Christmas in Haiti

I loved Christmas in Haiti. Dad would get our barrels out of the Bible School attic. Mom and us kids would wash the artificial tree (since it had been in a barrel for a year!) and then we all would unpack the decorations for the house and tree. We played Christmas music and transformed the house. We would make lots of cookies and freeze some and make up plates to share with neighboors.

We would learn christmas songs in Creole and practice and practice (I still can sing a few bars of a few of those songs, I caught myself on Sunday singing a carol in Creole while at church. ;0}). Then a few days before Christmas, we would go to a few peoples houses and sing the carols for them and give them the cookies.

Now all this was done with bright sunshine, no snow and lots of green!! I used to change the words of White Christmas to Green Christmas . . . "I'm dreaming of a GREEN Christmas . . . " I still dream of green christmases some times. I miss celebrating with the Haitian people at church who sing out so joyfully and with such gusto! I was sharing with a co-worker today and bemoaning the fact that I do not have a singing voice. I often tell people that there is a verse in the Bible about "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord" and I am the "joyful noise" part. :0) Well, singing in Haiti is all about the noise part (not very many have singing voices) but oh what joy when they sing. They belt those songs out and just rejoice! I miss that so much!! Singing in American churches can sometimes be very mellow in comparison.