Pre Christmas Blues

[GLCQuantum]

Christmas.. what's not to like? It's the only time of the year I get homesick.







It's an awesome time of year! A time to get pissed with friends, family and frikin fantastic food!

[kendo]

I would like to know whats it really like having Christmas in a hot country do you feel festive or is it just a question of boxing off a roast dinner in a farang bar and having a good drink with you're friends not unlike most normal days.

The reason i ask this is i really don't know if that would appeal to me as a visitor, and especially having a very young daughter to consider maybe when she is a lot bigger i will give her the option to try it one year.

Comments please good thread!

Kendo.

[Big Boy]

For me personally, I feel like a mercenary bringing the Christmas message to my (Thai) grand children. Of course, I'm bringing the true meaning of Christmas - presents, decorations, over-eating and over-indulging in alcohol (unfortunately, I've got to leave the last 2 to other family members).

From the UK, we brought the tree lights that we used to decorate the Christmas tree in our front garden. These are lighting the outside of our house.

We've put up our artificial tree indoors, and there are plenty of presents around the base. We've all gone overboard ensuring the kids have plenty of presents. The excitement is already getting too much for them.

We will be doing our best to obtain the necessary fare to replicate our traditional UK Christmas Dinner.

Unfortunately, my son has to work Christmas Day, so we will having our Christmas one day late. Also, it isn't a Bank Holiday here, so we've got to take the kids out of school for a day, and the daughter and son-in-law will have a day off work.

Basically, this will be my first Christmas with the (full) family for 14 years - I'm looking forward to it. For me, Christmas should be spent at home with your family around you, not in a bar.

[migrant]

I would like to know whats it really like having Christmas in a hot country

Can't comment on Thailand, but I moved to Southern California where the winter temp averages 70F
after growing up in the snows and winter temp of Michigan. Christmas just doesn't seem the same, even after 30 years!!

Seeing lights on cactus and palm trees just seems weird!

[J.J.B.]

The build-up to Christmas was a big thing for me as a kid, although the day itself was marred by my dad being drunk and argumentative and my mum trying to control her six excited children who were genuinely pleased to have received a pair of trainers from Santa with some colouring pencils and things needed for school in January. In my early teens I used to marvel at being able to walk through our town on Boxing day and seeing absolutely nothing open or even any cars on the streets. Of course, it's very different now but then again now I have grey hair, much less of it, money in the bank, children of my own and I pretty much accept that some people can't live without the TV being on all the time.

As for the comment of not celebrating Christmas because you may not be in a majority Christian country, what bothers me is that despite the UK (and all of Europe) being majority Christian, it is frowned upon to wish people any kind of Christmas greeting lest you offend non-Christians. I've got no patience for that and nor have my Hindu and Muslim friends or colleagues, it's the creeping death of the do-gooding pararde, the Beige Brigade we all need to watch out for!

It's a mixed feeling for me this year, however, being my first Christmas outside the UK and at our place in HH. I don't think we'll bother with a tree, we will of course have a full Christmas dinner and I've already ordered my oven-ready Turkey from Ham & Bacon (no mushy peas though!!). We will give presents, may even listen to the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's on Christmas Eve, and will certainly spend some time counting our blessings and being grateful for what we have. If the only thing that Thai culture has taught me is to be happy with what I have and not worry about the things I can't control, it will be one of the most valuable lessons I could have hoped for.

Merry Christmas to you all!

[PeteC]

...... may even listen to the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's on Christmas Eve.....

Merry Christmas to you also JJB. What is the above, and how do you listen to it....BBC World Service...Internet? Pete

[J.J.B.]

...... may even listen to the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's on Christmas Eve.....

Merry Christmas to you also JJB. What is the above, and how do you listen to it....BBC World Service...Internet? Pete

It's a celebration of Christmas that includes well-known Carols and readings I'm sure many would recognise, from the Choir of King's College Chapel in Cambridge. It's available on the World Service (I don't quite know when) as well as Radio 4, live at 3pm GMT - something they've done every year since 1928! For my family, it always marked the start of Christmas-proper and certainly marks a watershed from the Iceland and DFS ads! A version for TV is also pre-recorded but the radio service is the real deal and I'm sure there's a way of tuning in via the Internet.

There's more info here:

http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/events/chape ... ssons.html

Enjoy!

[dtaai-maai]

It's a celebration of Christmas that includes well-known Carols and readings I'm sure many would recognise, from the Choir of King's College Chapel in Cambridge. It's available on the World Service (I don't quite know when) as well as Radio 4, live at 3pm GMT -

... the radio service is the real deal and I'm sure there's a way of tuning in via the Internet.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/I occasionally listen to BBC Radio 3 and 4 and Capital FM - all jolly British.

