Merry Christmas!!!

By the time you read this, Christmas in Hungary will be well into the day. So, we have been celebrating the birth of our Savior for several hours now! Hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas Day. We promised to share a little about how Hungarians celebrate Christmas. The following is an excerpt from a monthly newsletter that comes out for the benefit of expats living in Hungary:

In Hungary on December 24th, everything closes around noon, or by 4 PM at the latest. All public transportation stops as well. People get home by that time, and start putting up the tree. (It's rarely done before the 24th - You will not see decorated Christmas trees in Hungary before December 24, except perhaps in stores for advertising purposes!) So, the afternoon and early evening of Christmas Eve is occupied by decorating the tree, together, with the family.
Traditional Hungarian tree lights always included candles and sparklers.

According to Hungarian custom, Christmas tree decorations always include very special holiday candies, wrapped in bright gold, red, or other colored foil and tied with bows, called Szaloncukor. These are chocolate on the outside, with marzipan, raspberry, orange or other flavored jellies inside. Some time before Christmas, Hungarian children have already written their letters to baby Jesus, or "Jézuska," much in the same way American children might write letters to Santa Claus. They tell baby Jesus what presents they want for Christmas. Then they leave their letters, on a windowsill for example, to be picked up by angel messengers during the night, while the children are sleeping, and to be "delivered" to baby Jesus! Baby Jesus and the angels will then deliver their gift requests on the night of December 24.

Definitely different from American customs! But the "custom" that the Brannon family desires for all people is the recognition that God sent His Son in flesh to the world to save His people from their sins. Isn't that amazing that God would love us that much??

We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!! We send our love and prayers to you......

brannons@scsonline.com

Check back later for Christmas Day pictures.