The African country of
Ghana
goes all out in celebrat-
ing Christmas. Preparations before-
hand are so intense that Reverend
P.E. Adotey Addo says, "one really
feels as if the whole country
is actually preparing for the
birth of the baby Jesus."
Ghanians travel back to
their ancestral homes, most
often in brightly decorated cars,
buses or lorries. There they will
enjoy a traditional Christmas meal
of specially cooked rice and goat or
chicken stew. Most homes have
in their courtyard a mango,
guava or cashew tree deco-
rated for the season.
Christmas Eve
services are held
in the churches fol-
lowed by processions
through the streets led
by local bands and joyful
dancing that often lasts
to the wee hours of the
morning. On Christmas
Day worshippers return
to church wearing new
clothes bought for the
occasion. Christmas
carols are sung in the
native languages of
those present and
they hear once
again the story
of Christ's birth.
At the end, children are given treats of
imported chocolate, cookies and crackers.
A purely Australian custom
started in 1937 when radio announcer
Norman Banks saw a lonely woman on
Christmas Day sitting at her window lis-
tening to Christmas carols on the radio
to the light of a single flickering can-
dle. The next Christmas he arranged
a carol sing at the Alexandra Gardens
along the banks of Melbourne's main
river. Dubbed "Carols by Candlelight,"
the annual event attracts crowds up-
wards of 250,000 and is broadcast across
the world. The night ends with the sing-
ing of "Auld Lang Syne." There is noth-
ing to rival it anywhere else in the world.
In India
during the Christmas sea-
son Christians decorate mango or ba-
nana trees. Houses are adorned with
mango leaves and in some parts of India,
small clay oil-burning lamps decorate
the edges of flat roofs and the tops of
walls on the homes. Churches are deco-
rated with poinsettias and candles for
the traditional Christmas Eve service.
In Mexico
the celebration begins
several weeks in advance of Christmas
Day. Elaborately decorated stalls are
set up in every town and village where
foods and flowers of every kind are sold.
The poinsettia, also known as the
Christmas flower, is native to Mexico.
Local legend says that a little boy on his
18
The War Cry | DECEMBER 2014
WORLD
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