Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We are still here in Korea, but it has been fun to celebrate in a different country! We did our best to improvise and give ourselve as normal a Christmas as possible. We put up stockings (using my scrapbooking supplies), a tree (thanks to a handy lamp and Jeff's dirty laundry), and even had presents to put under the tree (thanks to local retailers)




As you can see we have 2007 calendars from Mr. Pizza (our favorite pizza place) and the Lotte Penninsula (where we eat breakfast everyday), a hand towel from Kaja (our liquor store), and finally a Baskin Robbins cooler which contains the following cake, compliments of Mr. Ko, the man in charge of the refinery here in Korea:

Even though Christians comprise only about 30% of the population here, Christmas is a national holiday in Korea. We have noticed that the celebration is really not all that different than it is in the US. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Christmas in Korea:

South Korea recognizes Christmas as a public holiday. Non-Christian Koreans otherwise go about their daily routine on December 25 but may engage in some holiday customs such as gift-giving, sending Christmas cards, and setting up decorated trees in their homes; children, especially, appear to have embraced Santa Claus, whom they call Santa Haraboji (Grandfather Santa) in Korean, Local radio stations play holiday music on Christmas Day and a few days before, while television stations are known to air Christmas films and cartoon specials popular in the Western countries. In addition, increasing numbers of stores and buildings are displaying Christmas decorations.

As in the West, Christian churches in Korea hold Christmas pageants and conduct special services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Young people especially enjoy the fellowship these observances provide; after the Christmas Eve services, for example, they go caroling to the homes of older church members, where they are usually treated to hot drinks and snacks.
South Korea is the only East Asian country to recognize Christmas as a public holiday.

Finally, Jeff and I decided to take a Christmas picture to commemorate our first married Christmas, so here it is: