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My Christmas as a Child in China
A small walled town in China where my parents were missionaries was the site of my early Christmas memories. Preparations would begin by going to a neighborhood nursery and bringing home a pine tree that was five or six feet tall which we set up in our living room. Small slender candles set in paper saucers were attached to the branches. In the evenings during the Advent we would light these for a little while, and gather around to enjoy the magic.
In daytime during Advent, my two brothers and I would accompany our father to houses of church member to deliver red lanterns to them. They had “Jesus Christ” painted in large back characters on one side, and the character for “birthday” on the other. The lanterns were large and we boys had to hold our arms almost straight out to carry them all and our arms got very tired. But we were happy as we made our small, festive procession through the town.
With these delivered, we eagerly awaited the Christmas Eve Pageant in the church. When our parents discovered that there was no education for girls in our town, they founded a Girls’ School before they even built a church. During the Christmas Eve Pageant, the graduating class in the school would sing a stanza of a Christmas carol in English to impress their parents with their education. However, Chinese children have difficulty pronouncing our “r,” so the stanza would come out, “ling, the melly, melly, Clismas bells; ling them fah and neah..”
After the service, parishioners were invited to our home where the furniture in the living and dining rooms had been removed and replaced with square tables and benches. Parishioners would stream in to the tables, gulp down a large bowl on steaming noodles, and then exit to make way for the next contingent. That would be our Christmas supper as well.
An hour before midnight a group of about thirty carolers would gather in our house, and from there we would process down the town’s narrow lanes—many of them so narrow that if a grown man stretched out his arms he could touch the walls of houses on both sides—and we would stop at doors where red lanterns, now lit, were hanging, and we would sing a carol. My job was to accompany the carolers on my clarinet, and my fingers were so stiff from the cold that I could only hope that I could make them press the right keys. When the circuit was completed, the carolers would gather in our home where our cook had cups of hot chocolate and home-made marshmallows waiting for us.
The next morning the servants’ family would join us around the tree in our living room. The room had been warmed by an upright, coal-burning stove, the only stove in the house except for the flat cooking stove in the kitchen. After singing a Christmas hymn, presents were handed to the servant family. Every year the same presents: cotton socks and gloves, a tangerine and peanuts.
When the servant family departed, we settled down to open our own presents. Our mother always asked for the same gifts, a blooming narcissus plant and a box of chocolate-covered peppermints. Our boy’s presents were almost always books and board games with which to entertain ourselves during the year—checkers, Parcheesi, and their likes. One memorable year there was an erector set!
After the festivities were over and I was ready to climb into bed on Christmas night, I would go to the window at the foot of my bed and look out. The town would be quiet, with the stillness of a town that had barely known an engine of any sort. And as there were no street lights, the town would be dark. This made the stars seem to hang so close that if I stretched out my arms I could touch them. And I would find myself marveling that those self-same stars had been shining from their ancestral places on the night that Jesus was born.
Huston Smith, author of "The World’s Religions," is currently working on his memoirs, Tales of Wonder, Tales of Deep Delight."
By Huston Smith |
December 24, 2007; 1:19 PM ET
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Personal Religion
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Posted by: nasamat | December 27, 2007 7:09 AM
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Mr. Smith,
This is a very nice article and you have a lot to be proud of. When you were born, China was approximately 1.1% Christian. Through the work of you and your parents, the country boasts of a Christian population of 5.4% today. 60,000,000 Chinese people are going to Heaven through these efforts, and undoubtedly many more will follow.
Have a Merry Christmas, find below some fast facts on this Holyday.
The etymology of Christmas derives from the Greek, “Christos” which means anointed, and the Olde-English, “mass” (massae), which means festival. Christmas is the festival celebrating the birth of the Lord's anointed, Jesus Christ.
Early church history places the date of Christ’s birth at 6 January 5 BC. Calendar errors in the seventh century account for the 5 year discrepancy.
Bethlehem, the city of David, is small among the clans of Judah, but out of here the King was promised.
The Old Testament contains over 300 prophecies for Jesus Christ, naming the place, method, and reason for his birth.
“Behold a virgin will be with child” was written more than 700 years before Mary was born. She is called blessed among women, and her song of praise is one of the most beautiful ever written, beginning with, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”
Because Christ was born of Mary and of God, He is 100% God, and 100% man; Daniel called Him both the Son of man, and the Son of God.
Jesus Christ has many names; Jesus derives from Jehovah-Yasha, which means, God Saves. Isaiah called Him Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” John of Patmos said His name is, “Righteous and True.” His is the name above every other name, the only name blessed forever.
Isaiah may have said it best with, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
The Bible says Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but through Him the world might be saved. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already.
The 10 Commandments are a textual representation of Jesus Christ, he cannot lie(9), steal(8), covet(10), murder (or hate without cause)(6), commit adultery(or lust)(7); submission to parents is paramount(5), and especially that His primary concern(2) is His righteousness(1) and name(3), and in Him the Christian finds rest(4).
The 10 Commandments are also the standard of judgment for the human race. Have you ever told a lie? Stolen anything? Coveted something that didn’t belong to you? Called someone an idiot? Lusted after someone that wasn’t your spouse? Always obeyed your parents? Kept God first in your heart? Used the name of God only with respect? Given God one day out of your week?
Hark the Herald Angels Sing was written by Charles Wesley, it captures the reason for the season in, “Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled." Our transgression had not only separated us from God, but made us an enemy of God, and nothing we could do would redeem us.
Christmas is only celebrated because of what happened on Easter. On Easter, Jesus was sentenced to death for claiming to be God, a very serious offense. In this charge, He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.
Jesus Christ never committed a single sin, but He became sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Jesus was born of the Spirit, while we are born of the flesh. He was adamant that lest ye be born of the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. This is also known as being born-again, or being baptized in the Holy Spirit; this is separate from being baptized in water and can only be accomplished by a supernatural work of God.
The first words Jesus proclaimed to the world were, “Repent and believe the Gospel.” This means to turn from sin, turn towards God, ask for forgiveness, and believe (trust) that Jesus Christ is who He says He is, and that His payment on the cross for your sins is sufficient.
When Christ was born, the herald angel said, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
In the words of Go Fish, the beginning and the middle are both wonderful and great, but it’s the ending that can save you, and that’s why we celebrate.
Posted by: Canyon Shearer | December 25, 2007 9:19 PM
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Same old story, everything was different before it all changed. I understand they have street lights now so the stars are probably as far away there as they are here.
Posted by: BGone | December 24, 2007 12:41 PM
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"Every year the same presents: cotton socks and gloves, a tangerine and peanuts."
"Our mother always asked for the same gifts, a blooming narcissus plant and a box of chocolate-covered peppermints."
A joke:
A curious Western tourist followed a Chinese man as he walked into a cemetry carrying a dish of rice. As the Chinese placed the dish by the head of a grave, the tourist asked him, "When do you think your dead will rise to eat the dish you've brought him?" "Oh, but that's when your dead will rise to smell the flowers you bring him!" said the Chinese, moving away.
http://arabicwithlagouader.blogspot.com/