| This month my first year students
and I talked about the many religious holidays celebrated in America,
specifically Hanukah, Eid, and Christmas. They had not heard of
the first two, but they “knew all about” Christmas.
They knew it is celebrated on December 25, that people give presents
and that Father Christmas is a big, fat man in a red suit. But
most of them did not know that the holiday celebrates the birth
of Christ. Upon hearing this, I decided that while the Chinese
may seem to have Christmas, it’s really only a strange facsimile.
Christmas Eve only helped confused me on the issue. The Christmas
Eve church service was completely unlike one I had ever experienced
before. It was not a worship service, but rather a performance.
There were no prayers said, hymns sung, or sermons given. But
there was karaoke singing, fan dancing, and a Santa Claus throwing
gifts to the crowd. Granted, some of the dancing was done to hymn
music, and there was a Nativity play, but it was centered on Herod,
not the birth of Christ. Even stranger, most of the people in
attendance weren’t even Christian. Actually, there were
so many non-Christians who wanted to attend that the church issued
tickets and there were police at the door enforcing their use.
How could this be Christmas? |
