Just hear those sleigh bells jingling.... Or calesa bells?

Well, the holidays have come and gone. It's another year -- wow!

Probably my favorite part of Christmas here is how low-key it is. In America, I associate Christmas with hustle and bustle, with shopping and last-minute gift wrapping, with hectic schedules and with family. The last is, of course, the most important -- but it is sometimes overshadowed by the others. Here in the Philippines, though, it's not like that. In the months, weeks, days, and even hours leading up to Christmas I really didn't feel in the Christmas "spirit," and I realized that was because things weren't so commercially focused (if that makes sense). It's not the weather that makes it different, or the food we eat, or things like that -- I guess it's mostly the traditions, or lack thereof.

Let me give you an idea of a typical Christmas here, or at least what I know from the people I interact with.

On Christmas Eve (Noche Buena), everyone cooks a big meal to eat at midnight with their families and friends. They spend that entire day cooking the meal, shopping for food, etc. The next morning is just like normal -- families wake up, greet one another "Merry Christmas," then go about their usual business. People can still be seen shopping on Christmas day (and of course wrapping presents), because gift-giving is done later that evening, if at all. Most families don't give one another gifts. Here in our church we have a Christmas service, and at the end of all the presentations everyone runs around and hands out gifts to their loved ones in the church. Other than that, nothing major is done. Some people have Christmas trees, and there are usually lights up on houses, but it's just....It's just not a big deal.

What is a big deal here is New Year's. In short, it involves another late-night meal (here we had a church service so we ate afterwards), time with family and friends, and lots (LOTS) of fireworks. The streets are filled with ash and smoke and it's impossible to walk down any one street without having to stop several times to allow firecrackers to go off!! At midnight the superstitious jump a lot -- so they will grow in the coming year. ;) I had a lot more fun at New Year's than on Christmas, I think.

Oh, I left out one other detail about my holidays:

MY MOM CAME!!!!! :D
She arrived here on Saturday the 22nd. Pastor Florie had mentioned a guest who was coming but wouldn't say who she was and only said that she was flying in from Manila. I had a suspicion that it was Mom but pushed it aside because I didn't want to get my hopes up. When Pastor brought me to the airport (telling me that this person "really wanted to see me") I became more suspicious but continued to think "no, it's not Mom, it's just someone who's heard about me." But sure enough, it was her! My reaction was priceless -- my jaw dropped, I gasped and couldn't stop shaking for over 5 minutes! I felt like I was dreaming. Apparently this had been planned since September - wow! We had a great week together -- she spoke at our national youth convention (the 26-28th... it went quite well...) and at our church's Christmas service, but we mostly just got to hang out and catch up on lots of talking. She was scheduled to leave on Sunday the 30th but her flight from Laoag to Manila was canceled so we got one more day together and she left Laoag on the 31st. She'll be back in Roanoke on the afternoon of Jan. 1. I still can't believe she was here!! She told me that she was sending me a Christmas package and every day I looked for it in the mail -- well, she was that package. What a great present. :)

love,k

P.S. A calesa is a horse-drawn buggy used here for public transportation.