Christmas in Xi'an

I've already mentioned there are Santas and Christmas trees aplenty--I'm so disappointed not to find gorgeous nativities, either to see or to buy.  But many people are aware of the coming holiday , and choose to celebrate with parties and good food.

Our focus has  been trying to provide service to our students and friends.  I've made several hotpads and ribbon bookmarks.  Tim hauled a Christmas tree on the bus to deliver to one of our teacher friends, Kristy.  We have enjoyed hosting home-cooked dinners for the foreign teachers from France and Slovakia, and our BYU friends.  My rolls were a hit!

Tim has dressed as Santa--to the delight of many students. We bought 350 large candy canes to distribute.  One little girl whispered in his ear that she would really like a beautiful white dress.  So I
hope her "Santa" can make that dream come true.

XJTU sponsored a dumpling-making demo.  We're getting pretty good at pinching them together.  They boiled them, we ate them, then took some fresh ones home.  I gave them a quick boil, then put a little oil in a pan and fried them up--They're even better as potstickers.  Tradition dictates that if you eat dumplings on the winter solstice (Dec. 21-22) you will not have cold ears in the winter...

XJTU also hosted a Christmas luncheon and gave us lovely bamboo silk scarves.  We had a nice anniversary dinner at an elegant restaurant called "The Moon" with Diane and Kristy.

The highlight of our celebrations was an invitation to a Christmas Eve buffet with our friends the Gaos--held at the Grand New World Hotel.  I nearly cried when I walked into the lobby and  found a glowing Christmas tree, angels, and elves.  It finally felt like the real holiday.  The food was sumptuous, and the program afterward lasted 3 hours! There were singers, dancers, magicians, a clown, and a talented trumpet/horn player.  Even Michael Jackson appeared--quite the imposter.  There were door prizes--the Gaos won an overnight stay at the hotel with 2 free breakfasts.  They gave the coupon to us, so when we finish our finals we will go back to celebrate.

Finally Christmas Day...Enjoyed a quick phone call to Clark and Char Family in St. George, then off to classes.  It was my writing class so I had them write descriptive paragraphs about Christmas trees and Santa.  The jolly old elf (Prof. Taylor) appeared and gave them each a candy cane.  My 20-year old university students were as delighted as any 7-year old you've ever seen.  Likewise Tim's students were thrilled and line up for hugs and pictures--needing a grandpa I suppose. 

That evening (after Tim taught all day) we were suddenly able to download the First Presidency Christmas fireside.  Our internet is pretty sporadic. That was a tender mercy to be able to watch those beautiful messages and listen to the beloved Christmas music.  Of course, the very best gift was reading the sweet service emails from our children and grandchildren, and visiting with them on the phone.  It was a very simple and uncomplicated Christmas, but one we will always remember--with ever greater appreciation for our Savior Jesus Christ.