Christmas Spirit

Well, in accordance with American tradition, we have been trying to get in the Christmas spirit ever since Thanksgiving. You may think that, in an officially atheist nation, it is a challenge to get any Christmas cheer. We'd agree. But that's no excuse for anybody because Christmas cheer should come from within the soul. How do we look into the soul? Often we can look into our past for clues.

The other day, I was talking with my friend Erik about childhood Christmas memories when, for some reason, only one brief (but maybe life-changing) memory came to mind with true clarity. I could remember presents I received from multiple years, but for some reason, all my thoughts turned to one special evening. You could say my heart skipped a beat with youthful joy as I recalled the "MACGYVER Christmas" from my past.

(Yes, Macgyver is balancing an oversized explosive on his shoulder, just because he can.)

Now, on to my purely magical memory of my youth. That Christmas season, my dad and I put the Christmas tree up--just the two of us. The way I remember it, it was picture perfect for any boy with his dad: plastic evergreen leaves organized in piles according to branch length, the floor cluttered with boxes reeking of attic from the 11 month storage system adopted my many Americans, and lastly (and maybe most importantly) our brand new 6-inch portable black-and-white television resting on the carpet, featuring the marvels of a new Macgyver episode.

Though I won't divulge the juicy details of that December evening long ago, I'll just say that Macgyver turns hearts toward Christmas. When you think about it, it is easy to see how he brings Christmas cheer. Christmas is about giving right? He ALWAYS gave the bad guys their come-upins with gifts of colorful explosives (sometimes green, sometimes red) made from television sets and weed-killer, as well as guns made from pens, paper clips, and fruity gumdrops. You and I both can assume that Santa's opinion of him is positive, due to his extensive work in the cosmic battle of good verses evil.

Though Erik's family didn't celebrate Christmas when he was young, I'm sure he immediately understood how one resourceful secret agent could have stayed in the front of anybody's holiday memory bank. Even you, right?



Though I haven't found this holiday television series on any of our 200 Chinese TV stations, here are some holiday pictures of our current memories in the making: