On the subject of Christmas

I think this deserves a nice blog entry to clear up all misunderstanding about Christmas holiday. I have looked up the traditions of Christmas Day and Boxing Day this morning. Christmas is an import to Taiwan, therefore we celebrate it without knowing too much about why and how, but more and more people are giving one another gifts and setting up Christmas trees now. I also can't deny the fact that Christians celebrate Christmas religiously in Taiwan, too, with Midnight Mass, carols, or even full-on Christmas party with nativity play, songs, dances, and the most important part: getting Christmas gifts.
My dad had some bad Christmas memories when he went to church. His parents didn't go to church so when all the other kids were getting gifts in the church, he got nothing. He told his siblings that maybe it wasn't a good idea to go to church. To his young mind, he wasn't welcomed into the church. I think it's quite sad that the people didn't give him a present, and knowing how hard the time was, the church probably couldn't afford to give him a present then.
Christmas in Taiwan has come a long way. I went to a Christmas party held by church once and it was awesome, although like my father, I didn't get a present in the end. Kids dressed up as trees, sheperds, Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. Friends talk after the party and catch up, it was cold, but you can get warm soup and hot bread.
Apart from religious activities, shops attracts people to buy Christmas gifts. There's no long holiday around Christmas Day in Taiwan, but it is a public holiday for Constitution Day so you don't have to work. There's the New Year's Day and normally 2 January is a holiday, too. It can get quite cold in December, so you will see people in thick jacket and sweater on the street. There are beautiful light display in the big cities, and we are getting better and better at celebrating Christmas.
However, when I lived in Taiwan, we didn't have a Christmas tree. My grandma has one and I remember one Christmas, we took a photo in front of the tree and had presents there. I also remember my Christian godmother's Christmas tree and her presents for us: Huge socks! You can put presents in those socks, and my one is red with a golden angel. Fuzzy's one is pink, and has fluffy top. They just give me such a good feeling.
Christmas marks the end of the year for the workers and we are having a Christmas party on 7 December. The theme is Woodstock Revival. I am going as a hippie. Just trying to imagine what I am going to wear right now, and thinking about what to do with my outfit. It's all part of the fun.
I wonder what Richard is going to do. There's a Wild West party in his building and he doesn't have any clue about it. I guess it's a girl thing: we care more about the small details.
Fuzzy doesn't have an exam today. It's the weekend. I am going to check on my experiment and think about what I am going to do tomorrow.
Sometimes, it's fun to think about what's going to happen instead of writing about had happened. However, I want to mention that I had some real nice pizza last night from Dominoes. Thanks, Richard. I am looking forward to the tastiest pizza in Italy now.