A Chinese Christmas in America

I'll be home for Christmas

if only in our tree

So here we have a strange blog entry... this is not my place... not my pictures... not my story. But there's an essential connection.

Back at home in America Illinois Boone Belvidere (this is how I name places now), my family is celebrating Christmas--our most cherished holiday together--without me. But don't cry. They have found a way to invite me to the celebration at least in spirit... they have decorated the Christmas tree with all things Chinese. A wide variety of Chinese culture is on display here. The ornaments and decorations symbolize China.... but in some cases they symbolize specific culture from Shaanxi and HuaiYa where I live. Have a look look...

The Christmas tree. In a glance, it looks very beautiful... very peaceful. Just like China!

The tree top.

Now those things... those twigs with red balls... whatever they are. What about China do they symbolize? By fateful coincidence, they look EXACTLY like a local Shaanxi food that is sold by nearly every other street vendor here. It's difficult to describe these things... it is a stick with 5 or 6 pieces of some kind of carmelized grape-like fruit on it. It's sweet and crunchy. So the top of the tree looks like the HuaiYa candy-man's wagon! Haha! So funny! Shaanxi people, you know what I'm talking about!


A combinations of ornaments and lights.

A panda ornament. Did you know there are wild pandas living in the Qinling Mountains directly to the South of me? I live in the reclusive company of these treasured, endangered creatures.

A bell ornament. Bells are a significant part of the traditional Chinese culture. But there are no more bells any more, unfortunately. Now we are summoned to class by circus music.

At the top of the bell ornament there is an enraged Buddha. What is He screaming about? Perhaps he doesn't want to be part of a Christian celebration? No... the Shakyamuni Buddha was a tolerant fellow. I'm sure he's only screaming because he can't meditate properly when dad listens to the Rory Gallagher music so loudly...

A Pagoda ornament. You know, I live near some of the most important pagodas in China. Pagodas where Buddhist sutras were translated from Indian Sanskrit to Chinese... pagodas that hold bone fragments from the original Buddha himself. As pagodas serve as a symbol of Shaanxi/Xi'an's influential role in the spread of Buddhism in China, these pagodas on the tree are a perfect symbol of the Chinese culture that is relevant in my part of China!



Okay... now this one could be Japanese... but it also looks like it might be a Tang Dynasty elite woman. In fact, the style of the clothing more distinctly resembles the latter. If so... again... perfect. The part of Shaanxi where I live has the elite culture of the Tang Dynasty written all over its landscape. And some very important women in Chinese history lived and died in my neck of the woods. Of all the women in Chinese history, two of the most famous are Yang Guifei and Wu Zetian. Both beautifies with treacherous histories (Yang Guifei is one of the 4 great beauties of China and Wu Zetian is the one and only female emperor of China). Yang Guifei was murdered not to far from me and her tomb is close as well. Wu Zetian's tomb is also not too far. So this woman here on the tree is spot-on not only as a symbol of China but as a symbol of where I live. I call her Yang Guifei.

A dragon... a comical dragon. And isn't my Chinese name ziLONG?






MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 祝你圣诞节快乐!