Weihnachten … bei John in den USA

„Was machst du an Weihnachten?“ war wohl die Frage der letzten Wochen. Und ganz egal wen man fragte, die Antworten waren immer gleich. Einige gehen in die Kirche, manche essen Gans, manche Ente, aber alle verbringen die folgenden drei Tage mit Ihren Familien. Weihnachten ist also in Deutschland weiterhin ein Familienfest bei dem in entspannter Atmosphäre vom turbulenten Vorjahr abgeschaltet werden kann.
Doch wie sieht das in anderen Ländern aus? Um das heraus zu finden befragte ich über einen englischen Standardfragebogen Freunde, die ich während meiner Asienreise kennengelernt hatte. Die vielen unterschiedlichen Antworten möchte ich euch nun in den folgenden drei Tagen vorstellen.

Heute begingen wir mit den Gedanken von John Widdifield aus Muncie im Bundesstaat Indiana der USA. John lernte ich während meiner Mount Fuji Besteigung kennen. Er studiert Architektur an der Ball State University und würde am liebsten das ganze Jahr über reisen. Aber lest selbst…
 
In your opinion, what is the true meaning of Christmas?
In my opinion, the true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ. The gifts we give are symbolic of the gifts which the Magi (Three Wise Men) gave Jesus at his birth. Christmas should be about love and family and joy but in the United States, it has become a symbol of capitalism. As I have gotten older, I have started to realize that we should embrace Christmas as a time for love and celebration and focus less on using the holiday to ask for all the things we need. I believe this is the true meaning of Christmas.
 
Jesus was born 2013 years ago. For that matter Christmas is a Christian celebration. Do you and your family celebrate Christmas, too? Why? Why not? Is there a similar ceremony in your culture?
My family is Catholic so every year we celebrate Christmas. Most people in the United States celebrate Christmas, even those who do not believe in Christ. It is a deeply rooted tradition, however, many people take their focus off of the religious aspect (even Christians) and refocus it on the traditions – Christmas Trees, Presents, Lights, etc. Many store employees are not even allowed to say Merry Christmas anymore because of the religious implications and must now simply say “Happy Holidays”- to which I always respond Merry Christmas. Usually I get a warm smile and a Merry Christmas back from them.
 
What are you doing between December 24 and 26? 
I tend to procrastinate, so I will probably still be shopping for gifts on December 24th! Typically, I go to my grandfather’s house on Christmas Eve and we celebrate with food and presents. We use to do a gift exchange where we would draw the names of a family member and have to buy them something for Christmas but we no longer do this. Late on Christmas Eve, my family goes to a special midnight mass at our church. After mass, we go home and all go to bed, then we wake up bright and early to open Christmas presents! After we open all the presents, we typically get ready and go to my other grandparent’s house for their Christmas celebration. Then on the 26th, we rest! My favorite Christmas picture was taken when I was just 4 years old. For Christmas that year, Santa brought me a dalmation puppy complete with a bow; I named her Flash. She lived all the way until my high school graduation right before I left for college.

 
What will you eat between these days? 
There are two main meals which my family typically eats on Christmas. For lunch, we typically eat a large honey ham with mashed potatoes! On Christmas in Indiana, not very many restaurants are open, so we almost always order Chinese food for dinner. There is one Chinese restaurant open in our town so somehow this has become a Christmas tradition! I typically make Christmas cookies with my mom too during this time.
 
Imagine you catch Santa coming down your chimney on Christmas Eve and he grants your one wish – What would it be? It doesn’t matter how expensive or unbelievable it is… 🙂
If I caught Santa coming down the chimney, my one wish would be to travel the world. I have had the opportunity to travel many places but there is still so much I want to see and experience.

 
Habt ihr Fragen an John? Dann stellt sie gerne in den Kommentaren.
In den nächsten Tagen folgen die weiteren Beiträge:
Weihnachten … bei Andreea in Rumänien
Weihnachten … bei Lee in Israel
Weihnachten … bei King in Taiwan
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