Christmas Day

Santa?

Christmas.  Birth of the Savior.  Snow.  Christmas / Hanukah Tree. Gold and silver tassels.  Presents. Christmas pudding. Home Baked Cookies.  Lot of people shopping.  Family dinners and office parties.  Santa.  Festive.

That was in Canada, overall, sort of.

In Israel: Birth of the Christian Savior, King of the Jews.  Sunny.  Haifa erected a huge, green tree of lights on the main street.  We walked all over Nahariya to find a little Santa decoration for a friend - nothing, some chocolate Santa but that's it.  No festivities. 

A new meat store opened last week and it sales ham products.  It was packed this week with local Israeli Russians speakers.  

The Jews don't celebrate Christmas in Nahariya.  

The Christians must be living elsewhere.  

The Messianic Jews don't tell us what they are doing. 

But…

The lady upstairs shared with us home baked cookies specifically commenting, "We don't celebrate Christmas".  Then she went out last night for festive-family-dinner.  Great Home Baked cookies, covered with light sugar and full of dry fruits - reminder of Christmas pudding.

Friends sent to us Christmas Chocolate from USA - the best I've ever eaten and it's all gone by this morning - and that was a true taste of the season.

A couple of our friends invited us tonight to a "festive dinner" and we are very much looking forward to that.

Our sons called and we celebrated on the Skype screen:  Wishing Happy Birthday to Ashlyn on her 13th birthday, and chit-chatting and wishing a great Christmas and New Year to the rest of them.  Joy. 

A friend Skyped from Chicago and as we Chit-Chat with her, we met her youngest son.  Nice.  

God is good.

359th Day of Praise -

Thank you God that you sent Your Son to earth to save us all, Jews and Gentiles alike; thank you that gave us the celebration of the day in various forms - while generations pass and technology advances to some direction - the joy is still holding; I thank you God for Family and Friends who love us far and near all over the world.

Looking forward to tonight,

Orith