Hungary’s version of St. Nicholas or Santa Claus is Szent Mikulas. He arrives in the middle of the night on December 6 and places sweets and small gifts in the shoes of good girls and boys. The Baby Jesus is then given the credit for putting the gifts under the tree on Christmas Eve.
Serbia is an Orthodox Christian country so Christmas often takes place the first week of January according to the Orthodox calendar.
While Jeannie and I were working in the US doing budgets, writing reports, planning trips and setting up our travels for 2020, our NAB national missionaries were very busy with Christmas outreaches in Hungarian and Serbian Roma/Gypsy communities.
Laci and Eszter’s MEK Hungary team, with help from Word of Life Hungary and community leaders, held Christmas programs in Boldog, Apc, and Csany.
Marijana Cizmanski and her ZZ Serbia teammate and sister, Tamara, held a week long Christmas camp for the children of Donji Petrovci.
Below are a few pictures of the various festivities.
Christmas Program for children and parents at Apc Elementary School in Hungary
World of Life Hungary students help present to children in Csany Elementary School, Hungary
Nativity Pupped Show at the Roma Community Center in Boldog, Hungary
Children in Donji Petrovci, Serbia perform their own Nativity drama in their new community center as part of Christmas Camp week.
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