Christmas in Taipei

A (totally weird!) Christmas tree (with legs sticking out of it!) in the shadow of Taipei 101.

We had a lovely, fairly low-key Christmas Day here in Taiwan. We started the day by heading to church for the Christmas service. At first, the boys weren't too sure about starting Christmas morning with church instead of unwrapping presents first thing (we had to leave by 7:30, so we saved the presents until the afternoon), but I really loved it. I loved celebrating Jesus's birthday first thing in the morning with our church family here, and it reminded us all that Christmas is not about the tree and gifts--it's about the greatest Gift man has ever received. We all enjoyed the time of carols and reflection on Christ's birth, and the boys were excited about the birthday cake for Jesus after the service. 

We came home, ate a quick lunch, and finally let the boys open their gifts.

New fleece pajamas from Aunt Erin and Uncle Michael.

Aidan's favorite gift: Pharoah's Quest Legos from Mimi and Pop.

Lucas with his favorite gift: Space shuttle Legos from Mimi and Pop.

Mike was happy about the gift below: an original (1966) English printing of Mao's Little Red Book that the boys and I found in an antique store in Hong Kong. He's a history buff and was excited to have a little piece of modern Chinese history in his hands.

We spent the rest of the day playing with new toys, reading new books, drinking apple cider and eating Christmas cookies. That evening, we got together for a Christmas feast with our next-door neighbors and some other friends. After dinner, we finished our Advent readings, sang some Christmas carols, and lit our luminarias one last time. I'm thankful that no matter where we are, the joy of Christmas is still the same.

Christmas in the sub-tropics = palm trees wrapped with Christmas lights.

Merry Christmas from Taipei!