Since I was a child, Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. Some of my favorite Christmas activities are singing along to the Christmas music, decorating the tree, baking cookies for the family, and the traditional family Christmas breakfast. The thing I have always valued the most, was spending quality time with my family.
This was my first Christmas without them. I won’t lie; I thought it would be horrendous. My plans for Christmas consisted of drinking a bottle of wine, watching Netflix, staring at social media, and wishing I was home. My expectation vs reality was not the same; though I did drink a lot of wine. When I went into work on Christmas Eve, I was shocked to see my desk filled with gifts from my bosses. I was definitely not expecting anything from anyone. It really made me feel good. Though it is not a cultural norm in China, I hugged every one of them.
Christmas Day, I was invited to a few of my coworkers Christmas parties. I put down my individual bottle of wine and put together a fruit salad for the party. Surprisingly, Christmas with people I barley know was a lot fun. It felt so comforting to be surrounded by other foreigners whom were also not with their family. Through the laughter and chatter I longed for the comforts of my own. It was beginning to sink in that I was not a part of my families’ Christmas traditions this year. There was no baking, no gift wrapping, and no one to sing Christmas songs with. Christmas Day in China was just as odd as the days before the actual holiday.
Christmas here in China is absolutely hilarious. While the general concept of Christmas is understood, China always has a way of putting a spin on things. My school had asked me if I wanted to volunteer to help another school with their family Christmas party. Being in the Christmas spirit, I agreed. My supervisor, a couple of other Chinese teachers and me make our way to the event. I couldn’t help but snicker when I saw the teachers at the school dressed as Disney princesses. I was not aware that Disney princesses hung out with Santa. I was also not aware that I was going to be Santa. That in fact was not a laughing matter. I am the complete opposite of the Hallmark, rosy cheek, blue eyed and balding white man they call Santa. Everything about my body language at the point screamed, “You’ve gotta be fuckin' kidding me right?” What really put me over the edge was they put a white beard on my face and tried to convince my supervisor (in Chinese) to have me put on white foundation. He KNEWWWW better than to ask. The kids were going to see Santa’s half cousin Sandra who had an Afro and liked to borrow his wigs and clothes sometimes for discounts. Surprisingly, the kids and the parents were so excited and happy when they saw me. They did not know that Santa was a white man, that he says, “ho-ho-ho”, or rides in a slay with nine reindeer leading the way. If they had known these things, my story would probably been a lot different. In this case, Ignorance was pure bliss.
After the most traumatic event in my 22 years of life, we stayed to enjoy the rest of the event. There was no Christmas music, but instead a lot of Chinese ballads; Chinese girls dancing dressed as children’s cartoon characters, sand art, and games for the children and parents. It was honestly one of the strangest Christmas events I have ever been to. While it made me sad to see my favorite holiday butchered right in front of me, it also opened my eyes. For them, this was their version of an “American Christmas”. It’s similar to Americans emulating Cinco De Mayo or Chinese New Year. We take what we want from the holiday and make it appealing and culturally acceptable to our people. How many of us actually know the relevance of Cinco De Mayo? Exactly.
So in conclusion, Christmas in China was better than I expected, but I would be okay if I never spend my favorite holiday away from family again.
Happy Holidays Everyone!
**SN: There will be NO pictures of me dressed as Santa. I am still suffering from embarrassment**
This was my first Christmas without them. I won’t lie; I thought it would be horrendous. My plans for Christmas consisted of drinking a bottle of wine, watching Netflix, staring at social media, and wishing I was home. My expectation vs reality was not the same; though I did drink a lot of wine. When I went into work on Christmas Eve, I was shocked to see my desk filled with gifts from my bosses. I was definitely not expecting anything from anyone. It really made me feel good. Though it is not a cultural norm in China, I hugged every one of them.
Christmas Day, I was invited to a few of my coworkers Christmas parties. I put down my individual bottle of wine and put together a fruit salad for the party. Surprisingly, Christmas with people I barley know was a lot fun. It felt so comforting to be surrounded by other foreigners whom were also not with their family. Through the laughter and chatter I longed for the comforts of my own. It was beginning to sink in that I was not a part of my families’ Christmas traditions this year. There was no baking, no gift wrapping, and no one to sing Christmas songs with. Christmas Day in China was just as odd as the days before the actual holiday.
Christmas here in China is absolutely hilarious. While the general concept of Christmas is understood, China always has a way of putting a spin on things. My school had asked me if I wanted to volunteer to help another school with their family Christmas party. Being in the Christmas spirit, I agreed. My supervisor, a couple of other Chinese teachers and me make our way to the event. I couldn’t help but snicker when I saw the teachers at the school dressed as Disney princesses. I was not aware that Disney princesses hung out with Santa. I was also not aware that I was going to be Santa. That in fact was not a laughing matter. I am the complete opposite of the Hallmark, rosy cheek, blue eyed and balding white man they call Santa. Everything about my body language at the point screamed, “You’ve gotta be fuckin' kidding me right?” What really put me over the edge was they put a white beard on my face and tried to convince my supervisor (in Chinese) to have me put on white foundation. He KNEWWWW better than to ask. The kids were going to see Santa’s half cousin Sandra who had an Afro and liked to borrow his wigs and clothes sometimes for discounts. Surprisingly, the kids and the parents were so excited and happy when they saw me. They did not know that Santa was a white man, that he says, “ho-ho-ho”, or rides in a slay with nine reindeer leading the way. If they had known these things, my story would probably been a lot different. In this case, Ignorance was pure bliss.
After the most traumatic event in my 22 years of life, we stayed to enjoy the rest of the event. There was no Christmas music, but instead a lot of Chinese ballads; Chinese girls dancing dressed as children’s cartoon characters, sand art, and games for the children and parents. It was honestly one of the strangest Christmas events I have ever been to. While it made me sad to see my favorite holiday butchered right in front of me, it also opened my eyes. For them, this was their version of an “American Christmas”. It’s similar to Americans emulating Cinco De Mayo or Chinese New Year. We take what we want from the holiday and make it appealing and culturally acceptable to our people. How many of us actually know the relevance of Cinco De Mayo? Exactly.
So in conclusion, Christmas in China was better than I expected, but I would be okay if I never spend my favorite holiday away from family again.
Happy Holidays Everyone!
**SN: There will be NO pictures of me dressed as Santa. I am still suffering from embarrassment**