We also saw quite a few Christmas decorations in Beijing during our layovers in mid-December and on January 2. The history of Halloween goes back to the pre-Christian era in Western Europe, with probable roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrating the end of the harvest season.
The holiday was brought to the USA in the mass Scottish and Irish immigration in the mid th century, only spreading beyond these immigrant communities in the early 20 th century. In the modern USA, Halloween has taken a specific form, involving dressing in costumes and trick-or-treating, going house to house asking for candy, plus an association with haunting and other scary phenomena including, more recently, grisly murders inspired by horror movies.
This is the kind of Halloween I noticed here in Mongolia. In fact, this past October, the Mongolian government banned the celebration of Halloween in schools because parents complained that their kids were asking them for money for costumes to wear to school and to pay for school celebrations. People dress up and go to Halloween parties at bars. The National Amusement Park in downtown Ulaanbaatar also has a haunted house; the park itself closes for the winter after Halloween. Emma was too homesick at that point to really get excited about it; she was hearing from her California friends about what they were planning to be for Halloween, and who they were going trick-or-treating with.
For my part, I bought a pumpkin-like squash at the supermarket and paired it up with our inflatable palm tree cupholder, to make a California-themed decoration for our table. The Christmas decorations started coming shortly after Halloween, just like in the US. The iconography of Christmas seems to have become the same everywhere: Santa Claus an elderly, heavyset, bearded white man in a red suit , Christmas trees, evergreen wreaths, brightly wrapped presents, reindeer with sleigh, nutcrackers, snowmen, snowflakes.
Christmas decorations are pouring out of factories in China and other East Asian countries at ever increasing rates. I am not sure how widespread Christmas is in Mongolia, but it was clearly evident here in Ulaanbaatar. Aside from Christmas decorations appearing in shops and around town in early November, I also noticed a lot of advertising for Black Friday, the day after the American holiday of Thanksgiving the third Thursday in November , particularly from the larger department stores and electronics stores.
Like in the USA, Black Friday offers discounts on all sorts of consumer goods, from major home appliances to consumer electronics. The following week, when Emma and I were walking between her school and Naran Tuul, a large outdoor market, we noticed the Gold Christmas Shop. The artificial tree out front was bright blue, with a red star on top.
The overall effect was pretty amazing. We also noticed other artificial trees and lights popping up all around the city. Our own local shopping center, Tenger Plaza, opened its own Christmas shop, which I saw for the first time on December 1, though the Christmas decorations had started there a bit earlier. You could buy an entirely lit and decorated artificial tree, with a bright star on top, wrapped up to make transportation easier.
Some of the Christmas decorations are still up in the supermarket and on the entrance doors, as of January 13—little paper Santas and snowmen stuck to the glass, and glittering ornaments hanging over the aisles. The other thing Emma and I noticed around town was the canned Christmas music playing in a lot of the stores. Emma had rehearsal for her school play, Shrek: The Musical she was Puss in Boots , so I went and hung out at the school.
Unfortunately, as we were getting ready to leave the apartment, I had a disagreement with my desk chair while putting on my socks, and I fell on my right hand. If so, how are they received?
Local churches may join together and do a big event. Mongolians are artistic and many are great at performing arts, like singing western or traditional songs.
They can also be great at playing musical instruments. Usually their outreaches are very lively and those who attend seem to like and enjoy them. How do you and your family celebrate Christmas in Mongolia?
Over the last few years, we have been apart from each other! Some of us are in Mongolia, some in the States. A lot of the time, especially if we are on the field, we celebrate Christmas by sharing a meal with some close Mongolian friends. Most of the time we invite non-Christians so that we can share the nativity story with them. On another day, we have singles come and enjoy fellowship and a home-cooked meal to help ease their loneliness.
Are there things you miss about celebrating Christmas in your home country? If so, what are they? We miss wonderful music in the church during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!
Our church always has incredibly good music! We also miss turkey and family! How can people be praying for you and the local believers during this holiday season? In our workplace we will have a Christmas celebration where our employees can invite their family members. We have games, songs, food and a simple message.
His father was also murdered when Chinggis was very young, so he had to assume a lot of responsibility for his family at a young age. Throughout his life, Chinggis conquered many far away lands--places as far as Poland, Vietnam and Korea. Since Chinggis Khan was such a great ruler, he is still celebrated by Mongolians today. In Mongolia, holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are not celebrated.
Thanksgiving is only an American holiday, so it makes sense that it is not celebrated in Mongolia. However, I will still celebrate Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks with my American friends here in Mongolia. There is an upcoming holiday in Mongolia named Shine Jil, and it is a bit like Christmas.
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