Merry Christmas from the Kelleys!
We know how Santa gets around the world in one night and it has nothing to do with time travel. He just hits Eastern Europe early, on December 6th which is Mikulás or Miklós napja (Saint Nicholas’ Day). Before bed on December 5th, children polish their boots and set them on the windowsill in hopes that Szent Miklós (St. Nick) will fill them with candies, fruit, nuts and small presents instead of coal, raw vegetables, wooden spoons or gold-painted switches reserved for naughty goobers. Most kids get a mixture of both as a warning. We adopted this holiday when we moved to Hungary. This year we gave the kids minion bathrobes. No, they aren't exactly Christmas-y nor did they actually fit in their boots, but hey, that's the essence of Third-Culture living - taking a little from each culture and creating something unique. It has been nice to spread out the Christmas excitement a bit and have time to talk about generosity and the real Nicholas at the beginning of advent instead of trying to separate his story from that of Christ’s birth all month long. Now that Santa has had his day, the focus in Hungary is now on the Baby Jesus. It sounds good, but in Hungary Baby Jesus’ role as soon-to-be savior is largely overshadowed as the Easter-Bunny-type figure that delivers the presents under the Christmas tree. That is sort of how it is year round. Hungary claims an 88% Christian population, but the number of actual believers is less than 3%. Jesus is treated as something young kids should believe in, not Lord of All. May the creator that set the star over Bethlehem so many centuries ago penetrate the gray sky of Budapest with the bright truth of who he really is. Please join us in praying as we close out 2015...
"O come, O come Emmanuel."
Pray With Us
Christmas break is upon us and we are looking forward it. Please pray with us that Dave and I (Jenn) would find that balance between doing some catch up school work and soul-nourishing rest in order to enter next semester strong and prepared.
