Double the joy!

The holiday season is extra special when we celebrate in Macedonia. Christmas Eve is celebrated with the ex-pat (ex-patriate) community at the International Church where traditional hymns and a time for fellowship brings the sense of community and belonging.

On December 25, our family celebrates a very traditional Christmas. Our Christmas tree twinkles in the living room, gingerbread houses are displayed on the hutch, and the stockings knitted by a favorite aunt are hang by the fireplace. One of our family traditions is adding a new ornament per person each year. Needless to say, our tree is quite full now that we have four children, ranging from 8 to 16!

In the afternoon, we invite a few Macedonian friends to join us for lunch and do our best to make a complete American meal (although turkeys are hard to find here!).

Since Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on January 7 here in Macedonia, this keeps a lot of the commercialization of the holiday away from December 25. It also means that stores are open on our Christmas day, which is convenient if you forget something needed for lunch!

The Christmas celebration on January 7, we visit with close friends and learn more about their customs. One of our favorite traditions is the breaking of bread. The head of the household takes a large loaf of bread that has a coin baked into it. He breaks the loaf into two pieces and passes them around the table for each person to tear off their own piece. The person who gets the piece with the coin is “blessed” for the year. What we know as traditional Christmas gift giving happens in Macedonia at New Year's.