Sheng dan jie kuai la!! Merry Christmas from China!! Christmas is a different time here in China. We can almost go the whole season without hearing much Christmas music, we did not have snow again this year, there are no fights over whether or not you can say or use the words Merry Christmas, as more businesses are donning signs with Merry Christmas, but little in the way of the Christmas cheer and frantic shopping. We did do our most to add a little of the season and reason for Christmas to our students and those around us though. It is still one of my favorite times, because it usually comes at the end of the first semester of school, the students are excited to get out of classes and to head home (from the Chinese students for their annual Chinese New Year pilgrimage--everyone goes home for the holidays).

So we taught our students (and many others) some of the famous Christmas carols. Almost everyone knows Jingle Bells here, either in English or in Chinese (you can check out Ding, Ding Dong on youtube if you want to hear it). We also had Christmas parties for each of our classes, quite a task as there are almost 250 between Patty and I. We made cookies, handed out candy canes, showed Christmas movies (sometimes our wedding video!!), and made ornaments for our once bare, but now overfilled tree. Christmas is not a big holiday here in China, but I believe that is starting to change. This year we saw hundreds of people out selling the Chinese favorite Christmas gift, apples at our gate. You could buy them in all kinds of fancy wrapping, and now our house is full of them (from students). We are planning on making some apple crisp after the parties are finished and we can relax.

This year they also had a Christmas program put on by the English department. Some of our students asked us to do something special with them, so we wrote a play where two of them became our children on christmas morning. We struggled through the differences of culture (language, different customs, and traditions) to try to share with them what Christmas was, giving them Christmas stockings, candy canes, etc. which they did not understand and they gave us apples and money, which we did not understand. In the end, we found one similarity in being able to sing Jingle Bells together (them in Chinese, us in English). It was quite fun and very funny!! There were all kinds of other singers, dancers, and lots of apples.

One thing new we did this year was to write out Christmas cards to some of the vendors and people we visit often who are kind. A student wrote out the Chinese translation and I have been trying to write it out in both Chinese and English. It is the first time many of the farmers and vegetable people have heard of Christmas, and we also gave one to our favorite noodle restaurant people who are Muslim. We are not quite sure of any of their reactions as they merely say thank you...not used to receiving a gift at work. I guess time will tell as we continue to build relationships with them. Keep them in mind this Christmas season.

Last weekend, we went to Guiyang for the foreigner Christmas party...it was amazing and fun to see so many friends. We had tacos (It has been so long since we have had real tacos) for a good-bye party of Susie...we will miss her tons. Then we had lots of goodies at the service. It was so much fun to sing Christmas songs with so many others. The message was on Christmas being the bring of peace to a world that is anything but peaceful (full of chaos and evil). then we went out for pizza and other "western" food. I think I got too much "western" food as I was sick the next two days. But always good to see friends and to talk about some of our plans and ideas for the coming year with more experienced people. We are thinking of having a child through the foster care system (a big decision for us). Please keep that in your thoughts!! We got lots of advice and stories of good and bad things that come from that, lots to think about.

Today, Christmas day, is a very busy one. We have lunch with some of the girls Patty meets with to discuss a book and then they will meet while I go out to the countryside to provide Christmas presents (pictures and candy canes) to the children we visit there. Then we will go out to eat at a local restaurant with some friends and deliver a christmas gift for the family there, before our last and probably biggest Christmas party with our 06 4 year class. We will have a White Elephant Gift Exchange, make ornaments and hopefully go out Christmas caroling with them.

We wish each of you many blessings and peace this year in your lives. May the Reason for our celebration be the Reason for the Joy that you show to others each day.