Christmas.
Ah, Christmas. Jesus's birthday, Winter Solstice, evergreen trees, mistletoe and ham.
Does that sound about right?
Now, I'm not a native Christmas-er, to tell the truth. My cultural inclination leans more toward those blue and silver stars. And the 8 craaaaaaaazy nights. Of presents.
But I do enjoy a good yuletide celebration as much as the next foreigner, ya know? I can sing Christmas carols with the best of 'em, and did I mention the ham?
Damn, I love Christmas Ham.
Now, Christmas is...well...it's a Western holiday. In some cities around China, it can turn into a big ol' party, but mostly the locals just like wishing all us laowai a "Merry Christmas!", to which I sometimes reply with "Happy Chanukah!" just to get those ever-satisfying double takes.
My Christmas was relatively quiet to say the least.
(Except for this one huge party I went to that definitely involved dancing and Mike in a Santa Hat. Go figure.)
Christmas, in my opinion, is a time for family, love and warmth. For those of you who are especially lucky, it's also a time when all your relatives (blood, marriage, ex-con etc) all flock to your too-tiny house just so they can harrass you all the way up until the New Year. Our new year that is. Not the big red one out in these parts.
I had the great fortune of being surrounded by my new family this year. We came together for a big dinner at the nice hotel down the way from our university and had a delightful Christmas dinner. Students also helped us celebrate by gifting us with decoratively wrapped apples to promote health and happiness during our holiday season. All in all, it was certainly a treat to spend this Christmas here in China.
I even got to eat some of that oh-so-special ham. Score.
Ah, Christmas. Jesus's birthday, Winter Solstice, evergreen trees, mistletoe and ham.
Does that sound about right?
Now, I'm not a native Christmas-er, to tell the truth. My cultural inclination leans more toward those blue and silver stars. And the 8 craaaaaaaazy nights. Of presents.
But I do enjoy a good yuletide celebration as much as the next foreigner, ya know? I can sing Christmas carols with the best of 'em, and did I mention the ham?
Damn, I love Christmas Ham.
Now, Christmas is...well...it's a Western holiday. In some cities around China, it can turn into a big ol' party, but mostly the locals just like wishing all us laowai a "Merry Christmas!", to which I sometimes reply with "Happy Chanukah!" just to get those ever-satisfying double takes.
My Christmas was relatively quiet to say the least.
(Except for this one huge party I went to that definitely involved dancing and Mike in a Santa Hat. Go figure.)
Christmas, in my opinion, is a time for family, love and warmth. For those of you who are especially lucky, it's also a time when all your relatives (blood, marriage, ex-con etc) all flock to your too-tiny house just so they can harrass you all the way up until the New Year. Our new year that is. Not the big red one out in these parts.
I had the great fortune of being surrounded by my new family this year. We came together for a big dinner at the nice hotel down the way from our university and had a delightful Christmas dinner. Students also helped us celebrate by gifting us with decoratively wrapped apples to promote health and happiness during our holiday season. All in all, it was certainly a treat to spend this Christmas here in China.
I even got to eat some of that oh-so-special ham. Score.
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