Christmas in Taiwan and Europe, same or different?

As Christmas is coming, my friends in Taiwan start to ask me how people celebrate Christmas in Germany or in European countries. On the other hand, new friends that I met here in Germany are also curious about what Taiwanese people do on Christmas. Actually, about 90% of Taiwanese people are Buddhists or Taoists, and Christmas is not an official holiday in Taiwan. However, even though most of Taiwanese people are not Christians and might not know the story of Christmas well, we still like Christmas a lot and you can hear Christmas songs almost everywhere in December.

In Taiwan, parents usually prepare Christmas gifts for kids, and children also learn how to sing Christmas songs or even have a small Christmas activity at school, such as exchanging gifts with classmates or writing a Thank-you card to friends. Though as I mentioned, people like celebrating Christmas, most of them are young people. What young people do on Christmas in Taiwan might be different from one of other countries. Usually, we have dinner with our close friends on Christmas, and after the meal, we have other activities, such as going shopping, going to a party or a bar, watching a movie, playing board game, going to Karaoke etc. In Taiwan, we don’t have Christmas market every year, so basically we do not have typical food or drinks for Christmas, but just enjoy the time spending with “friends” on that day.

When I am here in Germany now, my European friends tell me that they usually celebrate Christmas with their family. Before Christmas, sometimes they will go Christmas markets for having particular foods and drinks, and on December 24^th, they will go to Church with family to sing Christmas songs together. On Christmas, the whole family gather together to have dinner, have Christmas gifts, talk, drink, and play games for the whole night.

To me, as a foreigner here, I feel that the way people celebrate Christmas in European countries is kind of similar with how Chinese people celebrate lunar new year. In Taiwan, all family members gather together to have reunion dinner for Chinese new year and enjoy the time with relatives, but the difference is that we receive red envelops, instead of gifts.

Nowadays because of globalization, people have more opportunities to work overseas and might have less time spent with family. I think the reason why the holiday is important to us is not just because people can have days off, but more because they can see a lot of family members on the same day to catch up, as it is always hard to tell when the next time is to meet others all together again. Anyway, personally, I am also a fan of Christmas, and even now, I still write cards to my friends and family to express my appreciation to them. I am thankful for this wonderful holiday to give me an opportunity to appreciate everything I have and to thank every important people in my life.