Sights and Sounds at Christmas

In Haiti Christmas means traveling.  Many of you have already made plans to visit friends or relatives over the Christmas break.  Maybe you will be spending many hours on the road.  Haitians also travel during the Christmas break to visit family in various parts of the country.  People from Lagonav travel to the mainland.  The highway by our home gets busier as buses and tap-taps carry pasengers between the larger cities.  One of the sounds of Christmas is the honking of horns and squeal of airbrakes on the road.

Around Christmas time in Haiti a little more money is in evidence too.  People in a town like Anse-a-Galets have some spare change to fuel the generator or get that solar panel to charge a battery.  It means more noise.  And I am not talking about Christmas carols streaming out into the neighborhood.  Our neighbor two houses down decided to try out their new stereo system on Saturday night.  It was really loud.  From inside the guest house I could clearly make out the words and even putting on my own music through headphones couldn't block it out.  The sounds of Christmas!

There are also pleasant sounds of Christmas.  Singing is a favorite thing for people in the churches.  After five years in Haiti we are finally learning some of the French and Creole Christmas songs.  They are different than the traditional hymns and songs we know in North America.  But they too speak of the hope we have because Jesus took on flesh to save his people from their sins.  At Gran Lagon on Sunday we took some time to reflect on the incarnation and sing songs that reminded everyone of that truth.

Everywhere I travel, both on the mainland and on the island of Lagonav, I am also smelling Christmas.  The smell of Christmas in Haiti is charcoal being made.  It is hard to describe the smell if you have never been here.  It is very strong and not very pleasant.  Nothing like the smell of a charcoal grill you might be used to.  Everyone wants a little more cash to travel, eat and even get gifts.  Making charcoal is one way.

At our own house the Christmas carols have been playing for a few weeks now.  The kids decorated the house and are looking forward to spending time together as a family.  Not much traveling for Dad for a couple weeks now.  One special Christmas things the kids had a chance to do recently was make a gingerbread house.  They all enjoyed decorating it and then eating it.  Thanks to the special person who brought it down for them!