What Christmas Means to Me

I grew up in several Asian countries, each with their own interpretation of Christmas. Many of these countries, except for South Korea, do not actually recognize Christmas as a national holiday. Unlike the United States, Christmas isn’t significant enough to disrupt daily life and travel home. Instead, the day might be spent out eating at a restaurant or in a nightclub. Rather than staying home and giving gifts, many people enjoy shopping and flashy decorations in malls. Despite the lack of snow, people in the Philippines celebrate Christmas the longest and the hardest. Celebrations begin early with flashy decorations going up in malls as early as September. Some traditional Filipino Christmas foods include lechon manok, a sweet and savory roasted chicken cooked with lemongrass, fish sauce, and brown sugar, and leche flan, a dessert made with egg yolks, milk, and sugar.

There are thirty-six countries represented by Dordt’s student body. With that comes varied experiences with the ways Christmas is (or is not) celebrated each year. Many of our international students will stay in the US during winter break and celebrate Christmas in different settings. Some with families from the local community in a cozy Midwest fashion, some with their roommate’s family from other parts of the United States, and others with the most diverse and scrumptious spread on campus with other international students.

While Christmas celebrations may look very different around the world, these are some common themes that transcend place and time:

1. Togetherness: Whether it may be with family, friends, colleagues, or a partner, Christmas is often celebrated as a time for gatherings. Whether it’s through shared meals, exchanging gifts, or attending religious services, people come together to strengthen bonds. This theme resonates deeply in both Western and non-Western traditions.
2. Generosity, Celebration, and Peace: The tradition of gift-giving is nearly universal during Christmas, symbolizing generosity and care for others. This emphasis on giving, whether material or through acts of kindness, captures the essence of Christmas as a time to think and celebrate with others. Also, Christmas traditions globally carry messages of peace, hope, and goodwill, with communities coming together in celebration and harmony.
3. Reflection and Renewal: Most cultures use Christmas as a time to reflect on the past year, appreciate loved ones, and make resolutions for the next year.

Here are a few reflections from members of our international community, as a small taste of the Christmas traditions around the world.

Arnau Gonzalez Suarez is a senior at Dordt from Spain.

Christmas is widely celebrated in Spain, and it is one of the most festive times of the year. The celebrations incorporate religious and cultural traditions, with unique customs depending on the region. Christmas goes from December 1 to January 6, but the most celebrated days are December 24, which is called Nochebuena, December 25, which is el Día de Navidad, and New Year's Eve, which is called Nochebuena.

Growing up in Spain, Christmas has always been filled with warmth, family, and traditions. The festive spirit kicks off in early December with streets adorned with beautiful lights and decorations. Markets selling ornaments, handmade crafts, and delicious treats become a common sight. As kids, we were always excited for Caga Tió (a Catalan tradition). We’d “feed” the log for days, and on Christmas Eve, we’d hit it with sticks while singing a special song to get it to “deliver” small gifts and sweets. On January 5, we would watch the Cabalgata, a parade with floats of the Wise Men throwing candy to the crowd. The next morning, we would wake up early to open presents they left for us. Some traditional foods during the Christmas season include seafood platters, turrón, and polvorones.

As an international student, spending part of the Christmas season in another country is challenging and rewarding. This time deepens my appreciation for Spanish traditions, like Reyes Magos, turrón, and villancicos. Even from afar, Christmas remains a meaningful and cherished time of the year.

Daeun Jong is a freshman at Dordt from Korea.

Christmas is not a giant celebration day in Korea. It is considered a grand event only for Christians. Every Christmas, Christians gather at churches and have praise and worship services. In my family, every Christmas, we share a delicious meal together. For instance, we would go to a restaurant or have a special home-cooked dish.

Since I am a freshman at Dordt this year, I am excited for the upcoming Christmas! I plan to stay at Dordt during the Christmas break. I will spend time with my other international friends and call my parents over the phone. I heard that in Iowa, you can experience the “White Christmas.” In Korea, having snow during Christmas happens only in dreams. So, my heart is full of great expectations of experiencing snow— making a snowman, having a snow fight, and just chilling with snow!

Silas Koros is a senior at Dordt from Kenya.

Christmas is a big deal in my hometown in Kenya. It’s all about spending time with family, going to church, and sharing meals. On Christmas Day, we usually start with a church service to celebrate the birth of Jesus. After that, families get together to enjoy special meals. It’s also a time to visit friends and neighbors, share gifts, and spread joy.

For me, Christmas has always been a time to be with family and give thanks. In my family, we love cooking together on Christmas Day which is kind of a tradition that brings us all closer. When I think of Christmas, I always think of chapati, pilau, and goat meat. Those are the must-have dishes at my family’s celebrations!

