A Sojourner’s Christmas

As Christmas rolls around, many families begin unpacking festive decorations, planning holiday reunions, and preparing warm winter treats. For several people, these are unwavering rituals, such as the cake recipe that has been steadfastly followed since your great-great-grandmother’s time, or the Christmas Eve party that is always hosted at the same house every year. Now imagine trying to maintain these customs in a small apartment halfway across the world from all your relatives. Traditions are a huge part of Christmas, but for those separated from their friends and family or globetrotters who regularly move house, these habits are difficult to uphold.

Well do I remember relocating to a new city around Christmastime and arriving at our apartment before our furniture. Our new city looked cold and gray in midwinter, the streets frosted with ice and a dusting of snow here or there. Inside, the apartment looked like a skeleton—hard, white, and empty. Nonetheless, Christmas was celebrated, albeit without a couch, chairs, or even a kitchen table. The five of us sat in a circle on the floor, eating McDonalds sandwiches clutched in our cold hands. Although it may not have been the best of circumstances, it was a Christmas we would never forget.

One year, Hope’s family was preparing for a long trip home to visit their family after Christmas. Therefore, the children were not surprised to find that they each received new suitcases for their Christmas gifts—perfect presents that don’t take up unnecessary space on a long journey. However, when the family returned from their vacation, they learned that they must move within a couple of days. This news came without warning, and they spent the next few days cleaning and packing up. The next winter, after traveling to another country, the family had no Christmas tree, decorations, or stockings. Regardless, they found a way to retain several traditions by buying a tree, borrowing some ornaments, and using gift bags in the place of stockings.

A couple years later, Hope remembers another unforgettable, if not very pleasant, Christmas experience. Her parents took the whole family down to the beach for a couple of days during the holiday break. While they were gone, the company that owned their apartment hired exterminators to get rid of cockroaches in the building. In such a humid environment, these pests are abundant, especially in damp areas like kitchens and bathrooms. When they are sprayed with repellent, they crawl out into the open to die, so you can imagine what the house may have looked like. Unfortunately, Hope’s family had forgotten to put away clean dishes after washing them the day they left. Consequently, when they returned on the day before Christmas, dead roaches were scattered everywhere, and the dishes had been covered with pest repellent. That Christmas Eve, Hope and her family spent the entire evening rewashing dishes and cleaning up cockroaches.

Another friend of mine, Joy, spent one of her most memorable Christmases high up on an icy, isolated mountain. She and her family lived in two small dorm rooms. Although the temperature was freezing, at first the snow only gathered on the surfaces of the bikes and scooters parked outside her window. Joy remembers fondly that she and her siblings would scoop up small snowballs and stash them in each other’s hoods. That winter, her family taped lights and small ornaments to their glass sliding doors in the shape of a Christmas tree. Despite the conditions, they were able to enjoy the holiday and celebrate the coming of Jesus.

At times, Christmas can get bogged down with the excitement of presents, decorations, and other festive rituals. Many people think of this holiday as a season of bright lights, delicious foods, and lively Christmas melodies. However, these stories remind us that even without those blessings, we can celebrate the joy of Christmas. This is because God has given us a gift greater than any other: that of our Savior, Jesus. When our lives are full of comings and goings that seem unpredictable, it’s hard to hold on to those customs that seem important to us. This Christmas, let us remember that no matter what happens, we can still celebrate, for this holiday is not about family traditions or presents, but about the coming of Christ.

Picture Credit: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fstock.adobe.com%2Fsearch%3Fk%3Dchristmas%2Bcard%2Bairplane&psig=AOvVaw3ggFEhUbXbLnbWOffwiSg0&ust=1701051991319000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBIQjRxqFwoTCNCww8_O4IIDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD