Some of the asylum seekers have been stranded in Hong Kong for years and don't know what their future will be. The Vine Church has done the best it could to offer them a festive occasion so they don't end up alone on Christmas Day. Provided to China Daily

The holiday season is among the most difficult times of the year for those who have come to Hong Kong from afar. Among them are a significant number of refugees, who are able to find something of the holiday spirit at Vine Church in Wan Chai. Ming Yeung reports.

"Silent night! Holy night! All is calm, all is bright, round yon virgin Mother and Child ..." a stream of beautifully clear music, unaccompanied by musical instruments could be heard from the outside.

Inside, people were evidently at ease, unlike those hastening along the pavement outside to get in out of the cold, damp weather.

It was in the week before Christmas. All was warm and cozy inside the Vine Church in Wan Chai. Inside the sleek building, newly opened in early 2012, were groups of South Asian and Africa refugees, singing Christmas carols and praying for their loved ones, back home.

The service itself was a multi-lingual celebration with readings in Sinhala, Hindi and Urdu, the official languages of Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan, with traditional sing-along English carols.

The church has roughly 1,000 members, about a quarter of whom are asylum seekers, according to John Macpherson, community pastor at the church and the man responsible for refugees and minorities.

During the service, Macpherson delivered a heart-warming speech to the faithful Christians, telling them how God showed love for his people by sending his only son to save mankind, then Macpherson offered guidance on how the parishioners could emulate Jesus. The diverse group of followers read the Bible verses aloud in their native dialects.

There is a full set of drums on the stage. Upbeat rock is part of the worship.

Still, the asylum seekers and refugees had enough reason to give thanks, as they sang the hymns softly in their own dialects. Those unable to understand the words, clapped their hands in accompaniment.

They are Christians, wanting much the same as other Christians during Christmas - a festival that embraces love, sharing and family togetherness. But most of these people are alone here in Hong Kong, far from their loved ones, waiting for a future, but heaven only knows when or how will happen.

Before wrapping up the two-hour service, a few South Asians said prayers. One middle-aged woman spoke passionately, praying that God would alleviate the flood woes in Sri Lanka. An Indian man prayed that God bring healing to those who lost their kids in the Connecticut school shooting in the US.

Joh, 29, came to Hong Kong in 2005, claiming to have fled political prosecution in his home country, Togo, in West Africa. Following the death in office of long-time president Gnassingb Eyadma, a presidential election was held and Joh was sent by his party to supervise the elections.

Before the poll result was declared, Joh and his workmates were ordered by members of a different political party to announce a different result." Take it or leave it" was Joh's only option. He refused the offer of a high position in the new government, if he agreed to falsify the election outcome. He said he had seen too many suffering under the old administration and he wanted change.

The party that had tried to corrupt him came to power anyway, Joh claims, and he and about 100 others like him, had to flee, first to Ghana, then to Milan, leaving their families behind. Some of the refugee claimants were sent back to Ghana, and that was the turn of fate that's how Joh and a few fellows ended up in Hong Kong.

Joh still misses his family at Christmas. His village back home has a population of less than 500. Most are Catholic and they celebrate in their own tradition.

"For us, Christmas is about families," he told China Daily over his lunch after the church service. He recalled that everybody went home to their villages after a long year working in towns. "If we have a problem with somebody in the family, it's time for us to talk over the problem."

Unlike the glittery decorations outside shopping malls in Hong Kong, people in Joh's village beautified their homes with natural colorful flowers. They were so abundant that an outsider could experience the scents of celebration as soon as he entered the village.

New clothes were made for both men and women "like uniforms", Joh recalled excitedly. For formal or special occasions, Togolese people prefer to wear a traditional kente (large wraparound cloth worn over shorts and a shirt) or an agbada (a long, flowing, cotton top).

Christmas preparations began as early as September. In some poor households unable to afford a calendar at home, the blossom on "Christmas trees" is a vivid indication that Christmas is around the corner, said Hyppo, who comes from Joh's home country.

Togolese eat bushmeat and traditional food mostly, but they prefer something Western during Christmas: salad, chicken, spaghetti and so on, the 31-year-old man said.

On Christmas Eve, attending service at the church is essential for Togolese Christians and they sing and dance till the following morning.

"When the service at church is finished, people get dressed, go get fresh water and start cooking," he reminisced, adding that every household will prepare pounded yam with soup, or they call it "fufu", making a rhyming "gloop gloop" sound that echoes across the village.

Besides staying with families, people like to visit their benevolent neighboring villages to express love and kindness, said Hyppo.

"You can eat at every house. As soon as you get hungry, just go into any house. They welcome you regardless whether you are a native villager," Hyppo said with a flourish.

The festive mood for Togolese stretches from Christmas through the New Year. He remembers the New Year countdown would be spent in church and would continue until 6 am New Year's Day. "We preached, we prayed, we danced a lot; then we prayed and danced. We thanked God for giving us another year. That's the most memorable thing happened in my life," he added.

Even though Christians are few in number in Sri Lanka, a Buddhist-dominated country, Christmas is celebrated with much pomp and fanfare.

The Christians of the nation don't wait for the arrival of Christmas day to start the fun and fiesta. Sounds of firecrackers at the dawn of Dec 1 are the first sign of Christmas. This marks the beginning of the first rituals in every Christian home in Sri Lanka, said Rose, who has lived in the city for 12 years and is a group leader in the Vine Church.

Homemade mouth-watering delicacies are prepared and stored in clays three months before Christmas which can't be opened and exchanged with neighbors until Dec 25.

And Christmas, like the Lunar New Year to Chinese, is an occasion to get together with family members who live separately and respect the elders at home, she added.

"We don't do anything here special (for the Christmas), except going to the church," Rose said, apparently lost the excitement when she talked about her home country.

Even though the Christmas in Hong Kong is nothing like home for the refugees, the Vine Church has done the best it could to offer them a festive occasion so they don't end up alone on Christmas Day. The service began at 10 am followed by a Christmas meal through which refugees were encouraged to find the warmth and togetherness. Apart from that, everyone would leave the church with a Christmas gift in hand.

"We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, and a happy New Year," the service ended with this joyful song, while everyone shook hands and hugged one another with one thought in mind, "may peace come to the earth and everyone has a happy life with loved ones."

"Seven years in Hong Kong, I miss that kind of connection with my family," Joh spoke in a sad tone. He has three sisters in Togo and the only way for them to communicate is via emails.

Asked about his prayer for the New Year, he said, "To be with my wife." They married two years ago in Hong Kong and his wife now lives in the UK.

Being an orphan himself, Hyppo aspires to open an orphanage wherever possible to help those in need. "I pray to God to give me a way that I can offer my help."

(HK Edition 01/04/2013 page4)