Winter Holiday Approaching

Got some encouraging news at today's staff meeting. The exam schedule has already been posted. That means we're really wrapping up the term and the holiday break will be here sooner than expected.

This usually happens around Christmas which signals the end of the 'long stretch', basically the 3.5 month run from National Holiday until the Lunar New Year.

While China itself does not celebrate Christmas or offer this as a holiday -- most Chinese employers give at least a couple days off for their foreign teachers. So it becomes a sort of mini-break and it's greatly appreciated.

I actually enjoy the new tradition that Christmas has become while living in China. We lack all the commercialism and trappings that are found back in my home country around this time. Around this time of year, it's the sort of materialistic holiday that everyone complains about for various reasons, yet they still go through with it and nobody wants to challenge the "meaning" of what this holiday has become of. In a way it reminds me of a bunch of teachers complaining about how bad the cafeteria food is, yet they still eat there every day.

Here in China we're away from all that, well the materialistic trapping of Christmas that is, not the cafeteria food.

So what happens is the small number of expats who are "stuck" here for Christmas get together and it ends up being a better celebration all around. A great example of this is how the local SCF (Shanghai Community Fellowship) church organizes a Christmas service for expats and also dinners for the various smaller groups. Having gone to this for a number of years now, it's totally worth flying in from another city, or otherwise commuting long distances for. There are other great examples of Christmas in the city too, including events and dinners put on by various companies, and various hosts who do their own parties.

In other words, the expats who have found ourselves in exile become like a family away from their own families. The end result is a great Christmas celebration that focuses much more on the true meaning and much less of the trappings and obligations that would be found in one's home country. It basically becomes simpler, with more time to spend on people, and less money wasted. Of course, gifts and presents are exchanged, and there is great food, but it's all on an economy of managable scale.

Meanwhile, Christmas is the mini-holiday that tells us another mini-holiday is coming up, the Western New Year, which has similar meanings and fun. Then it tells us that only two weeks later, the big holiday is approaching, which is the Chinese New Year. This is excellent because it takes place in the dead of winter and it is the perfect time to head south to tropical countries on cheap flights.

This is what practically every teacher does around this time. They come out of hibernation from Dalian, Wuhan, Shanghai, Suzhou, and many others, and they converge in Thailand -- the preferred choice by a mile.