Which is it, Season’s Greetings or Sweet December?

Well, if you’re a Chin, Kachin or Karen refugee in Malaysia it’s Sweet December.

Along with other ethnic minorities in Myanmar the Chin people celebrate Sweet December, recognising the month of December as leading up to the birth of Jesus. It is a time for celebration and joy with lots of community events and socialising.

Sweet December will start on the evening of November 30th when Chin, Kachin and Karen people will come together to sing dance, play games and give thanks in church services. As the name implies the celebration is not just one night, it continues throughout the month of December until Christmas Day.

For Chin, Kachin and Karen refugees living in Malaysia Sweet December will be different to how they may have celebrated in their homelands.

As a Muslim country, the majority of people in Malaysia will not be celebrating the birth of Jesus, though Christmas will be an opportunity to shop and enjoy seasonal decorations for everyone. The refugees will keep a low profile to avoid trouble and the authorities, so door to door visiting, singing and community-wide celebration will not part of their Sweet December.

Image sourced from Emily Fishbein & Frontier Myanmar: “Carollers from the Lachid Culture and Literature Association, which represents one of Kachin’s smaller ethnic communities”

Chin, Kachin and Karen refugees in Malaysia though will hold church services, give thanks and sing Christmas carols as they joyously anticipate the birth of Jesus. Eating together and celebrating community is central to Sweet December and the refugees in Malaysia are looking forward to coming together and sharing meals as a refugee community.

Over 90% of Chin people and most Kachin and Karen people are Christian. The Sweet December traditions have arisen from a blending of how Chin, Kachin and Karen people have always emphasised community celebrations with the Christian Advent traditions about the birth of Jesus.

In Myanmar the tradition of Sweet December seems to have caught on despite the majority of people being Buddhist. A spokesperson for Times City said “(We) want to raise awareness of it (Sweet December) without it being necessarily a religious thing. We just want to recognise these lovely customs.”