There is one thing about Thai people and that is they love to celebrate. It doesn’t matter if the festival originated in a different country (like Halloween) or that it comes from a completely different religion (like Christian). Give them a good excuse to have fun and they will celebrate just about anything! At our school, 99% of the students are Buddhists. There are a handful of Muslim children and probably one if not two students are Christian. Or at least their fathers are. In Thailand, Christmas isn’t a public holiday. However, many of the youngsters enjoy celebrating the “fun” side of the festive season. To them, Christmas means, Santa Claus, little angels, Christmas carols and folk dancing. That is what happened at our school today. As the students arrived at school, they were greeted by Santa Claus and some little angels who were handing out candy. Then, during assembly, the students were entertained with Christmas carols (the kindergarten students sang “Away in the Manger” ) and some folk dancing. Then they sang “We Wish you a Merry Christmas” and finally “Jingle Bells” in both English and Thai. At this time of year, people are giving each other cards and presents, but this is mainly connected to the New Year holiday which is just around the corner. Only Christian families will give each other presents on Christmas Day. The meaning of this day is not completely lost on the students. In their lessons they were taught about the story of Jesus. Unlike other countries, Thailand is very tolerant of other religions.
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