A Serukam Christmas (Part 1)

It is only December 23rd but here in Serukam we have been celebrating Christmas since the beginning of December. There is too much to cover in one blog post, so we are dividing this into a before December 25th post and an after December 25th post :) Also, I have already done a separate post about the Christmas celebration I hosted at my house for the nursing students. Christmas is a busy time of year!

So a Serukam (the name of the village where the hospital is) Christmas is quite different than a typical Christmas in the US. Instead of focusing on family and presents, it focuses on the church and community. A teammate told me that and it has helped me look at it completely different because I have to admit it can be tough if you are expecting something else.

The first Christmas celebration here in Serukam happened back on December 6th. This year it was hosted by AkPer, the nursing school. Then over the next couple of weeks we had celebrations at the hospital for staff, then patients, then youth group at church, and then neighboring village churches, etc, etc, etc. Pretty much every night there is an event and depending what group you are part of your need to attend varies and/or you are asked to speak. Thankfully being a woman with still not fabulous language skills I wasn't asked to be a speaker this year but I imagine that will change sometime soon.

These Christmas services follow a similar pattern. The room where they are held is well-decorated and tend to be full and hot by the time it is over. They also follow a typical pattern that depending on the group can be quite formal. First you have some singing, then a welcome speech and prayer, followed by the lighting of the candles, then more singing, followed by special music from different groups, and usually a drama of some sort. Then there is usually a devotional sharing or full sermon depending on the group followed by more singing and a closing prayer. Some of the younger groups also do a door prize or other event guaranteed to get some good laughs. And last but not least you are served a rice meal or at least a rice meal to go in a box. So there you have it in words, now how about in pictures. First from the Nursing School Christmas...

Special dance that included the lighting of the candles

We sang several Christmas songs led by the worship team. You can also see the decorating - this is normally a classroom. 

Then several special music selections. This one is the senior class.

And the freshmen class - so young! 

Then comes a drama - this one was the story of Jesus' birth from Luke 2.

Welcome Baby Jesus!

And then from the hospital staff Christmas, which was held in the hospital chapel... 

Special music by the local pre-school kids. Guaranteed to be a hit anywhere you live! 

Our worship team for the evening as we sang lots of Christmas songs but also focused on Christ's death as part of the His plan for redemption and salvation. 

Candle lighting dance and ceremony

The drama - about a young girl who was blind. 

I was sitting in the front row but these little ones were so excited they kept squeezing in front of me. 

Listening to a sermon - the pastors here can get quite excited and even angry sounding during the Christmas services here. 

A final special music selection. 

I should mention that for most of these special Christmas services I get escorted to very front row. For the hospital service I was really really late because there had been a c-section and then I had to transfer the baby to the ICU. So there I was in the way back, hoping to blend in but no such luck! I got found and escorted way all the way to the front. Definitely no taking catnaps :) While overall I like these Christmas events, they are just so different from a typical Christmas service in the US. They are usually loud and enthusiastic compared to the more reverent feeling in the US. They also sing O Holy Night when the light the candles at the beginning and then the lights all come back on and it is time to party :) 

Next up a marathon Christmas Eve service, caroling at the hospital, a Christmas morning service followed by several days of visiting and eating with friends and community members!