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Christmas calendar
Christmas cards: You can bring Christmas Cards to the Church from Sunday 2nd December until Sunday 16th December. There will be only one delivery in the week beginning 17th December. A donation for the Fabric Fund will be much appreciated.
Carol concert: Sunday 9th December at 6.30 pm We look forward to hearing the Boys' and Girls' Brigades of Holytown and the Girls' Brigade of Wrangholm. There will also be other items. The offering will be for charity.
Evening of carols: Sunday 16th December at 6.30 pm. This is the occasion when you choose the carols. In the past it has been much enjoyed by everyone. Do come along and join us.
Christmas Sunday: Sunday 23rd December at 10.00 am. This will be an all-age Service. Come along, we're sure you will find it very rewarding.
Christmas Eve service: Monday 24th December at 11.30 pm. This is one of the most special services in the entire year. Come and join in welcoming the coming of Jesus to the world.
For the tots
In Brazil there are many different Christmas customs, in part because they were at one time a colony of Portugal. One of their traditions is to create a nativity scene or Presepio. This word means the bed of straw on which Jesus first slept in Bethlehem. The Presepio is common in north-eastern Brazil. Nowadays Presepios are set up in December and displayed in churches, homes, and stores.
Gifts are brought by Papai Noel or Father Noel. He is said to live in Greenland but when he arrives in Brazil, he usually wears silk clothes because of the summer heat. When they eat Christmas dinner it will include turkey, ham, coloured rice and wonderful vegetables and fruit dishes.
For the teens
Did you know that Christmas in Cuba is very different from here in Scotland? In Cuba Christmas is still a simple affair of the heart - no bright lights, piles of fancy wrapped gifts or Santa's in grottos. Families gather together to share simple meals, attend religious services and enjoy a well-deserved day off from work. The holiday is still a novelty for many.
Early on Christmas Eve children in Cuba's 670 Churches walk in "posada" - Christmas processions are traditional throughout Latin America, but for many years neglected in largely atheist Cuba. The children march around the church in biblical costume and sing religious songs, before re-enacting the birth of Jesus. To many children, the holiday is still strange. Nanci, who is in eighth grade, is unable to recite the Christmas story. Her father, an officer in the Cuban army, frowns on the gifts. But Nathan , a parishioner of the church said, "We welcome all children, especially at Christmas. This is how we spread God's word." Clearly, there is still some ambivalence towards the Christmas festivities.
This contrasts very much with Christmas in Costa Rica. The capital city, San Jose, hosts the "Festival da la Luz" to start the season. The Light Festival is full of floats with colourful lights and decorative designs. All the trees can be decorated but Ticos prefer the cypress trees in their decorations. The cypress scent, the lights, the balls and other decoration hanging in the tree are found in almost every place you go. The most important Christmas tree in Costa Rica is the tree of the Children's National Hospital. The tree represents hope for the coming year and thankfulness for all we receive. This tree has been at the Hospital for decades and it gives a light of hope to all the children inside. At the end of the Festival de la Luz fireworks light the sky of San Jose.
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