Christmas
is a big deal in Shanghai. In fact, Christmas is pretty much
inescapable here. "Merry Christmas," not just "Happy
Holidays" or "Merry Xmas" is written everywhere,
usually in English, and can be seen on walls, doors, buildings,
parking garage gates, T-shirts, and so forth.
In
the elevators for the building where I work, real Christmas music is
playing — sometimes even music mentioning the Savior. Not bad
for a strenuously atheistic country. But in all the excitement over
Christmas, something is missing, just as it often is in the States.
"Merry Christmas" over the entrance to Shanghai's high-end Super Brands Mall.
Starbucks in Ningbo, China, adds to the Christmas cheer by helping someone find a mate. May Chirsmas have a lovely wedding.
The
problem is not just the occasional misspelling.
Among
the many Christmas-related displays and celebrations I have
experienced in China, one that caught my attention especially
occurred in Ningbo, China, a couple of hours south of Shanghai, where a
display at a public square looked like a modern take on a nativity
scene, but with toy bears all gathered around a soft place perfect
for the resting baby Jesus — but there was no baby there.
In a Christmas display in Ningbo, animals gather around what looks like it should be a nativity scene, minus the nativity.
The
display, like our Christmas holiday in general, is a case of a
missing child.
Orson
Scott Card wisely reminds us that Christmas and the story of the
birth of Christ is more meaningful that many Christians have
recognized. I love his recent article at Mormon
Interpreter,
"Christmas
Is About a Baby."
The
gritty reality of a God who came down not just to be seen and heard,
but to fully participate in mortal life with us. He experienced
temptation and the need for self-restraint. He grew gradually,
learned step by step, and struggled to be Who He was meant to be,
even as we must grow, learn, and struggle.
His
perfection was not without effort and price. Thanks to Him and His
infinite Atonement, however, our imperfection can be overcome, our
weakness can be turned to strength, our sin to cleanliness.
He
showed us that we can follow God, that we can overcome sin, and He
then went the infinite extra mile to pay the price for us that our
failure be washed away, allowing us to share in fellowship with Him
and the Father.
All
that glory, all that potential joy, is what we should see when we
look upon the manger and remember that tiny mortal being who once
filled it, and filled all of us with hope.
The
child is missing today in public celebrations, but may He always be
present in our Christmases.
Jeff Lindsay has been defending the Church on the Internet since 1994, when he launched his
LDSFAQ website under JeffLindsay.com. He has also long been blogging about LDS matters on
the blog Mormanity (mormanity.blogspot.com). Jeff is a longtime resident of Appleton,
Wisconsin, who recently moved to Shanghai, China, with his wife, Kendra.
He works for an Asian corporation as head of intellectual property. Jeff and Kendra are the parents of 4 boys, 3 married and the the youngest on a mission.
He is a former innovation and IP consultant, a former professor, and former Corporate Patent
Strategist and Senior Research Fellow for a multinational corporation.
Jeff Lindsay, Cheryl Perkins and Mukund Karanjikar are authors of the book Conquering
Innovation Fatigue (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
Jeff has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University and is a registered US
patent agent. He has more than 100 granted US patents and is author of numerous publications.
Jeff's hobbies include photography, amateur magic, writing, and Mandarin Chinese.