A couple highlights from the above list of events:
- The English Conversation Christmas "party" was a night with both levels of understanding combined for a Christmas themed conversation. We played more games, giving people the opportunity to share what they like most about winter, brainstorm Christmas-related words to go with each letter of the English alphabet, and talk about what their family's Christmas traditions are. Everyone brought a Christmas treat to share. One guy that attends the conversation works at a candy store. He brought Daniel and I each a Christmas gift - a chocolate CD and a chocolate "ipad."
- The kids' Christmas concert was with the children I help with on Tuesdays. All the parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters came together for this special event. It was a HUGE opportunity for people to brave stepping inside the church!!! The other weekend - for the Christmas concert at Kostel - I had written Christmas-y verses in Czech on painted backgrounds and hung them on pillars inside Kostel. Lida and I both were in awe that God had orchestrated allowing these people to [hopefully] read these Scriptures around Kostel as they watched their children's program. The kids were all dressed up, and they all did an amazing job with their singing, dancing, instrumental debuts and skit. Their talent is incredible! I have a few videos linked at the bottom of this post, but I'm kind of sad I didn't get a clip of them singing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" in English.
So what are we doing for Christmas? And, what are the differences between Christmas in the States vs Czech Republic?
Czechs celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve; Christmas Day is more just a day of rest. The typical day starts with a few toasts to the holiday with family, perhaps going for a walk or lighting candles for relatives that have passed; cooking, cooking, and more cooking until the food is ready; eat a lot and continue eating all night. Then, open gifts in the evening. Santa Clause is not a thing here; however, it is said that "Baby Jesus" brings the gifts. I've been asking around if this suggestion of Baby Jesus bringing gifts adds to the idea that Jesus is a mere myth. Some people had never thought of it that way; some have said, "Definitely, yes." I found a few postcards with Santa on them while in Slovakia. A Czech friend here was so excited to see them but laughed, because she knew that these postcards were made for tourists - she said that the red coated "Papa Noel" is from the Russian traditions and guessed the postcards were Russian-made. There are no Christmas stockings here, but my parents were awesome enough to mail Daniel and I each a stocking! Thanks, Mom & Dad!
The food - when I show people the pictures of the Christmas ham that I would normally eat in Minnesota, they say they've never seen anything like this before and that they don't sell them in Czech [I think they do in a larger store here called Makro - similar to Sam's Club, but it's geared toward restaurant and business owners]. Traditionally, Czechs eat carp over potato salad with carp milt soup beforehand. Since carp is super strong though, most people have steered away from that tradition and have opted for schnitzel or salmon. This week, I noticed people rushing in the morning to line up next to big blue barrels next to wooden sheds - I told Daniel, "Something exciting is happening; I just know it!" Sure enough - it was carp for sale!!! People choose their Christmas carp from one of the many stands around town. They catch it in a small net, weigh it, and they can choose to kill it at the moment with a club to the head; or, they can take it home, let it swim in their bathtub and they'll kill it themselves on Christmas Eve so it is fresh for cooking. I failed at getting really good pictures of this process but scroll down for a few shots. There's one other food tradition that I've heard of: the golden pig. I've heard a few versions of this folklore pig.
1. Eat all day and in the evening you will see a golden pig in the street. 2. Wait all day to eat your big meal in the evening and you will see a golden pig. AND 3. Eat vegetarian and you will see a golden pig.
I've been baking in preparation for tomorrow's Christmas Eve celebration. I possibly have royally screwed up the cake. It's supposed to be a vanilla cake with cranberries, pecans and orange zest. I have a backup peach-cobbler in mind though. We're going to Vašek and Lida's home for celebrations; Libor will also be there. We'll be eating sushi, tuna, and a little bit of carp [just for Vašek and I]. At night, Kostel is hosting a Christmas Eve celebration. Daniel and I invited my neighbor, Pavla, and she's excited to attend with us. Please, please, please be praying for her!!! This is her first time in a church apart from an Advent concert! We also invited all those that attend English Conversation with us.
Christmas Day, Daniel and I will exchange gifts, open our stockings, and I'll make soup. This is a long post, so I'll wrap it up now. Enjoy a few pictures & videos below! And, as we say in Czech - Veselé Vánoce! Merry Christmas!
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| Mistletoe being sold in town |
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| Hanging out after our Christmas English Conversation |
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| Hanging out after our English Conversation |
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| A familiar sight! Salvation Army still does bell-ringing here! |
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| One of the carp stations in town |
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| Choosing a carp |
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| the Carp |
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| Kids preparing for the Christmas program |
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| Kids doing their Christmas program skit SHORT VIDEOS from the KIDS' PROGRAM: Video 1 Video 2 |
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| We couldn't miss the Star Wars movie - even while abroad; these amazing people dressed for the occasion!!! A few belated videos from the Kostel concert the other weekend: Tereza & Lida Lida Trocha Klidu they're a big deal here! |
Ways You Can Pray for Us:
- we have just 1 month left; pray that we can keep present-minded & use every moment as a gift for God and His purposes
- pray for us to have the spiritual sensitivity, the eyes to see and ears to hear the ways that we can be making the most of our last month here
- pray for Pavla's experience at Kostel. It is a more casual, relaxed time to hang out together tomorrow really, but it's hard to fully explain that to her with our limited language abilities. Pray that she really enjoys her time, that she'll feel included and not out of place [for being most likely the oldest person there]
- pray for our English Conversation friends to attend the Christmas Eve gathering at Kostel
- pray for our families in the States to still be filled with the fullest joy at Christmas despite our absence
- pray for new believers here to really feel the specialness and understand more fully the meaning of Christmas
- as with any event, holiday or special occasion, pray against the potential stresses or little ways that Satan tries to rob us of our joy
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