Friday, December 25, 2009
It's the 25th of December - 132th Post
Merry Christmas, everyone. Christmas means more than just the gifts, the food, the parties. As I'm sure we all know, the true meaning of Christmas is really, to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
We all know the story, so I need not go into detail here.
For me, Christmas used to mean presents and an extra Church service. It meant waking up uber early and feeling a rush of excitement that it is Christmas. It meant running to the Christmas tree, first thing, and ripping open my presents.
This year, because my family is hosting a party, it means preparing food and cleaning up the house. It means playing Christmas albums over and over. It means my cousins sleeping over. It means a huge Foosball competition (whereby I predict my Father will come first and I, a close second). It means my Uncle breaking his self-promise to not play Mahjong til 1Jan. (It also means my house is gonna be filled with the deafening clash of the Mahjong pieces as they are shuffled between games.) It also means my Father is going to set up Starcraft again. Yeah, probably very outdated but I don't mind. (Last time i played, I kept winning.) This year, it also means I found out the proper spelling of Immanuel; with an "I" at the front and not an "E". This year, for me, it also means some family friends from Perth coming over. I can't wait to see them tomorrow for a rehearsal for the music.
I write this secretly, running in and out of my room, between tasks my parents ask me to do. I tell myself I need to finish before all my cousins come and wreak havoc. (Already one is here and she is throwing the Mahjong pieces everywhere :) ...she's getting a scolding...)
I think, perhaps, that this year, Christmas may also mean the end of the year. We are so close to 2010 and then, we will truly be out of primary school, out of 6/11 '09 Just So Crazy.
I have been getting so many Merry Christmases from our fellow classmates. Just yesterday I was arguing with people and today they send a Merry Christmas text message. Let me count who's sent messages. In order of timing: Benj, Chan, Lesley, Shiv, Zhi Hao, Debbie, Jubily, Yun JIe. Just a rough list. I lose track of who I have wished Merry Christmas.
So Christmas is really something special. It is bigger than Chinese New Year, bigger than birthdays. I feel God's presence, even when celebrating with non-Christians. At CNY, we were playing blackjack. Fun, but it didn't feel good, the way just eating a meal at Christmas does. Everyone celebrates one birthday on Christmas, far grander than our own individual birthdays. It unites us all together.
Sometimes I think Christmas in Singapore is not really celebrated as true Christmas. How many families set up Christmas trees? How many of these Christmas trees have actual ornaments with Christmassy colours and not just electronic lights? How many of these trees are the size they're meant to be?
How many Churches do the traditional Nativity scene? How many people play and sing all those old Christmas Carols? How many people collect brightly wrapped presents under the Christmas tree in the days leading up to the 25th, then rip them open in one minute? How many people light up their houses with Christmas decorations? In Perth, there were competitions done by a radio station where people compete to see who has the best decorated house. Large inflatable Santas and reindeers et cetera were not uncommon. One house even dressed up a guy as Santa and he gave free Candy Canes to anyone who happened to drop by.
I do not have the answers to these questions, but I do feel that here, the numbers are lesser than that of countries like America, Europe, Australia. But then, I realise that it doesn't matter. It's what's in the heart that counts.
I mean, at CNY, I didn't get messages from my classmates wishing me happy Chinese New Year. It was an awkward time meeting distant relatives again. Everyone speaking Teochew. It felt weird to be looking forward to red packets.
So anyway, I'd just like to say sorry to everyone for the unpleasant things I've said, the not so good things I've done, and thank you to all 6/11 Just So Crazy, for the wonderful times we've had this year and last year, and for all the wishes for a very Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas to you too. I hope you got my email with the Christmas trees around the world and the meaning of that Christmas Carol.
By now, you probably know who I am. So this post was a bit corny but this time, I don't care. It went all over the place, not as flowy and perfectionistic as I would like it to be, but it doesn't matter. Christmas is a special time for special things. That's what counts.
Oops my grandparents and cousins are here (who were still asleep at 11am). Got to go. See ya :) Great timing (not sarcastically this time). I'm just about done.
~~~~~~you know who I am........ :D
Oh. Oh. One more thing.
Cayson is narcistic. New word I learned :DD
