This post was originally shared in 2019 and was updated and re-published in December 2022.
Traditions abound at Christmas time. Though each family celebration is unique, we wanted to offer a glimpse into how those served by the HOPE network around the world may be joining together with family, friends, and neighbors to rejoice in Christ’s arrival. We marvel at the beauty of so many countries and cultures celebrating the gift of Jesus’ birth and invite you to pause and reflect on the meaning behind your own familiar traditions.
Rwanda
Many will welcome Christmas Day with a late-night Christmas Eve service at their local church. Though the practice of exchanging gifts is common only among wealthier Rwandans, many Rwandan families will be looking forward to a barbeque that may include fried potatoes, mashed cassava leaves, and green bananas simmered in tomato sauce. For many families, Christmas Day marks one of a few times a year when they will eat meat: likely grilled goat.
Ukraine
Ukrainians celebrate Christmas on January 7. In many homes, a Christmas Eve feast known as Sviata Vechera, or Holy Supper, will be set. The dinner table may be laid with hay as a reminder of the Bethlehem manger where Jesus was born. Eating begins when the first star—symbolizing the journey of the Wise Men—is spotted in the eastern sky. Caroling is common in many communities, where young people or church members may go door to door collecting donations. Ukrainian children may eagerly await presents from Father Frost and his assistant, Snowflake Girl.
Because of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, we recognize that for many Ukrainians, Christmas will look different this year. Please continue to pray with us for an end to the war. Watch this video for an update on HOPE’s Ukraine response.
Haiti
Christmas Eve blends into Christmas Day for many families in Haiti, where a Midnight Mass or carol singing precedes reveillon, the main meal, begun in the early hours of Christmas morning and lasting until dawn. Neighbors open their houses late into the night and early morning, and children travel freely from one house to another with older ones looking after young ones. Children may clean their shoes, fill them with straw, and leave them on their porches in the hopes that Tonton Nwèl will exchange the straw for presents.
Malawi
In Malawi, carols may be sung on Christmas Eve in English or Chichewa. Christmas morning services include a Nativity play featuring local children. Festive music and dancing follows the service. While Malawians might typically eat nsima—a maize flour porridge—Christmas is often celebrated with chicken and rice. Some Malawian children may receive gifts from Father Christmas at school Christmas parties and enjoy mbatata (sweet potato cookies).
Dominican Republic
Christmas can involve careful budgeting for families served by Esperanza International, HOPE’s partner in the Dominican Republic, who are self-employed and do not benefit from the Dominican practice of doble sueldo, when employers add an extra month’s pay in December as a Christmas bonus.
The Christmas season is very colorful and festive in Dominican Republic, with charamicos, handcrafted wooden Christmas trees painted in white or other bright colors: the Dominican answer to a snow-covered tree. Favorite Christmas foods include roast pork; banana leaves encasing pork, chicken, or fish; potato salad; and plantain casserole. Dominican children receive gifts not on Christmas but on Day of the Kings, January 5. Children place water and grass out for the Three Kings’ camels before going to bed, and when they awake their gifts have arrived!
If your family would like to embrace another meaningful tradition this Christmas, consider giving in honor of one another through HOPE’s Gift Catalog, which features the opportunity to invest in the dreams of families around the world and share the hope of Christmas all year long.
Sources:
https://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/haiti.shtml
https://www.thekitchn.com/christmas-around-the-world-2-198159
http://www.worldofchristmas.net/christmas-world/ukraine.html
http://www.worldofchristmas.net/christmas-world/russia.html
https://www.thehamelsfoundation.org/happy-holidays-christmas-time-malawi/
https://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/philippines.shtml
http://getawaydominicanrepublic.com/it/10-interesting-facts-christmas-dominican-republic/
Christmas Around the World by Mary D. Lankford
