In addition to the gingerbread house, three other symbols of Christmas that are popular in Taiwan are Santa Claus, the snowman and the fir tree. For many people in Taiwan, this is the time of year when we prepare cards and presents for the special people in our lives, a time when ?hristmas Present?presents us with feasts and material comforts around us. On the other hand, for those who take Christmas seriously, this phenomenon is rich in form but poor in substance.
Christmas functions as a religious celebration for some; it also is a reminder of the spirit of Christianity ?inward growth and outward service. In a country with a small population of Christians, this widespread display of Christmas is out of place if there is no sign that there's a purpose to it. In my opinion, the oddness doesn't derive from an intentional attempt to promote or even commercialize Christianity.
On the contrary, Christmas in Taiwan is more of an ?n/out?identity issue. To be ?n,?you do what is popular. Not using Christ-mas jargon implies you are not in the mainstream. Therefore, no one was really offended to read about a Taiwanese movie star who uttered a holiday greeting to his separated wife when he broke into her home and found her with another man.
Like many things in Taiwan today, Christmas is a replica of events that are integral to an exotic and seemingly ?etter?society. Like many things we see in Taiwan these days, Christmas is merely skin deep. Even if Christmas is akin to plastic surgery on our local culture, there should be a better balance between our traditional values and the add-on looks. Otherwise, the incongruity only reflects transient moments in a kind of superficial internationalization.
Without an evaluation process, the Christmas icons we see here are limited to commercial, irrational, ?erry?sentiments of this specific time of the year.
I am all for Christmas. But please treat it for what it is and not because it is what they do.
Dawn Han
Kaohsiung
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