The true meaning of Christmas - Brought to you by the country China

I have noticed three main aspects of Christmas.

The first aspect is more than apparent the day after Thanksgiving. The commercialism of Christmas is perhaps the most visible thing we see of Christmas. During this time of year, people who are typically very frugal (like me) and save all their money splurge a bit and do their part to stimulate the economy. Businesses do well and new markets seem to pop up (think Christmas music or movies; also don't forget those sweaters that don't stand a chance of being sold if not for the ugly sweater contests). While all of this is not necessarily a bad thing, it does fall short of being the true meaning of Christmas.



Another aspect of Christmas is the that of sharing. While gift giving can often seem directly related to the commercialism aspect of Christmas, I feel it goes a bit beyond that. During the Christmas season, people tend to (try to) be nicer to others, give a little more of themselves, help out with service, and of course give gifts or money donations to others. I feel that this aspect of Christmas is what makes everyone so excited for this time of year. People can feel the love from others; friendships and family relations are often strengthened. I love this aspect of Christmas, but I still feel it does not represent the true meaning of Christmas.

The final aspect I want to talk about is the focus on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is His name that we celebrate, and His life that we are trying to remember and honor. During the month of December we tend to sing songs about Jesus just a bit more. We read more about Him. We resolve to be more like Him. This is the true meaning of Christmas to me. Trying to be more like Jesus Christ. Becoming more Christlike.

Being in China, I was not exactly sure what to expect. Would all aspects of Christmas be gone? Would I only see the commercial aspect? Perhaps some of the gift giving aspect? What about the most important aspect? In a country where the government restricts religion and prevents me from even sharing my testimony of Christ, would I be able to see this aspect of Christlike love? In America, it seems like people are trying to take Christ out of Christmas. In China, would Christ even be there in the first place?

Obviously things here are quite different. Well; perhaps they are the same but on a smaller scale.

Commercial Christmas exists in the malls. While you don't hear Christmas music everywhere you go, in most malls and chain stores, they do play Christmas music, in all its Asian glory no less (thank goodness for familiarity with the tunes, because the words alone are not always that recognizable)! At Walmart when I went shopping today, there were some Christmas decorations. All of the employees were wearing Santa caps, and the receipt lady was decked out in full Santa gear (minus the hair, beard and belly). Even the mall has a giant Christmas tree in the front entrance (in Chinese fasion, it is a red tree. Technically, that is a Christmas color though). Even though Christmas is not as big of a deal here as it is in America, most people are at least aware of what it is.

China is a country where gift giving is a part of the culture, so this aspect of Christmas certainly exists. Every day this week, all of the foreign teachers received many "peace apples" from our students. In Chinese, the word for peace is 平安(píng'ān), and the word for apple is 苹果(píngguǒ). I suppose because of the similarity of the sound (the same) and character (very similar) for peace they have come up with a 平安果(píng'ānguǒ - peace apple). Most of the apples come in decorative wraps or boxes. Sometimes you just get an apple. At any rate, giving apples around Christmas is very common here. Aside from apples though, gift giving is still very prevalent (just this morning I got an awesome scarf from the student I give private lessons to; also about ten minutes ago I got a present from my Frisbee friend... I think it is a weapon of sorts like brass knuckles, only apparently you can do other things with it like break glass or carry groceries [according to the picture anyhow]).

Contrary to America where the aspect of Christ seems to be dying and being Christlike is more like a December formality, here in China there is a surprising lack of political correctness when it comes to Christmas. The newness of the holiday brings a refreshing curiosity. People here try their hardest to say "Merry Christmas (usually it is happy Christmas)" and don't even know why they would say "Happy Holidays." Instead of taking Christ out of Christmas, they are trying to learn who Christ is and why such a holiday exists. More than this though, I think there is a growing generation here who genuinely show a Christlike love. To me this is the true meaning of Christmas.

I want to share with you something interesting I did for my classes that I feel demonstrates the true meaning of Christmas.

To teach a bit about American culture and Christmas, I decided I would talk about some of the traditions we have. Specifically, I talked about Santa Claus and gave my classes the assignment to write a letter to Santa Claus. This is how I told my students to write their letter:

• Start out "Dear Santa"
• Introduce yourself
• Say whether you have been naughty or nice (I had far too many people say they were naughty because they played computer games or sports... perhaps I did not explain that one very well). 
• Give Santa your wishlist. Tell him what you want.
• End "Sincerely, (your name)

I was pleasantly surprised with many of the letters. There was an innocence and sincerity that I would only expect from children. So many letters saying "I love you" and "I hope my wishes will come true" etc. Many of the letters got me close to tears because of what was written. There was one particular letter I wish to share. I gave all the letters back to the students, but this letter had a note to me as well, so I kept the letter under the guise that I wished to keep the personal note. It was the letter to Santa though I found to be so touching. 

Here it is without any corrections (but name taken out to protect the innocent):

Dear Santa:
I’m (insert any random word that sounds ridiculous as a name and you will probably be pretty close). A kind little girl. I don’t want nothing thank you coming all the same. I just hope there will more love in this world. Do you know? In the word every seconds there are seven babies died. Most of them are in Africa. Africa is poor and lacking of water.. food. I also hope there will more attention given to that place.
Best wish!
(unique name)

I find this letter so touching because I know the living conditions here in China. Even though they are getting better, they still are not that great. Students live in cramped dormitories that are cold and the electricity is shut off every night. Access to showers and things we take for granted are limited. Yet so many of these students realize that others have it worse and they want to help these people. I read many Christmas letters that I thought were odd and almost made me laugh until I finished the rest of the letter. When a boy in class wrote that he wished for high heels, I thought he must have looked up the wrong word in the dictionary. When I finished reading I understood; he wrote that his mom was too frugal and would not buy fancy shoes for herself because she needed to buy things for her family. Another student wrote that he wished for a pair of gloves. He wanted to give them to his mom so she did not have to work in the cold. Many students simply wished that they could leave school sooner so they could be back home with their families that they missed so much. 

Seeing so many Chinese people here demonstrate such a Christlike love reminds me of the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas is a time to remember that all that we have was given to us by Christ, and if we are to truly follow his example, we will share our love with everyone around us. Here in China, I feel that love. Even though I am far from home and far from my family, I am happy that I am not far from the true meaning of Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

At the time I took this picture, I just wanted to show the apple (it says "Merry Christmas" sorry for the bad photography) beside the picture of Christ. Looking at this picture though, I see a lot more to it. The apple was given to me by a student the day the photo was taken. To the right you see a picture of Christ (true meaning of Christmas). That was given to me by my friend on my birthday. Below that, you see an origami rose in the shape of a heart (could represent the love of Christ). A note is written on it. Given to me by a student; as was the origami ribbon. To the left (just below my thumb) you will see the head of a cat thing. Something else given to me by a student for my birthday. Everything shown in this picture was given to me by someone else. Everything we have was given to us by Christ our savior.