How Your Missionaries Celebrated (Or Are Still Celebrating) the Holidays
Learning about other cultures’ holiday traditions often starts in childhood, perhaps with school projects about Boxing Day or how Dutch children leave wooden shoes out for Christmas instead of stockings. But for missionaries like Stacy Cawley, experiencing holidays in another culture brings those traditions to life in unexpected and meaningful ways.
Stacy and her family had their first overseas Christmas during their term in Tanzania, and it was unlike any they’d experienced before. Instead of cozy winter weather, they found themselves celebrating in the heat of the African summer.
Stacy recalls singing “dashing through the snow” with her children while they sweated through their shirts, coloring a paper “Christmas tree” with every shade of green and blue crayon they could find. Despite the absence of traditional decorations and familiar comforts, that Christmas marked the beginning of a journey of discovery, adaptation and connection.
Holidays That Stretch Across Time
In the United States, holiday greetings are usually short-lived. By the second week of January, “Happy New Year” is rarely heard. But Stacy quickly learned that in many African countries, New Year’s greetings last for months. Whenever someone greets a friend for the first time in the new year — whether it’s February, March or even May — they offer blessings and well-wishes.
Unexpected timelines also shaped Stacy’s family’s holiday traditions. One year, a shipment of Christmas presents from their children’s grandparents didn’t arrive until March. Undeterred, Stacy and her family celebrated a “second Christmas” with carols and the Christmas story, cherishing the gifts that came months late. Even Christmas cards arrived unpredictably — sometimes as late as August — keeping the holiday spirit alive long after the season had officially ended. These experiences taught Stacy to hold traditions loosely and embrace the joy that comes with flexibility and spontaneity.
Food and Gifts with Local Flavor
Holiday meals often reflect local flavors and resources, and Stacy’s overseas experiences provided her family with opportunities to enjoy unique culinary traditions.
While serving in Papua New Guinea, Stacy’s friends Michael and Bev hosted single missionaries for Christmas Eve, offering roasted lamb imported from New Zealand. In Cameroon, a neighbor gifted Stacy’s family a live chicken for Christmas — a gesture of generosity that initially confused her children, who thought it was a pet.
Even gift-giving took on new forms. Stacy recalls hosting a gift exchange with over 30 missionary colleagues in Cameroon. The most coveted items weren’t the latest gadgets or luxury goods; they were thoughtful, practical gifts like homemade cookies, a jar of American peanut butter and a babysitting coupon.
Thanksgiving, too, required some adjustments. In Nigeria, Michael and Bev invited local friends to experience an American Thanksgiving. With turkey expensive and hard to find, chicken became the centerpiece. Local friends helped bake pies and prepare dishes, creating a festive atmosphere that blended cultures and traditions.
Customs That Bridge Cultures
One of Stacy’s favorite parts of celebrating the holidays overseas was participating in customs that bridged her family’s traditions with those of their host communities.
- In Tanzania, churches collected rice, beans, oil, soap and other essentials to create gift bundles wrapped in colorful fabric. These bundles, accompanied by copies of the Gospel of John, were delivered to families in need on Christmas Day. Stacy’s family embraced this tradition and continued it when they moved to Cameroon, finding it a beautiful way to share both physical and spiritual nourishment.
- In Guatemala, missionaries joined local families for a traditional Christmas Eve meal of tamales wrapped in banana leaves. At midnight, fireworks lit up the night sky, creating a joyful and festive celebration.
- Other customs required creative adaptations. In one country where Halloween wasn’t culturally appropriate, Stacy and her family organized a “Harvest Hoo-Rah.” Guests brought encouraging notes and small treats for each other, and the evening was filled with gratitude and fellowship.
Lessons in Simplicity and Generosity
Over time, Stacy noticed how her family’s priorities shifted as they embraced the simplicity of life overseas. One year, her 7-year-old son asked for potato chips as his only Christmas gift — a humble request that reflected a growing understanding of what truly matters.
One of Stacy’s most meaningful holiday memories came during her first Christmas in Tanzania. She discovered that the family who sold them milk also pastored a small church, but only the pastor owned a Bible. Thanks to the work of SIL Global (Wycliffe’s primary partner), the Bible had already been translated into their language. Stacy’s family was able to gift each family in the church a Bible and a children’s story Bible. The thought of these families reading the Christmas story in a language that touched their hearts for the first time deepened Stacy’s passion for helping others access God’s Word.
Holiday Resources for Kids
Help children grow in their faith with engaging resources for every season. From Advent activities and family devotionals to homeschool curriculum and VBS programs, Wycliffe offers tools to support your family’s journey together.
The Heart of the Holidays
While the details of holiday celebrations may change — local foods instead of familiar dishes, homemade decorations instead of store-bought ones or celebrations spread across months — the essence of the holidays remains the same.
For Stacy and her family, the holidays became an opportunity to focus on the heart of the season. Thanksgiving was a time to reflect on God’s goodness. Christmas celebrated the miraculous gift of Jesus Christ. The new year offered a fresh reminder of God’s mercies, which are new every morning. These moments weren’t just about personal reflection; they were about community. Stacy and her family found joy in sharing meals, exchanging gifts and celebrating with colleagues, neighbors and friends from diverse backgrounds. The relationships formed during these celebrations became a source of strength and joy, creating memories that would last a lifetime.
How You Can Support Missionaries During the Holidays
Missionaries like Stacy may celebrate the holidays differently than families back home, but their focus remains the same: glorifying God and sharing His love with the people they serve. Whether through unique gift exchanges, shared meals or adapted customs, missionaries embrace the beauty of cross-cultural connection during the holidays.
This holiday season, consider partnering with a missionary through your prayers or financial support. Your partnership can help bring the joy of the gospel to communities around the world, ensuring that the message of hope and salvation is shared in every language and culture.
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