EDIT: Good info, JJB - I'm a bit bah-humbuggy about Christmas here, but a listen to that might change my mind. Unless I forget, of course... Any chance of a reminder on the day?

[PeteC]

Thanks for that, something new different we'll try to tune into this year. Pete

[GLCQuantum]

I would like to know whats it really like having Christmas in a hot country do you feel festive or is it just a question of boxing off a roast dinner in a farang bar and having a good drink with you're friends not unlike most normal days.

The reason i ask this is i really don't know if that would appeal to me as a visitor, and especially having a very young daughter to consider maybe when she is a lot bigger i will give her the option to try it one year.

Comments please good thread!

Kendo.

It's not quite the same at all Kendo. I guess I'm quite lucky (unlucky some would say) that I work with kids so the magic of christmas is still kind of about. Some xmas movies, games, nativities and the like. The weather just doesn't seem right though! Give me some brutally cold wind and heavy snow please.

[MrPlum]

I have a Christmas dinner here, with friends and it's a real pleasure. No cards or presents necessary, just good food and company.

[Pleng]

I would like to know whats it really like having Christmas in a hot country do you feel festive or is it just a question of boxing off a roast dinner in a farang bar and having a good drink with you're friends not unlike most normal days.

The reason i ask this is i really don't know if that would appeal to me as a visitor, and especially having a very young daughter to consider maybe when she is a lot bigger i will give her the option to try it one year.

Comments please good thread!

Kendo.

If you're considering it when you're daughter's bigger, and you're considering it for a holiday as opposed to thinking about living here year in year out for Christmas then my advice would be to stay away from roast dinners all together.

2 years ago, before I was living here, I had my first Christmas in Thailand. I was in Koh Samui visiting my girlfriend. Unfortunately, in the hotel business, she had to work on Christmas day, until about 6pm (turned into 8pm - no surprise there).

My day went a bit like this:

Woke up in the morning, took my girlfriend to work. Went to the market and had a Paneang curry. Went back home and did a bit of work (you'll understandably probably want to scratch that bit out of your day though!) and in the evening I took my laptop to a beach bar and had a Skype session with my family. My girlfriend joined me after she finished work and we put some presents under the tree that the bar had (it was a very quiet bar, and we were the only ones there). We sat around the tree opening presents. After that we headed into downtown Chaweang. Had a meal at a nice market side restaurant then went on to Henry bar for a few beers, followed by a bucket or three at green Mango. Polished off the night with a road-side slice of pizza (kebab another option ) then got home about 4am and called my friends back in Englnad to wish them a happy christmas. Ah the advantages to time zones!

Did it feel festive? No, not really. Did it feel like Christmas? Well yes I was very aware it was Christmas and it still felt like I was 'doing' Christmas, but no it didn't feel the same as it would have done back home, of course. Is it an awesome memory? Absolutely; and it'll certainly be the easiest Christmas to recall for a long time.

I can understand the desire to feel festive for people who have been living here a long time. Not sure how much success they have doing so (I'll let you know how I get on after a few years!), but if you're just doing it as a one-off, why not consider doing it a little different?

[J.J.B.]

It's a celebration of Christmas that includes well-known Carols and readings I'm sure many would recognise, from the Choir of King's College Chapel in Cambridge. It's available on the World Service (I don't quite know when) as well as Radio 4, live at 3pm GMT -

... the radio service is the real deal and I'm sure there's a way of tuning in via the Internet.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/I occasionally listen to BBC Radio 3 and 4 and Capital FM - all jolly British.

EDIT: Good info, JJB - I'm a bit bah-humbuggy about Christmas here, but a listen to that might change my mind. Unless I forget, of course... Any chance of a reminder on the day?

It will be at 10pm local time but that's probably one of the evenings I won't be heading into town so I'll put it in my calendar as a reminder and send you over a link. Unless I, too, forget of course!

[caller]

My one and only Christmas in LOS (so far), down at Bangsaphan was good. Presents in the morning, followed by the Snowman and other short DVD's for the little one. Then putting toys and things together, followed by a barbie on the beach, with the BBQ supplied and prepared by the small resort we were at, all for gratis. Enjoyed a few bevvies, sparkling wine, other wine and some nice food - recall we had crab, prawns, smoked salmon, chicken, sausages, burgers, salad and fruit and goodness knows what else.

Really enjoyed the day.

[MrPlum]

If you are the type to get all chewed up about religion, here's an alternative interpretation of Christmas... http://www.examiner.com/article/christm ... ecember-25

'Christmas is an ancient celebration of light, with many gods born on December 25'