12.05.2021/XNUMX/XNUMX / Tips & things worth knowing
Volunteer work over Christmas with RGV
Christmas is that Feast of the family! Some of ours Volunteers do not spend Christmas time this year at home, Because they actively help in ours Projects in Africa, Asia and Europe With. They do volunteer work over Christmas with Rainbow Garden Village! But Homesickness does not arise - Our RGV teams take care of that!
Volunteer over Christmas with Rainbow Garden Village
To give you an idea of how Christmas is celebrated in Africa, we will give you the Christmas actions of our teams in Ghana and Uganda .
Christmas at Mama Mina in Ghana
Every year our team organizes in Ghana a Christmas campaign. Our volunteers practice together with the children from ours social projects a nativity play on site, which they perform together. Afterwards there will be a delicious feast! As with us, Christmas here begins on December 24th. On this day, the whole RGV Family Ghana comes together at Mama Mina in Accra: All our Ghana volunteers, the host families and the children from our projects - they all celebrate Christmas together.
On Christmas Eve is grilled!
Summer temperatures prevail in Accra at Christmas. That's why we usually have a barbecue on Christmas Eve. Mama Mina organizes a delicious barbecue for all guests. Afterwards there is a big fireworks display, lots of sparklers and Christmas carols are sung.
One of the highlights of the festival is the distribution of gifts. The packages are waiting under two large Christmas trees to be unpacked by the children and our volunteers. A very special Christmas Eve that all participants will definitely not forget in a hurry!
Merry Christmas in Uganda
"Amazalibwa Agesanyu!" - that's what our team wants in Uganda "Merry Christmas". And not in a flurry of snow under the fir trees, but at an average temperature of 30 °C in the shade of the palm trees.
Christmas Eve is giving a treat ...?
Not so in Uganda. A "gift culture", as we know it from Europe, does not exist at RGV team leader Joseph. In the home of the last mountain gorillas you don't give anything – not even in wealthier circles. If you do it anyway, you won't open the presents until Boxing Day. This is called “Boxing Day” in Uganda.
Instead, cooking and eating together
Many a family does not afford meat all year round. At Christmas, on the other hand, hardly anyone goes without this luxury item. Extensive cooking is already done on the days before "Sekukkulu" (Christmas). The "abundance" is intentional, because small portions are distributed as Christmas greetings.
All are clamped
On December 24th, the younger members of the family “deliver” the food: neighbors, friends, family – they all receive Christmas dinner. In most families, a dish called "Luwombo" is served at this time. The obligatory chicken is the main ingredient of the Ugandan speciality.
Christmas in our other destination countries
Christmas, Geseënde Kerfees, Krismasi and Noël - Christmas in Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Togo
The Christian part of the population also celebrates Christmas in Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Togo. The main celebrations take place on December 25th. However, the focus is not on giving, but on the celebration itself.
Everyone involved puts on their best clothes, goes to Christmas mass on Christmas Eve or on the morning of December 25th and meets for a communal feast. We often have a barbecue together – if possible on the beach. Here, too, December is the height of summer. Some families also put up a Christmas tree: Instead of a Nordmann fir, however, a plastic tree or a few sprigs of hawthorn are decorated with glittering tinsel.
Major festivals in Asia
Our Asian destination countries there is usually no Christmas. Because Christian believers are a minority here. In Nepal, for example, more than 80% of the population are Hindus, in Thailand 95% and in Sri Lanka 70% are Buddhist. Instead of Christmas, there are a variety of other significant festivals of similar importance, such as Holi, Dashian, and Loi Krathong. Don't miss out on these!
Christmas in Europe
Also in Europe our destination countries have different and exciting Christmas traditions. In Spain, for example, the Christmas tree and Advent wreath are the exception rather than the rule, but the nativity scene can be found in every household. The Christmas season starts on December 22nd with the Christmas lottery, which is also the largest lottery in the world. The majority of Spaniards then buy tickets and watch the draw on TV. In Greece, the Christmas fire is traditionally lit on Christmas Eve, which burns for twelve nights and is rekindled every evening. The giving of presents does not take place here until New Year and the "Vassilopita" is baked, a cake in which a gold coin is hidden. Whoever finds them is said to have good luck in the new year.
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