For all our efforts, Christmas simply isn't
the same here in Peru. This has allowed
me to realize that much of what has been special about Christmas for me is
cultural.

I cherish our family traditions: going as a
family to cut a tree; an evening together decorating the nicest balsa or blue
spruce we could find, listening to Christmas music and enjoying hot chocolate or
hot apple cider with a cinnamon stick. Giving each of our kids their own
Christmas ornaments each year; playing guitar and all of us singing Christmas
carols and reading the Christmas story on Christmas morning; gathering with
extended family for a communal feast and time of fellowship. I also relish the Christmas environment of
home, the sounds, smells, foods, all the lights and decorations, even the hustle
and the bustle of the season. I enjoyed office parties and other holiday
gatherings--getting together with the elders or members of our small group, for
instance. Children's Christmas plays and
special services and happenings at Church were always a blessing. What were especially meaningful for me were
the closeness of relationships and the sense of family in it all.

These glorious cultural amenities are all about Christmas and are generally intended,
I think, to help focus on the true meaning of Christmas. But now that these things are mostly missing,
I have personally come to recognize that my affections were much for these
things and not so much for Jesus Himself. Jesus kind of gets buried underneath all the layers of Christmas
tradition.