Merry Christmas and Ho-Ho-Ho

Well, Christmas has already come and gone now. How did that happen?

Rob and I live in a country in which only 15% of the people here identify themselves as "Christians". The country is primarily made up of Buddhist and Taoism (which is a Chinese philosophy) and about 15% Muslims. However, Singapore does not disappoint when it comes to Christmas decorations and shopping!

Rob and I went on the main shopping street, Orchard Road, and captured this shot at one of the major department stores (like Dillards or MACYs).

Notice how it says "GOD" in the lower right corner? The store actually has a bible verse in front! In full view for everyone to see...no shame or fear of offending anyone! Here is a close-up of what it says and a "sliding story" of the three wise-men set-up on the side of the store






Look at all the people on the street! Its a very popular area at any time, but having the excuse to shop makes Orchard Road so crowded that you can barely even walk! Here is a picture I was trying to take of Rob in front of the big Christmas tree...as you can see, common courtesy really shines as I captured these 2 dudes walking by...if you look closely, you can see Rob's head in between those! I laughed and laughed at that!


Anyway, with all the political correctness that surrounds Christmas, I just want to say that I am proud to say Merry Christmas to anyone and everyone. I love that Singapore recognizes that people around the world celebrate holidays in different ways and with different religions. Somehow, the country has done a good job of letting each celebrate according to their traditions without feeling bad for doing so. When someone wishes me "Selamat Hari Raya", I am not offended but pleased they thought of me on their own day of Celebration. Merry Christmas is not meant to be "preachy" or offensive and it really burns me when people take it that way. Anyway, here are some other pictures of our Christmas time; our tree and a few of the Christmas gatherings we attended or hosted.

Speaking of different religions and stuff, we hosted a party at our place the Sunday before Christmas. We had a good turn-up of about 25 people...of that, 13 were from different countries! It was very cool, some of our friends that stuck around Singapore to celebrate the holidays are from the UK, Japan, Phillipines, Barbados, Germany, Denmark, Canada...etc. I think our Christmas is going to be a little less diverse next year...