A Crazy Christmas Eve!

So, for the first time in my life I worked on Christmas Eve this year.   I never had a job in the mall, so this was a first.  I decided to take a 1/2-day though to leave time for baking, napping, and last-minute Christmas preparations.  (You'll see in a minute why I needed a nap.)  So, after a nice quiet morning at the office, I came home to house full of preparations for a proper British Christmas.  No, I was not in England, but 4 out of the 6 of us who celebrated Christmas together are from the UK.  I joined in on some of the carrot peeling, but mainly worked on wrapping a few presents and taking a nap.  

So, it got to be 9, time to head to church to be slightly late, as most people here usually are, for the 9:00pm church service.  And da-da-da-daaaaaaaaa I got home at 2:30am and went to bed.

It's true.  But it was great.  The church service itself lasted till around 12:30, and then there was a meal that lasted till 1:30, and then an hour of songs, skits, and dances.  It was quite the night. 

in english: church service program, Christmas 2010

You may think: wow that sounds miserable, a 3-hour church service! And to be honest, I had thought it might not be miserable, but maybe less than 'fun' and more exhausting than it was worth. To be fair, you need to know that a normal church service here lasts at an absolute minimum an hour and forty-five minutes.  And 2 to 2 1/2 hours is the norm.  So I've built up some stamina, although to be honest, church still usually feels long to me.  Especially if I'm having trouble understanding the French of whoever is preaching.

But the Christmas Eve service was really special.  No candles, no wreaths, no orchestra or brass band, but a lot of joy and celebration.  I'd had probably my most homesick day here, and was really praying the service would be a blessing.  I knew it would be different than a normal Christmas Eve for me.  I realized I have spent every other Christmas Eve that I can remember in almost the exact same way: at least one of Northminster's Christmas Eve services, followed by a Christmas Eve party with family friends at my parents house.  But it was still a hard day--I had decided I had to think of this year as 'Noel,' not Christmas.  'Noel' is French for Christmas.  

So, back to the crazy long cool Christmas Eve Service.  We walk in at 9:15, and the church is decorated with shiny blue garlands on the windows, a star hanging from the ceiling towards the front, and a Christmas tree at the front as well.  We sing a few songs, some Christmas songs and some worship songs, and then, baptisms! 4 women and 1 man each shared a little bit of their testimony and then got baptized individually in a tank of water at the front of the sanctuary. Some of the worship was in French, some in Wolof with French subtitles, and some in I don't remember if it was French or Wolof because it was slightly spontaneous worship while they cleared up the stuff from the baptisms. After all that was a sermon.  Which I confess, I did not fully pay attention to because I was trying to stay awake.  

And finally, dinner!  I was wide-awake for that! Yay for yummy food from all over West Africa since most of the congregation isn't from Senegal, but from all over western Africa- Senegal, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, and Cote d'Ivoire.

Around 1:30 am-oh yes-church part 2: a talent show/random collection of Jesus related and awesome songs, dances, and skits/sketches.  There was one really awesome dance by 5 women to a song about Mary carrying Jesus and how she would have felt and the honor and beauty and scandal of it.  Of God sending a baby to earth and her being an unmarried virgin.

And finally, bed. At 2:30. 

A side note: I had a nice Christmas too, but I'm tired of writing now, and you’re probably tired of reading, so I won't describe it.  But I will share some pictures.  

nice pastries for Christmas breakfast from a local bakery

I also enjoyed having Christmas last an extra several weeks because of Christmas cards and packages arriving in early January.  I also celebrated 'Russian Christmas' with a Russian colleague and friends when they celebrate it in Russia, on January 7th. 

We pulled 'Christmas Crackers' a noisemaker thing with a trinket inside that are a British Christmas tradition.   Inside them were the noisemakers that we're blowing, and the crowns some people are wearing.