On the other hand, because the externals felt all wrong, and because we didn't have our families around, and because we knew parcels and cards might not arrive on time, if at all, we really made the most of what we did have. We made an effort to decorate our houses, to have a tree No Matter What, to get together with friends and neighbours, to sing carols, to have children's parties, gift exchanges, do a nativity ourselves if we had to, and we made it work. As Kris said in her recent post, we had to think about the real reason for Christmas because we weren't really being distracted from it by anything else, unless it was our own efforts to reproduce the western trappings!
Here, I suppose I kind of expected Christmas to be laid out on a plate. Here it would be celebrated in the way I was used to, I wouldn't have to make it happen by getting together with the other mums and saying, "What shall we do to make Christmas Chrismassy?"
Here yes there is a lot of talk about Christmas. Yes it is cold and dark (!) and the town centres and some houses are bedecked with beautiful lights. The children have carol services coming up at both their schools, and Christmas Fairs and Abby had a "Jingle Ball".
But, I am struck, and a bit depressed, by how secular all the hype is. Here you do not ever walk into a supermarket and hear carols being played. The shops are loud with pop music, but nothing remotely carolly. The television is wall to wall with ads for Christmas shopping, but they mainly revolve around half-price sofas, and half-price alcohol. It seems as though the most fun anyone is expecting to have this Christmas is to sit on their new amazing sofa drinking and watching television! I have not heard a single mention of Jesus or of anything meaningful behind Christmas on television so far.
Today Abigail and I went clothes shopping, because apart from her uniform we had not bought the poor cold girl any winter clothes since we arrived! Gloucester High Street was awash with people doing their Christmas shopping, all shoulders sloping down towards bulging bags. But looking around at the faces, I saw that nobody looked remotely happy. They more looked determined, and grim.
Even me (to use a Ugandan phrase) - a few days ago, when I realised that this new job is more time consuming than I had anticipated, I was fretting about when I would manage to get all our Christmas shopping done and cards written. Then I pulled myself up short, because I saw that I was no better than anyone else - making Christmas all about those things. What about, how was I going to find time to meditate on the birth of the Saviour? And to be honest, I have not done that. I have been really taken up with the new job, and with getting the children through all their end of term activities. I want to spend time thinking about Jesus coming into the world but I have been distracted from it. I have not had time for it. And so far, nothing much has called my attention to that omission.
Tomorrow we are going back again to the local Baptist Church, which Abby and Alex have declared their favourite, and which we also like - hopefully God will push and pull my heart and spirit back on track. Hopefully I will feel His peace which I need, and His joy which I long for, and the rest of Advent will be a turning towards Him, away from the world, away from the worry and the material demands. The baby in the manger will be from now on the focal point, the anchor I will cling to. In Him, in the Saviour he grew up to be, is my source of hope. That is my prayer tonight, a bit late but not too late, half way through our first Advent in England.
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