A Thai Christmas

It doesn't exactly feel like Christmas when it's around 90 degrees outside every day. This is the Christmas tree in my friend Rachael's apartment in Bangkok. She let me help decorate it--which got me in the Christmas spirit more than just about anything else this December.

Thailand celebrates Christmas the way America celebrates Cinco de Mayo--they'll celebrate it (because why not?) but it's not a holiday in the same way. As a Buddhist country, Christmas qualifies as one of those holidays that you don't have a particular reason for celebrating other than wanting to celebrate something.

I had to work on Christmas, although the English department put together a party for the students in English classes, which meant my morning was taken up with games and food. I was asked to give a powerpoint presentation on the history of Christmas and why people celebrate it, and my own family's traditions for the holiday. There was a moment, after they asked, when I thought "Wait--did I just get asked to talk about religion in school?" I kept it pretty simple--a basic explanation about the pre-Christian history of mid-winter festivals and the yule log, explaining where the Christmas tree and the idea of Santa Claus came from, going through basic Christian symbols of the holiday, and then spending the majority of the time on what my family does for Christmas each year. It made me a little homesick, but the Thai students got really excited about the pictures I showed them of my family's Christmases when I was a kid. After the presentation, the co-teach for my afternoon class told me we should just let the students have a break and do homework for the class. So I got to go home early.

I don't have great internet access at my house, but I was ecstatic to find that I could watch "It's a Wonderful Life" on youtube. I skyped with my family on and off through the day, and Christmas dinner meant going to the market--I'm not sure if it was for the holiday, exactly, but the market was bigger for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Doembang had Christmas carols playing on the radio loudspeakers, which was fun to listen to as I wandered through the stalls and bought things like sugared popcorn, fried chicken, fruit, deep-fried dough balls, and a slice of Christmas cake. I passed a lot of the students there, who all wished me a Merry Christmas whenever they saw me. It might not have been the same as being with family, but it was a great Christmas nonetheless.

Happy holidays, everybody!