Signs of Christmas

It has been a bit of a challenge to remember that Christmas is approaching.... given the lack of visual clues here in Nairobi. There are no lights decorating people's homes, very few Christmas items advertised in stores. And of course there is no snow (or cool temperatures even).

The closest thing to a real tree that looks like Christmas would be our neighbour's cedar.

But Santa has found his way to Africa -- there is a dancing Santa at the nearby Village Market; he sings "Yellow Rose of Texas" every time I walk by. There are also Santa billboards advertising Coca Cola and a local bank.

Max and Simon did particpate in a beautiful school Christmas concert. Max was a wise man (along with classmates Alex and Zite) and Simon sang in the chorale (along with classmates Sam and Josh).

The Kenyan people celebrate Christmas by ensuring that there will be food (including meat) on the table and that no neighbour will go hungry. A special Christmas treat is to eat chapatis -- but the high price of flour this year may make that an impossibility for some. They do not exchange presents or put up a Christmas tree. There is no money for luxuries like these. Children may receive a new piece of clothing or new shoes for the school year beginning in January.
The teachers at Rosslyn have a tradition of blessing the Kenyan support workers with a "gift bag" containing food items (flour, rice, oil, sugar, soap). The Kenyan workers are very grateful for this.