To the editor:
How does one explain Christmas? Given the power of the imagery now in front of our faces today it is not an easy question to answer for my students here in China.
There is not a tradition of church dogma and ritual about the story of the poor family going to the father’s hometown to be counted and of mother, heavy with child finding only a simple manger amongst the animals to give birth to her son. Nor is it the three magi following a brilliant star on the horizon to the windy whispers of a heavenly choir. These ideas and concepts are all very odd and more suitable to adults, not children.
Christmas is not the fancy printed signs of silver, gold, red, and green proclaiming a merry moment. It is found in the simplest of things and it is the hardest to find. This week, and probably by the time this is printed the schools will have finished classes. There will be the last-minute frenzy to buy the cheese loaf, funky socks, reindeer headpiece and other trappings of the season.
Part of the tradition that does make for easy understanding is the tree and decorations. There is no snow in Guangzhou. Acres of evergreens do not exist. So the typical visual cues are not present.
How to give a sense of the spirit of the season and the joys that come with this great day? 3×5 cards, some candy wrappers, scissors, glue sticks and a classroom of 9-year-olds is a recipe for joyous mayhem. Candy wrappers are shiny, colorful, and abound this time of year. These small sheets of foil, cellophane, and waxed paper are brilliant. They can be manipulated with ease by small fingers. Outlining a few shapes then turning the youngsters loose with a variety of papers the chaos unfolded. Some simple cotton twine and a small hole punched in the corner of the card and voila, instant Christmas decoration.
But this is not Christmas. Christmas is the laughter and joy of having fun making others happy. So it was that in an hour of time, in a community far from the comforts of home, five sets of busy fingers folded, cut, hollered, cried, and laughed to make some simple decorations to hang on a wall in celebration of a humble day for us all.
Merry Christmas, It’s time to make a little magic.
Orpheus Allison
Guangzhou, China
orpheusallison@mac.com
