Christmas in Latvia?

The word "Christmas" in Latvian is Ziemassvētki. It is made up of two words, "ziema" which means "winter" and "svētki", which means "holiday". The decorations are winter themed and have a lot of Latvian folk symbols tied in. I have yet to see a nativity scene, even by any of the churches.

That made me think about how blessed and fortunate that I am. When we found out that we were moving to Riga, I wondered if I was going to be able to attend Mass. As it turns out, there is an English Mass in Riga every Sunday afternoon. As well, we can attend the Latvian Masses. Although we cannot understand the homily in Latvian, there is much comfort knowing what is happening in the Mass even when it is in a different language. It is truly amazing to hear traditional hymns and contemporary music sung in Latvian.

St James in Old Riga

Our parish, Mary Magdalene is behind St James

I admit that I have not done as much this Advent season.  We talk about how we are preparing ourselves in anticipation for the birth of Christ but we also celebrate Christmas with decorations, gift giving and stockings. I admit that I am overjoyed that we'll be with family this year.

Lincoln has taken to hanging out under the tree

I appreciate it that you made it to the end of this blog post because it is not as light-hearted as my normal postings!  So to thank you, I will include something that I found quite funny.  It shouldn't be surprising but in Latvia, every day has a small surprise.  While walking Lincoln yesterday, I came upon this ferris wheel that has been set-up by some market-type stalls.  There is also a "petting zoo" but without the "petting" (so basically, rabbits and lambs on display).  I am not entirely sure why someone would want to go on the ferris wheel in 0 degree temperatures, but what do I know!

"non-petting zoo"

Elvis' face is on the middle of the wheel