This year was my first year spending the holidays not in the United States and not spending Christmas at home with all my family and friends. I knew I was going to miss people, but spending Christmas in India taught me more than Christmas in America ever has in my life.
We arrived in India at the beginning of the month, excited for the Christmas season. To our dismay, there were no signs of Christmas anywhere. There were no lights, no decorations, no Christmas songs on the radio. It looked as any other month would any time of the year. When you think about it, this does make sense considering 80% of the country is Hindu, 19% is Muslim, and the other 1% is every other religion. So, I rationalized this in my mind and figured when we got to our host family’s home, it would be decorated for Christmas because they are Christians.
Well, the first time we saw Christmas decorations was Christmas Eve when we helped our host family decorate their home prior to the Christmas service we would be having the next day on the rooftop of their house. This was surprising to me, so our team had to make a conscious effort the whole month to remember it was Christmas. When it is 95 degrees outside, no decorations around, and no songs playing, it is hard to remember it is December and Christmastime. Without all the extra stuff that America celebrates Christmas with, I was forced to focus more on the whole reason for Christmas. Obviously, I know it is Jesus’ birth, but sometimes that can be completely taken away from by all the distractions and commercialism that Christmas has come to be in the United States.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE watching Christmas movies, I LOVE eating all the good food, listening to some of the songs, but most importantly just spending time with family. However, this year I did not miss that stuff because I was gently reminded by the Lord and by India of the real reason Christmas is celebrated. Yes, it is the day baby Jesus was born, but it is more than just that. It is the day our Savior was born, the Son of God who would bear our cross, suffer for our sins, and make a way for us to have a relationship with God. When I just sat and meditated on that, I was overwhelmed with Christmas and wanted to celebrate even more.
I am so excited for the possibility to be back in the states for Christmas next year. I am excited for the decorations, family traditions, and fun stuff, but I hope those things never distract me from the true celebration that Christmas is supposed to be.
