Chinese Christmas

Rayven, the author, is not Chinese... but as you'll see, she knows how to do Chinese Christmas! Really a great heart-warming story of family love!

My Favorite Christmas:
Chinese Christmas

My most memorable Christmas ever was the year I was 15, and my little sister was 10. We had sold our home in South Florida, and were required to be out on December 26th. Our new home was in central Montana, and we intended to drive there after Christmas so that my sister and I could start school after the holiday break.

Now, prior to that year, our Christmases were pretty traditional. Grandma and Grandpa, and occasionally extended family, would come to our home; we’d have shrimp and cheese and crackers as a snack, a big old turkey or roast beef dinner, and at least three kinds of pies that Grandma baked for dessert. But this year was quite different: Grandma and Grandpa, who were moving with us, had been flown to Montana early.

Add to that the utter chaos of our home. The moving truck, complete with belongings from our home as well as my grandparents’ home was already full, and we were sleeping on sleeping bags in the living room. No Christmas tree that year, and all of the presents had been opened the week prior.

But Mom and Dad were determined to make it a special day! Since we didn’t have any family commitments that year, it was decided that we would go out to see a movie, and then out to dinner somewhere before cuddling up on the floor for our last night in the home we had built 7 years prior.

The movie went fine. I can remember how shocked my sister and I were that the movie theaters were even open on Christmas! But not only were they open, they were crowded. We saw the original, “The Santa Clause” in honor of Christmas and had a blast. Then we went out to dinner.

But this was not as easy as we thought it was going to be. While the movie theaters did not have a problem staying open on December 25th, apparently, no one told the restaurants to do so as well. We spent two hours driving around our town and neighboring towns, looking for ANYTHING that was open. Everyone, it appeared, was home celebrating with their families.

Finally, defeated, we started the drive home, not exactly sure what we were going to eat as our refrigerator had been cleaned out the day before. We’d have to break into the snacks we bought for the long road trip.

But wait! As we were approaching the turn into our housing development, we saw an “OPEN” sign on the door of a small restaurant in a strip mall across the street. We all cheered!It turns out, it was our local Chinese restaurant, and they were indeed open on Christmas day. I tell you, Chinese Christmas had never sounded so good!

Chinese Christmas indeed!

We were the only people in the establishment other than the employees. The food was great, and towards the end of the meal, all the employees came out to, well, serenade us with Christmas carols!

It was a totally unexpected and hilarious surprise! You have never heard Jingle Bells unless you have heard it from someone singing it with English as their second language: “Jin. Gall. Bell. Jin. Gall. Bell. Jin. Gall. All. Da-way.” The concert went on for probably 20 minutes as they happily sang us every Christmas song they knew, and after a few minutes, we joined them.

To this day, every Christmas when I call my sister on the phone, I open the call with their rendition of Jingle Bells. It brings back memories of our favorite Chinese Christmas ever.

Why was this our favorite Christmas? Because it was different, it was special, and it was all about our family. We made the most out of a unique situation, had some ups and downs, and ended the day on a laugh.

As a mother, I know my kids will grow up remembering the stuff that went wrong much more than the stuff that went as planned. So I keep that Christmas in mind and when life hands me the unexpected, I eat Chinese!