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Christmas Wishes

Christmas is hard to find in China.  Most external things that signal to us that Christmastime coming is missing here.  We have to look hard to find Christmas trees and decorations.  The typical holiday events and gatherings are missing.  Snow or anticipation of snow is absent.  The music is almost non-existent.  Giving to others is not accepted (it causes extreme embarrassment because they feel like they owe you). This has caused me to look harder and be thankful for the Merry Christmas wishes I do find. I've also had to use my own initiative to fulfil my other Christmas wishes.  Here are some of my Christmas wishes for 2024 found and created:

Generally, the government discourages the people from celebrating the 'Western' holiday.  But a few places do find a way to wish me a Merry Christmas!
This year we had very vibrant Christmas colors in our complex.  They were stunning, Christmasy and very cheerful! (pictures taken mid December)
Thanks to Taobao, I could douse my scrappy tree with about 3000 lights, cheap, unusual fillers and ornaments. I have not gotten sick of looking at it and all of the reflections it creates.  
It filled me with Christmas cheer to have more than 40 people visit us on two separate Saturdays for Christmas open houses. They decorated cookies, sampled American snacks, and participated in a service project. I truly crave sharing the true meaning of Christmas with them, and this is as close as I can get while still honoring our Church's request not to passively proselyte.
People can't reject a Christmas gift if they aren't there to refuse it!!!  We left a few "wind quilts" on people's scooters whose current ones were in sad shape.  I wish I could have had a hidden camera to watch responses, but alas, I just get to feel warm and fuzzy that we were able to do a secret delivery for something needful!
At this Christmas time, our wish for you is to feel very loved, to be able to spend time in Christ's presence and to make wonderful memories with those you love.  We hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

PS....My blog has been quiet, but I've added a few new posts if you want to check them out.

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