Let me tell you about the school’s Christmas tree. It was set up in the main shopping square of campus about a week ago, and the decision as to whether it’s a pretty sight to be seen or not, I’ll leave up to you. However, what’s most interesting about this Christmas tree is it’s decoration. At the time it is being set up it usually doesn’t have any decoration, but this usually changes very soon afterward as students start flocking around the tree and hang little cards and papers with wishes on the tree. Not quite the traditional Christmas tree decoration, but the same thing happens every year. So, instead of the Christmas tree, it becomes a “Wishing tree”! And if you look very closely, you might even catch a glimpse of Santa Clause! Merry Christmas then y’all!

Last Saturday I already introduced you to my new advent wreath. So, after it’s been set up and in use for a week now, I thought I’d tell you what happened whenever people saw it. Usually there are several responses, and in the last week I could see them repeated over and over each time I had visitors (and usually I have students and friends visit me every single day). #1 Response: Big “Ahs” and “Ohs” upon entering my living room and seeing the advent wreath (and all the other Christmas decorations). #2 Response: Sitting down/walking around it and admiring it from all different angles. #3 Response: Asking questions about it and its purpose/meaning. #4 Response: Taking it apart – lifting up the candles to be able to admire them better; closely examining each single piece of decoration (pine cones, bows, boxes, twigs, etc. – looks like most of them have never even seen a pine cone!). Can you tell an advent wreath is quite a curious thing around here? No one has ever heard …

Christmas is fast approaching. Tomorrow is the first Sunday of Advent already, and this year I have my own very first: My first real advent wreath in China. Well, not a wreath, really. But it is this advent thingy that can hold four candles, so it counts as advent wreath, I guess. In the last couple of years, I always just arranged some candles with some simple Christmas decoration on my coffee table, but this year it’s the real deal! My mom brought it from Germany where she had bought it at the end of last year’s Christmas season at my request. (Yep, did I ever mention that you learn to become very patient here in China?) Well, anyway, I finally have one. And since I had no candles to go with it, this morning’s main project was to hop on the shopping bus to the city and find some (there are no real candles anywhere here in town; Chinese people don’t usually use candles.) However, finding them isn’t actually the challenge, since I had …