15 days until Christmas?

Today is Constitution Day - one of two Thai public holidays during  December.  The other one was last week - the 5th December, the King's Birthday.  Thailand has 16 'bank holidays' every year - seven more than the UK!

Christmas Day, however, will be a normal working day for most people.  Markets will be open, children will be in school, and public transport will be running normally.  In fact, some of the Karen university students that we work with will actually be sitting mid-term exams on Christmas Day.  Add that to the 30 degree heat, and it can be easy to forget that this is Christmas time!

Instead of focusing their celebrations on one day, therefore, the Karen churches tend to celebrate throughout the month of December.  There is a very strong tradition of carol singing - we've already had two groups of young people visit our house so far this year.

Carol singers at our house last Friday evening

And while many Karen Christians will have to go to work on December 25th, their churches will just choose a different day on which to celebrate Jesus' birth - and to use the occasion share the good news with their friends and neighbours too!

A Karen village arranging their outdoor Christmas celebrations