Christmas @ Sibu Town Square, The Carolers' Song

I'd be looking forward to join the crowd at Sibu Town Square to witness Christmas parade... Listen to the carolers singing.

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Christmas @ Sibu Town Square

The yearly Christmas tree contest, Christmas parade and Christmas events are slowly taking place at Sibu Town Square. Twelve 10ft tall trees brighten up the town square and light up the night with thousands of sparkling lights and ornaments.

We took a walk on Sunny Sunday morning at the town square mainly because of these Christmas trees, and met a guy fixing one of the trees telling us few trees were toppled due to heavy storm that evening. [Sometimes, it seems like I don't bother much about what is being told to me as if I don't care and it's not my problem but in actual fact, I don't know how to convey or response to what had happened.] So, I gave the guy a little grin and said to him, 'ya ka?, tidak apa.' (really? it's ok)

Feeling sorry, although I was thinking it takes the strong wind to blowdown a huge 10-12ft con shaped tree.

Then I walked away busy mending my own business and checking on every Christmas tree there, like a child excited about Christmas!

It looks snowy at town square with snowy decorations, symbolises year end winter and winter solstice falls 3 days before Christmas where the Chinese remember the day as 'Tang Yuan', it marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. In ancient Rome it was believed that the sun god Saturn died on that day and celebrated Saturn's rebirth on the 3rd day where it's known as Christmas today.

It's that time of the year again, Santa is coming too, he will leave his reindeer on the roof while he nips down the chimney. So, you'd better watch out!!!

Here's more pictures of Christmas at Town Square on Youtube with warm Christmas song- chestnuts roasting on an open fire:-)

Enjoy :-)

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Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

While I was away from home, Christmas is not my, or perhaps many of Chinese living abroad favorite time of the year to be at home with family members unlike Chinese New Year, everyone rushed home for angpows. Christmas however was celebrated at home every year with a simple family dinner when I was a child. Dad's side of the family was a staunch Anglican Christian in Kuching. We had gifts during Christmas that I can remember so well when I was 7-8.

As Sibu is the base for many Methodist Christians since the days of the early Foochow migrants, Christianity spread as far as Sarikei, Bintagor and its surrounding areas as well following the settlement of the early Foochow Christians in Sibu. Every year's Christmas Parade has already become one of the Christian customs and traditions in this part of the world where churches will gather together and the whole month of December is usually filled with Christmas events and Christmas can be felt in the air as early as mid November with Christmas trees and decorations can be seen everywhere.

Growing up in Sarikei, the Christmas Parade was always an occasion I'd look forward to. Eventually as we grew older that simple family's Christmas dinner we used to have at home slowly fade away.

I remember the saddest Christmas I had was when I was all alone in Kuching one Christmas. I sat at my table that eve of the Christmas pencil sketching a picture of a family sitting by the fire warming from the cold winter outside the house. It was a heavy pour that evening. I was waiting for the day to pass by fast because I miss Christmas I once used to have...

Last weekend, my initial plan was to just drop by a kiosk station to grab an English newspaper from a newspaper stand when my 6yo nephew persuaded me to take him out for a ride.

We ended up driving to new Sing Kwong first that morning then to the town until we reached Sanyan. I manged to catch on video my nephew's expression (for my simple clip), 'have yourself a merry little Christmas'... if you're away and missing home!

Here's wishing you a merry little Christmas from Sibu (the video is a bit shaky though :)

Synonymous with living away from home is a little child at Christmas, loving the day out walking the street, venturing and engrossing the sights of tall trees adorned with glittering ornaments and colourful chasing lights in the malls.

At the end of the day when the child is already exhausted, he just want to go home to be with mummy!

Merry Christmas all!

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The Three Wise Men And Christmas

How if I told you I've found the 3 wise men?

Known as Fu, Lu and Shou, these Deities represent the three most important manifestations of health, wealth and happiness in ancient Chinese. I'm not a Fung Shui person, when I first saw the 3 figurines sat abandoned inside a junk basket, I had a very little idea who they were although it was known to me that Chinese has many beliefs and deities from god of prosperity, happiness and wealth.

I released the three wise men one by one from inside the box where they were bound and on each figurine comes a piece of note describing each of them. The exquisitely hand-painted figurines were complimentary gifts from Carlsberg.

In the conventional version of the Christmas story, they were 3 wise men or magi according to the Bible. The legend of wise men was said to be from the east or orient believed to be astronomers, at Jesus' birth they were alerted by a stellar apparition search for the new-born king. They brought gift to honor him and found themselves trapped in plot by a demented monarch. In obedience to God's direction they returned home without stopping Jerusalem. Their gifts, and God's leading, saved the new-born Messiah.

Although one can come up with many other plausible theories. I find what interesting is, according to an article at least one of the Magi (the 3 wise men) is believed by the Chinese to be the head astronomer of the Han dynasty. His time at court and two-year disappearance from it shortly after Christ was born is taken by the Chinese as evidence. The "King Star" as the Chinese know is the Star of Bethlehem has been accepted by the Chinese as evidence of the event. Liu Shang (chief astrologer at the court of the Han rulers at the time of Christ's birth) is said to have been in attendance and this is how it is known to Chinese Christians today.

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