What makes Christmas so special?

Christmas is around corner.....just 31 days to go, to be exact. What makes it so special? Why do everyone seems to have such an enjoyable time this time of year. Shopping discounts....booze....partying all night long....or maybe its just to usher in the new year. Even my Muslim friends and colleagues were anxiously anticipating what to do for Christmas.

Well, as for me and my family, it's family gathering and reunion. I have a small family. Since my dad passed on ages ago, we do not have much family reunions. During Chinese New Year, we would be sleeping or watching TV. I for one disliked to visit my dad's family as we were not close. Communication was also a barrier. I'm part Hainam, part Baba & Nyonya. I'm totally foreign to the Hainam language. I only know "Bong-kang" which is "Stupid", or "Chiak-peng" which is "Eat Rice". Furthermore, my dad's family would be calling me "Ah Jinnnnn", much to my disgust (gave me the chills every time they call for me). To this very day, my family would converse in our traditional Nyonya language, Rachel is learning bit by bit :)

After our baptism (the whole family involved), which was about 15 years ago, we came to know Christ much better. And we also learned that Christmas is not about partying and booze, but to delight in the birth of Christ some 2,000 years ago. Yes, we ought to be happy, we ought to rejoice, and we ought to be thankful to God for sacrificing His only Son for our salvation. That is the main agenda, nothing else. My friends and colleagues often say that I have lack of social commitment coz I don't go to discos, I don't go for karaoke sessions (accept when Im in KL....Rachel and I would visit Red Box), I don't go clubbing....I hardly do anything else besides being with my family and church. Why all the fuss, guys? If you want to have a booze, can't you do it at home? You don't even have to worry about police raids (which I'm very much sure will happen) and spoil your day. You can even drink till the crack of dawn with no worries. You won't be paying extra entrance fees for discos and waste your annual bonuses unneccessarily.

Enough said. Back to glad tidings. Every year my mum would have prepared several mouth watering delicacies for Christmas. Turkey is a must (minimum 5-6kg)....we want to follow those Ang Mohs lar....hehehehe. She would also prepared her own turkey stuffing which is always different each year (that would include some liquor...rum in particular), her very own sheperd's pie (omg...drooling already), mashed potato, some assorted macaronis and spaghettis, lasagna, vegetable salad and cakes (rum again). And we would have a jolly good time having all those goodies with wine of course. And that's for day 1.....Christmas eve. Come sharp 12.00am, we would gather around and mom would be Santa Claus, giving out our gifts.

As for day 2, we would often invite some of our church friends for dinner. And we can have all of the goodies again (new ones of course) with some extra food brought over by them. We would have our normal Praise & Worship session and some carols before dinner. And it would last till about 2.ooam. We would have stuffed our belly with so much food that we wouldnt even bother to move....that's me in particular....hehehehe

This year would be a lil bit different. Pastor said that for this year's Christmas, there would be no service. Service will be made on Christmas eve at 7.00pm, and will end at about 12.30am Christmas morning. We were to bring 2 gifts each....one to be presented to God, and another for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I'm still praying about what I should be giving to God. Whatever it is, I reckon I would enjoy this year's Christmas as much as I had for the previous years, plus I would be celebrating my 1st Christmas with Rachel as husband and wife.