Oh What Fun It Is to Ride In A Wood Car Driven By Deer

Christmas is actually an Asian holiday. Then why did an Asian grad student at our International Friends Christmas party, in response to the question, “What do naughty children get for Christmas?” answer, “cheese”?

Whenever I talk about Christmas with an Asian I always tell them that Christmas is an Asian holiday. They quickly disagree and then I tell them that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus, and Jesus was born in Israel, and according to my geography teacher Israel is in Asia. Of course Santa Claus, the tree, and all the trimings are western cultural constructs, but the Christmas story is an Asian story, and when correctly understood is a global story that transcends time, language, and culture.

We had a wonderful time sharing about the transcendence of the Christmas with our international students and scholars last Friday. As a part of our party we had a Christmas tradition gameshow in which all of the contestants were first-year-in-America students and scholars. Here are some examples of questions and some of the answers that were given:

Q: What do naughty children get for Christmas?
A: Nothing

Q: What do we hang from the fireplace?
A: Socks

Q: How does Santa enter the house?
A: Through the front door.
A: (see photo)

Q: What is Santa’s mode of transportation?
A: Wood car driven by deer
A: I don't know how to say in English (see photo)

Q: Where does Santa live?
A: The north part of Norway
A: in Heaven

Q: Who makes Santa’s toys?
A: Factory worders
A: Made in China