(mon-GOHL-yun) – Because of the decorations, anyone visiting Mongolia during December might think that Christmas is celebrated as a national holiday in this traditionally shamanist, Tibetan Buddhist, and atheistic country. “Merry Christmas” banners abound, but very few Mongolian people know the meaning of these words, and Christmas is not a national holiday. Some traditions that usually surround the Christmas holidays were brought from Russia during the 70-year Soviet reign, which ended in 1989. So as not to put an emphasis on religion, Christmas was celebrated as a New Year’s tradition. There are trees, gifts, Old Man Winter, and even a star on the top of their New Year’s trees. In the last 34 years, since the gospel has been openly proclaimed, approximately 40,000 Mongolian believers (out of the 3.3 million population) look forward to using this opportunity of celebration to share the real meaning of Christmas. Ask God to direct seekers to gatherings where believers are celebrating Jesus’ birth, and ask that the gospel shared through the Christmas story will be boldly proclaimed. Ask that many will experience new birth through a relationship with Jesus this Christmas season.