Friday, December 16, 2011

Tis the Season


Carolling in my School, an open invitation to the community.


We (Mt Albert Baptist Church) entertained thousands of guests, raised money for Plunket for children aand dug a well in Thailand.

My Canadian Roommate MaryAnne invited me back to her parents home in Kingsville, Ontario, Canada for my first White Christmas. I see her mum make mince pies, and my first bite wasn't what I expected. It was sweet, made of fruits. I had expected it to be savory, made of minced meat. That was the best Christmas I ever had.

This is the goodie bag that we gave out 3000 of them. Some people didn't want them thinking they had to pay for the,. Some people asked more more though we told them it was one per family. One insisted he had 2 kids, and one balloon wasn't good for them. I must tell the organisers. Perhaps next year, we should have spare balloons in our pockets.

A night of sugar! sugar! and more sugar!. During the later part of the evening, I decided I won't ask the kids, I asked the parents if the kids were allowed. It was Christmas, and most parents said "Yes."

I enjoyed this photo more than most, I used this to teach the children and adult students," Compare and Contrast" the tradition Santa and our Kiwianna/New Zealand Santa.

The Crossing is a Bi-annual issue by Mt Albert Baptist Church. This is included inside our goodie bag with carols to sing by candle light. It also has an interview done by me.

For a bit of fun, I bought this apron as a gift. Rudolph the red nose reindeer.

Presents! presents! presents! I got a very pleasant surprise this year. My group of adult ESOL students banded together and gave me this present.

Lollies, sweets, candy canes, gums came out of this bag for the kids that came to the Christmas in Rocket Park. It appears gums were most popular. Some kids wanted to swap, and I told them, sorry, perhaps you can swap it with friends.

End of the school year. we had a secret santa. This was what I got. We were told to give something between $5 and $10. Someone obviously bought something more than $10. It was anonynmous, so nobody knew what I bought. I did not buy $5 worth, neither did I buy $10. I remember the Kris Kringle incident when I was first in Canada. As residents of Laurier Hall in the University Of Windsor, we blind chose our Kris Kringle. As freaky as it sounds, my Kris Kringle was also the one who I was Kris Kringle to. I recycled some of her wrapping paper, and at the end of the party, we were asked to guess who our Kris Kringle was. She named me and I almost died of embarrassment. Today, as an environmentalist, I advocate recycling, but not in 1975 as as a 20 years old. I tell this true tale on Christmas day. I wonder if this American gal would have done the same.

I wore a head band with 2 Santas on my head to school the Monday after Christmas in the Park. I wore them during the Christmas in the Park. The teachers and kids LOL.



People ask "what are you doing at Christmas?" "Are you going away for Christmas?"

Christmas is a bit of Christian religion, a bit of fun and lots of memories.


Christmas as a child in Borneo,
Was going to Mid Night Mass,
Was having a supper after church,
Decorating a tree.
Dad had lived in England and brought this custom back.
Christmas was Open House,
People came to visit, and mum made tit bits.

Christmas in Canada was wonderful.
My first white Christmas,
Mince pies, pecan pies,
Seeing Canadian geese.
Kris Kringle for a week.

Christmas as an adult,
In New Zealand, Singapore and Australia,
was a mixed bag.
Lots of fun,
Lots of parties and presents.
Secret Santas.

For the last 3 years in New Zealand,
We have Christmas in Rocket Park.
This I feel is the real meaning of Christmas,http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Sharing the Good News to non Christians,
The Good news that Jesus came.
Sharing a happy time with other Christians.




Sunday Stills-’Tis the Season (December 18th
Posted in Uncategorized on December 11, 2011 by Linda

What represents this Christmas season to you? Is it lighted trees, decorations, food…..snow? Photograph whatever represents this season to you.


http://sundaystills.wordpress.com/

14 comments:

Ginny Hartzler said...

Gosh, lots of memories of your Christmases in other countries, I had no idea you lived in so many places. Christmas is one word to me Jesus. Without him, there is no Christmas.

Ginny Hartzler said...

Hey, is that Santa lawn mower races? We have lawn mower races here sometimes. Or maybe Santa is using that as his sleigh.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

Hi Ginny,

I have been telling the students Santa came in a quad bike, Now I have to write to Santa and ask if it is a lawn mower or a quad bike. LOL.

In NZ, there is competition with almost everything.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

Dear Ginny,

Haha. No, it's not a lawn mower. It's just a quad bike which farmers use to get around the farm.

New Zealand Santa James.

Quad bikes are very common in farms and the beach here. Even children ride them. Ann

Oak Creek Ranch said...

Thank you for your comment on my blog. I love that story of you rinsing (or not) your feet in a bucket before going in the house.

Ed said...

Excellent post Ann, I love mincemeat pie, I guess its my british and canadian roots..:-))
p.s. the quad shots is fantastic..

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Fond memories of special times. Never had mincemeat pie. I also thought it was savory.
The quad tractor ride made me laugh. Looks so..."summery" with the driver in a tank top. Well at least he's wearing red, eh?
The reindeer apron is cute! Do you wear it when baking?

~Lisa

Anonymous said...

Very nice Christmas thoughts. :)

Far Side of Fifty said...

Hi Ann, I enjoyed your thoughts and your photos:)

2browndawgs said...

Very nice post and lovely picture.

Reader Wil said...

Thanks for telling about your Christmases! I learnt something new here! Kris Kringle is very new to me. We have never heard of it.
You asked if I knew Ahmet Ögüt. Well I have never of him either. But thanks for telling me about him!
Have a great Christmas time!

MTWaggin said...

I loved the quad ride - much like our "hay rides" here. Enjoyed your Christmas memories.

Karin said...

Fun to read about all your Christmas activities!! Remembering that Jesus Christ was born is what Christmas is all about!!

Anonymous said...

So wonderful to read about all the Christmases you celebrated in other countries. Enjoyed going through your photos!

About your question on my blog, we call them bottle brushes here.:)