately, what gives me a Christmassy feeling has absolutely nothing to do with what Christmas is all about. And this upset me because I know the pitch and patter from the pulpit at Christmas. "Remember the true meaning of Christmas", "Jesus is the Greatest Gift on Christmas" and other such sermon titles that I have heard over the years, drilling into my head that I must focus on Christ at Christmas. And I do...but maybe more with my head than my heart. I had to move half-way around the world to realise that I had been suckered in by my culture's image of Christmas. My joy was in my traditions, even my weather, and not in my Saviour.

Traditions at Christmas can be a deeply-rooted idol in our lives, and hard to shift. It is insidious, because many elements - family, fun, feasting, festivities - can be good in their own right. But when they take the shine off the Light of the World, we need to humbly confess our preoccupation with lesser things and come back to Him who drew near to us. For this reason, I will be grateful to God for the cross-cultural experiences he has given us as a family, otherwise I wouldn't have realised my failings in this area. I invite you also to consider reflecting on how much stock is put into your own traditions. What gives you that festive feeling? Is it the Incarnation, or the trimmings? When we spend next year's Christmas in Antananarivo and my traditions are up-ended once again, I am praying to still get that Christmassy feeling, but through the rejoicing and happiness of the birth of Jesus.