Celebrating Christmas in Serbia is different in a number of ways. This year two really stuck out for me. First the Orthodox church is on a different calender so Christmas is two weeks later here (after new years). This leads to some strange things like all the cards say Happy New Year and Merry Christmas (in serbian of course). Christmas day is so different, the city is alive, people are out, it's loud. Dec. 25th is just another day. Makes it more of a challenge to feel like Christmas. The other thing that really struck me this year was getting a feel for Christmas in the U.S. is a little hard. The only way to get a feel for the Christmas climate was through the internet. The feel I got this year was pretty negative. Lots of stuff about people taking Christ out of Christmas, retailers saying "happy holidays", the most successful black Friday in years in the midst of an economic crisis. I guess living in a place where the words "Merry Christmas" are only spoken on Christmas Day, not from retailers, or neighbors, gives me a different perspective. You cant take Christ out of Christmas, its impossible. Christmas can be commercialized, pagans can celebrate the "holiday" but as a believer in Christ, you alone determine if Christ is in Christmas. Don't let Wal-Mart or Target dictate that. When that cashier says happy holidays, say Merry Christmas back. Chances are that will make there day. And you can be Christ at Christmas. Serve some one else, use the birth of our savior as a way to talk about the life of our savior.
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