Thursday, December 25, 2008

what christmas is

christmas isn't the excuse for a family get-together in this part of the world. here, it's more likely to be chinese new year, hari raya aidilfitri or deepavali.

however, eventually all the books and movies and comics (calvin and hobbes, anyone?) about ripping open presents at the crack of dawn and a turkey curry buffet at noon with relatives whose names you don't know just catch up and make you believe that christmas should be a magical time of year for family and friends.

christmas isn't a big deal in my family. we don't celebrate it, we don't make it a habit to exchange gifts, i don't particularly enjoy the stress of buying appropriate gifts for people and save for the morning christmas service that i attend alone, we don't make an occasion out of it. i think that if it weren't for the fact that christmas day is also the day my parents managed to take leave long enough to get married, it would hold no significance in my family at all.

it's easy for me, then, to treat this day like any other day.

but i can't, because it's the day of celebrating the birth of a man who has changed the lives of many. who has changed my life.

so although my parents have gone for their date in genting and my sister has a family of her own to be with now, although i'm at home blogging and watching transformers and spiderman...today still means something to me.

happy birthday, Jesus. merry christmas, everyone.

lishun at 9:28 PM

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