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CHRISTMAS IN HONG KONG
Dec. 26th, 2009 11:09 amIf you take the ferry to Disco Bay today, when you leave the pier you will see this.
Which I mention because when I walk to the pier from home, I see it from this angle.
And I swear at first I thought it was a red seal playing with a white fuzzy beach ball.
Because that’s how my mind works, apparently.
People ask me about Christmas in Hong Kong. Do we have it? Is it different? Do we have to hang Mao ornaments on the tree like Barack Obama does?
The answers are pretty simple: yes, not really and don’t be a f***ing moron.
Christmas in HK (a former Brit colony, you'll remember) is generally like Christmas in the West: it’s secular and commercial and therefore all-inclusive. It’s also the birthday of the baby Jesus if you believe it to be (and we have something like half a million Christians here in a city of 7.2 million, so make of that what you will).
We also have gift-giving and stuff, but not everyone goes all out for it. The Christmas morning tree/presents gig is more likely to happen if you have kids.
Here in the Def Citadel, we don’t really do anything special, apart from maybe visiting friends and having a nice dinner out. No tree, no gift-swaps. The bridal unit and her mom aren’t in the habit of it, and frankly – despite having grown up with that tradition – neither am I. It’s probably because I spent enough Christmases away from home that it’s really not that big a deal to me now.
The fact that I’m something of a grouchy, cynical, emotionally unavailable bastard is probably a factor, yes.
Of course, this time last year I was up to my armpits in Trad Christmas, being in the states visiting the family. The sister unit goes all out for Christmas – but then she has two kids, so it’s not like she has a choice. It was okay. But I spent this Christmas day cleaning the house for upcoming visitations over the weekend, and that was okay too (apart from the comedy bit where I cracked my skull open on a cabinet corner). And it was probably far less effort.
So Christmas HK-style suits me just fine. And the best part of it is that whatever Christmas is to you – religious holiday, family time, shopping excuse, materialist greedfest, partytime, etc – yr pretty much free to interpret it however you want.
Which means we don’t have dingbat politicians demanding legislation to protect Christmas from evil liberals trying to destroy the Baby Jesus by saying ‘Happy Holidays’.
That’s a trade-off I’m willing to live with.
Ho ho ho,
This is dF
Which I mention because when I walk to the pier from home, I see it from this angle.
And I swear at first I thought it was a red seal playing with a white fuzzy beach ball.
Because that’s how my mind works, apparently.
People ask me about Christmas in Hong Kong. Do we have it? Is it different? Do we have to hang Mao ornaments on the tree like Barack Obama does?
The answers are pretty simple: yes, not really and don’t be a f***ing moron.
Christmas in HK (a former Brit colony, you'll remember) is generally like Christmas in the West: it’s secular and commercial and therefore all-inclusive. It’s also the birthday of the baby Jesus if you believe it to be (and we have something like half a million Christians here in a city of 7.2 million, so make of that what you will).
We also have gift-giving and stuff, but not everyone goes all out for it. The Christmas morning tree/presents gig is more likely to happen if you have kids.
Here in the Def Citadel, we don’t really do anything special, apart from maybe visiting friends and having a nice dinner out. No tree, no gift-swaps. The bridal unit and her mom aren’t in the habit of it, and frankly – despite having grown up with that tradition – neither am I. It’s probably because I spent enough Christmases away from home that it’s really not that big a deal to me now.
The fact that I’m something of a grouchy, cynical, emotionally unavailable bastard is probably a factor, yes.
Of course, this time last year I was up to my armpits in Trad Christmas, being in the states visiting the family. The sister unit goes all out for Christmas – but then she has two kids, so it’s not like she has a choice. It was okay. But I spent this Christmas day cleaning the house for upcoming visitations over the weekend, and that was okay too (apart from the comedy bit where I cracked my skull open on a cabinet corner). And it was probably far less effort.
So Christmas HK-style suits me just fine. And the best part of it is that whatever Christmas is to you – religious holiday, family time, shopping excuse, materialist greedfest, partytime, etc – yr pretty much free to interpret it however you want.
Which means we don’t have dingbat politicians demanding legislation to protect Christmas from evil liberals trying to destroy the Baby Jesus by saying ‘Happy Holidays’.
That’s a trade-off I’m willing to live with.
Ho ho ho,
This is dF
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