Carina and Lina Sophie arrived in Canada this past September as missionaries from Germany. They came with the Liebenzell Mission of Germany for their gap year (between high school and university) to serve God. While here in Canada they are serving with Toronto City Mission (TCM) and a church planting project called “Reach North York”. TCM is blessed to have Carina and Lina Sophie serving with us this year. Here is a reflection by Carina and Lina Sophie about Christmas traditions found in their hometowns and what they have discovered about Canadian traditions.
“Christmas Songs are played on the radio, Christmas lights can be seen everywhere, people begin to wear their “ugly Christmas sweaters”, these are signs that the Christmas Season has started.
Coming to a foreign country to celebrate Christmas is something that both of us have never experienced before. Usually, our Christmas celebrations consist of the following:
Throughout the month of December, every day we open a new window on our advent calendar, and every Sunday we light up a candle on our advent wreath... While we wait for the big day, we go to various Christmas markets or bake an assortment of Christmas cookies. On Christmas eve, which is celebrated in Germany as the actual Christmas Day, we go to church with our families, have dinner together and spend the evening unwrapping presents that were placed under the Christmas tree.
Coming to Canada this year, we knew one thing, our Christmas would look different. Some differences included: a plastic Christmas tree instead of a real one and less variety when it came to baking cookies. We immediately noticed that homes were covered in Christmas lights and other decorations and Christmas is mainly on the 25th.
While our Christmas traditions are different, one thing remains the same. It is love, joy, and happiness that fills our hearts during the Christmas season. Celebrating Christmas in Toronto this year is an exciting experience for us because we are able to gain insight into different Christmas traditions due to the cultural diversity. It is such a privilege to get to know so many brothers and sisters in Christ with different cultural backgrounds, to see their way of celebrating Jesus’ Birth. No matter how big the cultural differences may be, we all celebrate Christmas for the same reason: to celebrate Jesus Christ, who was born into this world to bring salvation to all of us. Moreover, we are so thankful to share that joy that fills our hearts with the kids from our communities. To show them that there is a gift for them that is much greater than the most awesome present they could ever wish for.”
