As Sydneysiders stop to celebrate on December 25, daily life will roll on in many Asian countries, where Christmas has a low profile. Christians make up only about 1 per cent of the population of countries like Japan and Cambodia. Yet some of our Sydney missionaries say they prefer to spend Christmas there, than in their hype-ridden hometown. What will Christmas be like away from our shores this year? We spoke to three CMS missionaries in Asia to find out.
In Cambodia, where only 1.2 per cent of the population are Christian, Christmas is not celebrated as a public holiday and Christmas scenes are confined to churches, say CMS missionaries Rolf and Bonnie Lepelaar.
Yet the couple, who have served in the largely Buddhist country with their children, Jasmine and Samuel for eight years, say they would rather a Cambodian Christmas without all the trimmings we are used to here in Sydney.
"We prefer to keep Christmas here because it is focussed on Jesus and not commercialism and partying, although that is gradually creeping in " Cambodians will take any excuse for a party!" says Bonnie.
They see the "Christmas spirit' slowly coming onto the Cambodian calendar, but say it is still foreign to many Cambodians.
"Ten years ago, Christmas hardly featured at all, but nowadays, Christmas paraphernalia can be easily bought (trees, cards etc)," writes Bonnie from their home in Phnom Penh.
"No special Christmas food though - it is too expensive and too different for the average Cambodian."
Meanwhile in the Kobe area of Shinto/Buddhist Japan, Grahame and Cathy Smith say being strangers in a culture that celebrates Christmas differently makes for good discipline.
"Most churches don't even have a Christmas Day service as their members are all at work or school," Cathy says.
"So it is up to us as a family to make sure we don't get swamped by present exchanges and gourmet food, and concentrate on the real meaning of God's priceless gift to us."
Being in Japan provides an opportunity to enjoy Christmas without the hype, and pressure and distractions of Sydney's Christmas culture, Cathy adds.
"In some ways, there is less pressure to conform to the culture, as we are outsiders anyway," she says.
"Whereas in Australia, we would feel more obliged to join the materialistic throngs flocking to the shopping centres, here, we can concentrate on the more important tasks of proclaiming the message of Christ."
In largely Muslim Indonesia, where Ian, Narelle and Bethany Hadfield are serving with All Saints Anglican Church in Jakarta, Christianity has a higher profile.
Christmas Day is a public holiday and Christians make up 16 per cent of the population.
"All the local shopping malls have their Christmas decorations up and many are playing Christmas carols," says Narelle.
While they are away from the comforts of home and family for their first Indonesian Christmas " after just four months in the country - they indicate they are more than happy with the simple blessing of being with fellow believers.
"I love celebrating Christmas with God's people and am excited that I will be with people from all round the world," says Narelle.
"Yes we will miss family but we know they love us and we will be with God's family here."
Getting the Christmas message across
Ministry and outreach is taking on different faces this Christmas for these three CMS families.
For the Hadfields, who serve the expatriate community in Jakarta, Christmas ministry will include Carols by Candlelight on Christmas Eve, a Christmas morning service and opening their home on Christmas night for "anyone who is missing home and wants a fun night of games, supper and maybe a movie". Their church and Sunday school choirs have already sung at the local American club.
Bonnie will be involved in putting on a play at the Sunshine Centre, which provides for the spiritual and physical needs of Phnom Penh's poor children.
Bonnie “borrowed” the play from its author, Alisan Greeff, who is a CMS missionary in Namibia.
"Hopefully the play will give the Big Picture to many of the kids at the Sunshine Centre," says Bonnie.
"The parents are invited, but as many are not Christian, it may not make a lot of sense to them."
However they hope the play, which tells the Bible story starting at Creation, through to Jesus, will prove to be "the perfect gospel opportunity for the children", who will also receive gifts of a schoolbag, colouring-in Bible and crayons.
"Like children in Australia, they are not so spiritually impacted by Christmas " it just seems to be fun!"
In Japan, where Christmas is celebrated like any other festival, Grahame and Cathy Smith say an event such as a Christmas Eve candlelight service provides great opportunities to talk to local Japanese people about how Jesus fits into Christmas.
"As Japanese love festivals, they are happy enough to join in a Christmas festival, and find out about the real meaning," Cathy says.
"However it is hard to follow people up, as straight after Christmas comes New Year, which is the time in the year when most families head to the shrine or the temple to pray for blessings and recommit their families for the following year."
Christmas the Western-Eastern way
Ian, Narelle and Bethany Hadfield's Indonesian Christmas will have a strong Western flavour, with mulled wine, mince pies, Handel and Bach, thanks to the expatriate communities they live among.
"The German community has just had a lovely children's advent fete, and the Australian and New Zealand women threw a fantastic Christmas lunch in a local restaurant," Narelle explains.
The different expatriate communities also run their own bazaars, "hundreds of little stalls enticing you to buy and also raise money for a charity".
It will also include a very western European Christmas Eve celebration.
"We will light the candles on our Christmas tree, listen to Handel's "Messiah', read the Christmas story from one of the gospels, and open our presents with some supper," Narelle says.
Grahame and Cathy Smith and their children Erina, Jeremy, Naomi and Rohan will have Christmas in a land with quite different ways of celebrating, which include Kentucky Fried Chicken and the Japanese version of Christmas cake " sponge cake decorated with cream and strawberries.
"Many school or work groups will organise a Christmas party and Christmas Eve is a popular day for romantic dates " if you're lucky, you may even get snow," Cathy says.
Keeping the lines open
Christmas cards, emails and phone calls are the main ways in which these missionaries plan to keep in touch with friends and family back home.
"I am hoping for lots of Christmas cards to remind me of people, decorate our home, and warm my heart," says Narelle.
While being separated from family is hard, Cathy says technology has made the distance between Kobe and Sydney seem shorter.
"In this day of email, Skype, and cheap phone calls, we don't feel quite so isolated as we used to," she says.
"We still appreciate the cards and the presents from family and supporters, to give us a taste of Australia."
Cover photo courtesy Surain Rajadurai.
