Monday, December 24, 2007

Christmas in China

We thought we'd miss Christmas completely this year, but were we ever wrong! In their effort to imitate all things Western, the Chinese hotels and restaurants in both Guangzhou and Nanning are brimming with festive decorations: Huge lobby Christmas trees, decorations, and waitresses dressed up like elves or Santa. They love to yell out Merry Christmas at every opportunity! The only sad part of all of this is there is no concept of the origin or real meaning of Christmas. Our guides gave us a rockin' Christmas eve party last night, complete with Santa hats for the guests and, of course, the mandatory Chinese man dressed as Santa (our guide, Martin). As you can tell from the photos, Caris had no trouble getting into the spirit. Today, Christmas Day, we will take part in an impromtu Christmas service with a few people in our group who are also believers.

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