Christmas in Taiwan

Christmas in Taiwan

Since Taiwan is primarily a Buddhist nation, Christmas day is only a commercially festive holiday here, a day all about gifts. Regrettably, to most it’s just another day, with nothing special attached to it. At schools they teach about Santa Clause and gifts, have Christmas parties where the kids dance and sing, and gifts are prepared for them.  

Sadly, it is the about the only opportunity for foreign Christian teachers to share about Jesus and the real meaning about Christmas, His birth and salvation. However foreigners are not easily granted a holiday on December 25^th. So things are tough here in the Chinese territories for Christians, but not impossible, and we do serve a Great God!

Big cities decorate the streets and shopping malls well in advance, from as early as October in some cases, but the smaller towns don’t bother much. This year, seeing the economy being down and slow, I haven’t seen much decorating in Taoyuan at all and we’re in the last week of November.

The bigger cities like Taipei , Tainan and Kaohsiung have more happening at this time. People are intrigued by Christmas but not easily persuaded to join in the real reason for the festivities.

The Chinese New Year is the equivalent of Christmas in Taiwan and the biggest holiday of the year when many will take time off work and travel a bit. For this holiday there are generally fireworks and parties everywhere.

It’s not all gloom and doom. Some Churches do celebrate Christmas, some churches focus on giving gifts & caroling, others focus on Jesus birth, and testimonies. Some church youth groups or individual Christians focus on the great opportunity for evangelistic outreaches in schools. It’s not as though Christianity is disallowed or squashed. We need MORE people from The Lighthouse out here!!

In Tainan in 2004 I recall driving around a government circle and seeing every building decorated with flashing lights. In the same year some of my church  members got together with our foreign group and went to Sun Moon Lake where we had relaxed walks, some good time for sharing testimonies and the gospel. Dinner together and swapping gifts were last on the list that year. In 2005 the dynamics of our group changed and I just went to church where we spent time in worship, with a message by candle light.

Since I moved to Taoyuan I haven’t seen much in the way of decorations at all; except of course at our base and my church where last year we had a great time of worship and caroling. The choir sang and there were a few who gave their testimonies, testifying as to how God has touched and changed their lives, after which our pastor then shared the message. Families then went to their homes and shared gifts. But, as I’ve said, for most of Taiwan Christmas is all about Santa Clause and gifts or nothing at all.

Christmas is being seen more and more as merely a western holiday, with hardly any remembering Jesus’ birth. It’s up to the foreigners and believers in Taiwan to make it a special day. We need your prayer support please…as the mission possible continues…

Blessings

Adele