Carols By Candlelight

How do you celebrate Christmas the Aussie way? Well, last Wednesday evening I had the opportunity to experience an Aussie Carols By Candlelight celebration in the Lao context. In Australia, Christmas is celebrated in the heat of the summer, where a trip to the beach is top priority for families on Christmas day.

To introduce the international community to the Christmas traditions of Australia, friends hosted this event. We were invited to bring mats and blankets to sit on and a picnic supper, to the football field at the international school in Vientiane. By the time it was dark at 6:00 p.m., most people had rolled out their mats and begun to enjoy their picnic suppers. On my mat, we shared potato salad, grilled chicken from a street vendor, fresh apple slices, apple juice and Wilbur chocolate buds from Pennsylvania.

As darkness surrounded us, a white candle with a cardboard wax protector was lit. Gradually the light was passed from candle holder to candle holder, illuminating the football field. Then it was time to begin singing Christmas carols - Joy to the World, O Come All Ye Faithful, and others. Silent Night was sung in English French, Dutch and Korean, and could have been sung in many more languages.

Throughout the evening various people shared the Christmas traditions from their home cultures. In Bangladesh Christians travel in the cold and fog of December to different villages to carol to their friends. In Finland, a sauna is an important part of Christmas day. In modern day Bethlehem, visitors spend Christmas Eve passing through security check points to enter Bethlehem from Jerusalem; then stand in line to enter the Church of Nativity for the Christmas Eve service; and then hours, standing shoulder to shoulder with many others gathered for the service.

We also learned to sing JINGLE BELLS the Aussie way:

Dashing through the bush
In a rusty Holden Ute
Kicking up the dust
Esky in the boot
Kelpie by my side
Singing Christmas songs
It's summer time and I am in
My singlet, shorts & thongs

CHORUS:
OH, JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
JINGLE ALL THE WAY
CHRISTMAS IN AUSTRALIA
ON A SCORCHING SUMMER'S DAY
JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
CHRISTMAS TIME IS BEAUT
OH WHAT FUN IT IS TO RIDE
IN A RUSTY HOLDEN UTE

Engine's getting hot
Dodge the kangaroos
Swaggy climbs aboard
He is welcome too
All the family is there
Sitting by the pool
Christmas day, the Aussie way
By the barbecue!

CHORUS

Come the afternoon
Grandpa has a doze
The kids and uncle Bruce
Are swimming in their clothes
The time comes round to go
We take a family snap
Then pack the car and all shoot through
Before the washing up

CHORUS

(NOTE: "Ute" = truck, SUV; "Esky" = cooler; "Boot" = trunk)

What a great way to celebrate Christmas!! I'm looking forward to next year's "Carols By Candlelight".