Our small mountain town is resplendent during the Christmas Season. The street lamps on Mail Street are bedecked with red ribbons and fresh wreaths; all the trees are twinkling with blue lights; store windows are dressed to the hilt with beautiful Christmas scenes. The first weekend of December is always the grand Christmas tree lighting celebration; a magnificent tree three stories tall! It is all rather magical especially when there is snow.
In the West we take Christmas for granted but in Nepal Christmas was unheard of until recently. It is a Hindu nation so Christmas is not part of their culture. Tourists have brought the knowledge of Christmas to this part of the world and a person can buy a traditional Christmas dinner at a restaurant called Mike’s Kitchen, but even so, it is the rare family that observes this holiday. Unlike our country where Christmas trees are sold on nearly every street corner, Christmas trees, lights and ornaments are nowhere to be found in Nepal.
The children at St. Devi’s Academy know the nativity story. Devi and David try to do something special for the children with a little something extra at their meal and a few sweet treats for every child. May we appreciate this joyous time of t year and remember ‘the reason for the season’.
