New country, new traditions

For Betsy CAMPOS, an immigrant from Venezuela, Christmas Eve in America resembles the celebrations she and her family enjoyed in their native country. They attend church, then return home for traditional foods, gifts, and dancing.

For Pascal Madave, a refugee from Liberia, Christmas is a "devotional season." Last year, to mark his first holiday in the United States, he went to church on Christmas Eve. Later, back home, he "did some extra praying for family and friends I left behind."

For Firewoine Kassahun, an Ethiopian refugee who arrived two years ago with her husband, Christmas Eve will include a small party for friends in their apartment. There's only one challenge: "I don't have ingredients [for Ethiopian dishes]," she says.

Newcomers face many adjustments as they begin new lives here. Learning about American Christmas customs is one of them. Depending on their heritage and religion, some enjoy blending American traditions with their own. Others from non-Christian backgrounds may simply watch from the sidelines.

For some of the approximately 1 million immigrants and refugees who enter the US each year, the festivities embody the American dream they harbored for years before they arrived. Many are awed by the profusion of lights, trees, and decorations, and by the abundance of food and gifts.

"The first time, when I see the trees and decorations, I wonder, Who pays for the lights?" says Jeem Touray, a Muslim from Gambia, where electricity is in short supply. "I think, maybe the government is giving light free."

But the season can also be a time of confusion and sadness. Memories of what they endured in their own countries sometimes cast a shadow on what should be a happy time. They miss faraway family members. Mr. Madave's wife and four children, for instance, remain in refugee camps in Africa, waiting to join him here in Providence.

"People have a general sense of what the holidays mean, and they personalize it," says Robert Meek, director of the resettlement program at the International Institute of Boston. "Then they realize what's not there, and the holiday becomes very, very difficult."

The secular nature of Christmas celebrations in a consumer culture also troubles some new arrivals. "The religious factor is so important to recent immigrants," says Betty Simon, refugee resettlement director at the International Institute of Rhode Island.

Newcomers, alternately intrigued and puzzled by secular customs, wonder: Who is Santa Claus? And what about the reindeer and sleigh, the chimney and stockings?

Even carols pose a challenge. "Some of the lyrics of our Christmas songs are mystifying to people who didn't come from lands where there is lots of snow and ice," says Ms. Simon. "You can't even translate them."

Non-Christian refugee groups also find the holidays hard, because the season represents such a family time.

With little money to spend, immigrant parents face another problem: the prospect of not being able to buy presents for their children. "This is a time when American children get lots of gifts, but refugee families are not in a position to provide those things," says Kelly Lytle of Heartland Refugee Resettlement in Omaha, Neb. "It's got to be really tough."

Still, Baha Sadr, an Iranian who teaches English and citizenship classes at the International Institute in Providence, enjoys explaining holidays to students.

More than 40 percent of those in his classes are from Central and South America. Some Latinos "just go overboard" this time of year, he says, noting that Christmas means a lot to them. By contrast, Southeast Asians "don't really think much of it."

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