Many people in Malawi identify as Christian. Easter gets a lot of visibility, with churches holding gatherings and marches to remember Jesus’ death and resurrection. Christmas is celebrated but to a lesser degree. Perhaps because, traditionally, birthdays aren’t a big deal. Funerals are.
We also live and work among the Yawo people who identify predominantly as Muslim. The Yawo generally don’t celebrate Christmas.
This helps us peel back our culturally familiar layers of Christmas to the essentials. Take carols for instance. They don’t get much airplay in our local town. Many Christmas carols don’t make sense in the sweltering heat or the pouring tropical rain. Besides, their very musical flavour sounds foreign.
However there are locally-relevant touch points. For instance, during local festivals like Eid-al-Fitr (at the end of Ramadan) those in the community who are rich give generously to others. This could be in the form of cows or goats as meat for celebrations, or money. The community around us know that we, as asungu (foreigners), do celebrate Christmas. And so we are watched. How will we show generosity during this festival that we celebrate?
Our team leaders for many years gave out Christmas buckets filled with clothing and basic items like flour and sugar which are highly prized. We give end-of-year bonuses to our culture and language nurturers that coincide with Christmas. But this continues to be an area of growth for the two of us. How can we grow in our Christmas giving to reflect God’s incredible generosity in giving Jesus?
Interestingly, our familiar Christmas trappings are creeping into our local town. The lead up to Christmas nowadays is enlivened by Boney M’s Christmas album blaring on repeat from the speakers of a local store. And Christmas decorations are increasingly available in the local all-sorts shops as our town’s population becomes more diverse and globally-connected.
words by
Susie & David Haydon
Serving in Malawi
