Jesus Is Born: A Coopevega Christmas

This Christmas was the first Christmas I can remember not spending in Minnesota. It was good to get a new perspective but also hard to see a culture where Christmas is not highly looked forward to and celebrated by everyone. For example, the store was open on Christmas Day, and I doubt some people even knew it was Christmas— both facts that astonished me. 

This year instead of only celebrating as a family, we hosted a Christmas program for about 55 poor kids who might not have had any other party to look forward to. Every single family that we invited came. To be truthful, this makes me a little sad because when we invite them to Mass or something at the church, the turn out is much less. Even so, I was glad they came to our Christmas celebration and were able to learn a little about the Nativity. 

When the long-awaited time came to open the presents, I couldn’t help but smile at the loud, enthusiastic sounds of ripping wrapping paper and happy exclamations that filled our packed gazebo. I knew for some of those kids this would be the only Christmas present they received this year—or possibly any year.

Before we became missionaries, I knew there were kids in the world who didn’t get any presents or have merry Christmases. Now though, that has become much more real to me. Instead of sending a few toys in a shoe box to some kid I don’t know on the other side of the world, I gave the neighbor girl, Maykeling, a Christmas present and saw her playing with it that very same day. 

Maykeling is an 8-year-old girl who lives right across the street from us and has been able to see how we prepare for and celebrate Jesus’s birthday. Her family has never had a Christmas tree, and at the beginning of Advent she was constantly begging me to put up ours, which was passed down to us from a previous missionary family. When we did put it up, she was confused about the strange ornaments we put on it, and we taught her that they were Jesse tree ornaments and gave her family some of their own. 

We were also fortunate enough to have two Advent wreaths, so we gave one to her family and were able to teach them about it. The weeks when her parents didn’t go to church, Maykeling went with my family. She even participated in wearing pink with us on Gaudete Sunday and she helped blow out the Advent candles after Mass. 

A less religious (but still shocking) reality was that Maykeling had never watched a Christmas movie before, so she enjoyed coming to our house to watch “Rudolph” and some other classics with us. She thought the movies were hilarious and laughed the most out of everyone. When she learned we gave each other presents for Christmas, she joined in and made presents for some of my family members—but didn’t make any for her own. When we asked her why not, she said it wasn’t their custom. 

Maykeling is the first kid I have ever met who doesn’t like Santa Claus. At first, I was surprised, but now I think her dislike for him makes sense. People say Santa Claus brings presents for all the good little boys and girls, yet Maykeling doesn’t get any presents from Santa Claus. The only Christmas presents she got this year were from our family. I hope it blessed her and her family to celebrate Advent and Christmas with us, especially because they couldn’t be with their relatives who live in Nicaragua.

Even though it’s been very different and a little lonely, this Christmas has made me realize how lucky I’ve been the previous years and how lucky I still am. Our Christmas tree is fake, small, and scraggly, but we still have a Christmas tree. Our Nativity scene is made from paper, but at least we have one. This was the first Advent and Christmas that we’ve spent in our own home in 3 years, so we were finally able to restart some of our old traditions—which was very fun and sentimental for me.

This year I definitely missed the Minnesota snow and winter activities. It was strange to see bright, blooming flowers instead of snowflakes. The hardest part, though, was not being able to get together with extended family and friends. Even so, I’m thankful for what I do have, like spending time with my immediate family.

I’ve taken comfort in the fact that no matter how many decorations are around, no matter how many presents under the tree, no matter how many people tell you Merry Christmas (or Feliz Navidad), and no matter if you get snow or Christmas rain, Jesus was born no matter what. He was born no matter where you live, how you do or don’t celebrate, and whether you know it’s his birthday or not. Jesus is born!