I have not been able to go back home every Christmas since coming to Dordt. When I stay here, I usually celebrate with friends or host families who are kind enough to invite me. It’s really special to see how others celebrate Christmas and to feel included even when I’m far from home. While I miss my family and our traditions back home, I have also learned to appreciate new ways of celebrating. The kindness and hospitality I have experienced here during Christmas remind me of what the season is all about: love, community, and gratitude.

Gabriel Garcia, a 2024 Dordt graduate, is from Honduras. He now serves as an actuarial assistant at John Hancock in Boston, MA.

In Honduras, we open Christmas gifts at midnight on December 24. As a kid, that day was so much fun because my cousins and I would wonder throughout the day what we were going to get as Christmas gifts. Before opening gifts, we would just hang out and eat a really tasty meal. Some of my favorite Christmas foods were tamales, rosquillas en miel (it is like a honey-dipped donut), and torrejas (many call it the Latin American French toast). We also had more typical food like pork, turkey, and roasted potatoes.

Another fun memory was that we would design Christmas shirts to wear for that evening or at least plan a color that everyone should wear. We did this for multiple years, and we would always take a picture of all the family wearing the designated outfit. It is so much fun to look back at all those pictures!

After opening gifts, we would hang out with our cousins and play with some of the gifts we got. The adults would stay up chatting. Many times, they ended the night with some really fun karaoke. The night would end around 3 - 4 AM, which is very different from American traditions. On December 25, we would sleep in and then spend the rest of the day playing with our gifts, watching movies, and playing games.

As a student, I had the opportunity to go home every Christmas except for my senior year. I spent Christmas of my senior year with my now wife’s family. We opened gifts the morning of December 25, which is something that I wasn’t used to. I missed the food from back home, but the food was still good. We had pig in the blankets, ham, smoked meat, and we had corn and potatoes (very typical of northwest Iowa). Another thing that I was very surprised about was the number of desserts that we had throughout the holiday season. They were amazing, but I wasn’t used to that many sweets. With my wife’s immediate family, we played some homemade Christmas games that her mom called reindeer games. I missed the warm weather from back home, but the snow was pretty enough to make the cold weather bearable.

This Christmas we will go visit my parents who now live in Canada. My parents moved to Canada a year and a half ago, and this year we won’t be able to go to Honduras, but we will make sure that our Honduran food and traditions still take place in Canada! My parents have a big group of Latino friends where they live so we will probably spend some part of the holidays with them and that makes it easier to keep the traditions alive.

Then we will fly back to Sioux Center to spend time with my wife’s family. Even though we won’t be there for actual Christmas we will still have a Christmas celebration with her family. We will get to experience both a Honduran and American Christmas this year for the first time.

Erik Janssen is the academic coordinator for the Viaa Exchange program in the Netherlands, a study abroad semester that has drawn Dordt students for more than 25 years.

In the Netherlands we have two days: Eerste Kerstdag (25) and Tweede Kerstdag (26). In the weeks leading up to Christmas there are many events hosted by towns and cities. There will be Christmas markets, medieval or Victorian festivals, concerts with lessons and carols; all to get you into the Christmas spirit, preferably in a quaint and medieval city center!

As a child I really enjoyed the tradition of receiving a book in church. It is a tradition that still stands in many churches in the Netherlands. Next to that, I would always enjoy the focus on music and choirs; it was also my entry as a child to play music in church (20 kids on recorders next to the pipe organ, it must’ve sounded awful!).

We are not known for our elaborate cuisine, and that shows in our Christmas food. Rollade is one dish that many people with Dutch roots will know (the tied-up meat!), but commerce has definitely been pushing people into the kitchen to go bigger and better every year. Maybe it is also because we celebrate "Sinterklaas" on December 5, with all its sweets, and then New Year’s Eve with its oliebollen and kniepertjes, that we are on a food hiatus in between.

As a church musician, most of my recent Christmases have revolved around organizing services and preparing and practicing music. Once the services were over, I would have time to visit family. There is a big focus on spending time with family at Christmas, but there also seems to be a trend to take away the pressure of spending your holidays driving around the country, visiting everyone, and ending up socially drained. In my family, presents are not part of our Christmas celebrations, since that is part of Sinterklaas on December 5.

In today’s globalized world, exposure to other cultures' celebrations enriches our understanding and perspective of Christmas. In sharing these stories of our international community, I hope to highlight how this holiday is more than a set of customs; it’s also a universal expression of our shared humanity. Traditions aren’t just repetitive actions. They carry deep emotional and social significance that resonates across time and location, connecting individuals to their heritage, to one another, and most importantly, to Christ.