Away for Christmas…

Though I was unable to go home to my family for Christmas this year, I was able to spend the holiday with a friend I met in college and his family. Now he is a seminarian for the Dutch Diocese of Harleem. The time spent in Holland was truly blessed for me, and I learned so much about the Dutch culture, the Church in Holland, and got to spend Christmas with a great Catholic family.

 

 

The family I stayed with is a model Catholic family who have poured themselves out in witness to Christ for his church in Holland and around the world– they run the local Catholic bookstore, have written catechetical books for children in Dutch, and serve in the Church in many other ways. Their faith was a real witness to me, even down to praying the family rosary (which helped me accomplish my goal of learning to pray the rosary in Dutch!) and living life in the Holy Spirit. They were very generous to me and wonderful hosts, so ‘thank-you very much’ to them!

 

Dutch Culture

Staying with a family allowed me the unique opportunity to experience life as local people do, and it’s the best way to experience a culture. I got to see how our diets differ (and hence why Europeans are generally healthier – they eat less, and they eat healthier – more things are fresh, less is processed, and the food is generally healthier). Also, riding one’s bicycle is not just for a quick trip around the neighborhood but rather they really use them to get around town, to go to the store – I took a 25 minute ‘quick’ ride to the next town to catch the train, for example. In addition to speaking more languages than Americans (the whole family spoke English – but most could already speak also French and German – and my friend was also had studied Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and now Italian). Of course, things in general are much older in Europe, as well. For example, my friend could trace his family roots definitively to 1400, and with gaps before that. I think that Europeans generally have a great cultural sensitivity, since they are surrounded by so much beautiful art, architecture and music – it is also more readily available. During my time I also studied a bit of Dutch history as well – I think it’s good to know a little bit about where you’re visiting.

 

Christmas Celebrations

We all have our own family traditions to celebrate the Birth of Christ – for example when we go to Mass, who likes to bake the cookies or trim the tree, etc. We also have things that we do as Americans that are our Christmas Traditions (Santa Claus and Rudolf and the list goes on). What I found in Holland, at least with this family, was a more spiritual emphasis on Christmas then we see in most places in America. Not so much of an emphasis on Santa and gift giving, but an emphasis on spending time with each other as a family. Together we trimmed the tree and decorated, and everyone helped to get ready for the main meal in some way. There were also specialties like the Kerstbrood (Christmas bread) – with cinnamon, raisins, nuts and a special nougat in the middle!        

 

 

Of course the Christmas Mass was the focal point, and I had the opportunity to serve four Christmas Masses – and each was very beautiful, and each had a different choir, too! (A children’s choir, the adult choir with orchestra, a Latin schola and then the adult Choir again on Christmas morning). In Holland (and most of Europe, I think), the holiday is celebrated beyond  December 25th.

 

Travels

 

 

During my time in Holland I also had the opportunity for travel. I went with the family for a brief trip to Amsterdam, a city with charming canals and famous museums. I also took a day trip to Den Haag (The Hague), where I saw the Royal Palace, the Parliament houses, and few other sights. I also partook of a strange Dutch tradition – eating Haring, which is a raw fish cleaned a certain way. I still can’t believe I did it!

 

 

 

 

 

Another highlight was having Mass at the beautiful Jacobskerk. Done in Gothic-revival style, the church has recently been restored; there are also many beautiful tapestries and altarpieces. Before Mass we prayed the rosary (in Dutch of course) and there was also a line for confessions!

 

 

Lastly we stopped by the Mauritshuis Museum, which contained several Dutch Golden Age masterpieces by many famous artists. The Dutch Golden Age (17th century) often took a diversion from previously exlcusive religious topics, and instead focused on the beauties of home and rural life in vivacious colors and lively people.

 

Hightime

After Christmas, my time in Holland had one big highlight – and that was Hightime. Hightime is a weekend retreat/ conference for about 200 Dutch teenagers sponsored by the Charismatic Renewal Community in Holland. Through my friend, I was blessed to have the opportunity to be a small group leader at the retreat. In many ways, it was similar to some of the things I hope to do when I return to the States. I got to meet real teens, and talk with them. They are amazing and good kids, and many of them are really trying to live out their faith, despite the heavily secular cultural climate in Holland. Throughout the few days, I could really see the Lord doing amazing things in these teens – bringing healing and grace through the sacraments and through the other ministries such as prayer teams. I enjoyed participating in lofprijzen (praise & worship) in English, Dutch, and even Portuguese, and it actually began to get a bit easier to sing the Dutch songs. The teens were full of joy and enthusiasm and I think everyone was sad to see the weekend come to an end.

 

Hightimes also gave me a chance to learn a bit about the state of the Church in Holland, which is I think one of the advantages to studying in Europe. It was said to me that Holland is in ‘early spring’ right now, as things are getting much better. Though there is a perhaps more significant ‘age gap’ in the Dutch church than the American one, I can say that I witnessed a vibrant Catholic community in the Netherlands, especially within the Charismatic Renewal community. Lastly, the bishop of the diocese came to celebrate the closing Mass.

 

To be a little bit silly, I also learned the wonders of hagelslag (pronounced Ha-hel slaag with a hard ‘h’). You may know it as chocolate sprinkles. In Holland, especially the teens eat sprinkles on bread with butter. It’s not bad – you’ll have to try it!

 

Belgium

The last highlight of Christmas in Holland for me was, in fact, the trip to Belgium. I rode with the mother of one of the team members at high time. She was incredibly kind and even took me to her house for dinner and to meet her family. A devout and holy Catholic mother, she also told me all about the state of the Church in Belgium, which was, unfortunately, worse off than Holland and the USA. They are in need of many reforms, many vocations, perhaps even many missionaries. Please pray for the Church in Holland and Belgium (and also the USA!)