Sweaty Christmas!

Everyone keeps asking me "Do they celebrate Christmas in Korea?" So here's your answer...

Christmas (크리스마스) is a popular time in Korea and you'll find that there are some similarities that will remind you of back home, but unfortunately theu will usually revolve around the shopping frenzies and swarms of people in the departments stores and malls. Beyond the sounds of English Christmas pop songs in stores and streets and the occasional Santa in a random department store, Christmas is still kind of a novelty to Koreans. Despite the fact that a third of the population is Christian, it just isn't the kind of major event with lots of tradition as it is in the west. Happily though, it is a national holiday.

Specifically, tree decorating and Christmas turkey dinners are not something that are easy to come by and you many have to find yourself doing a little improv to keep your Christmas spirit alive while in Korea. Some foreigners resign themselves to skipping Christmas that year altogether and just go out to a western restaurant like Bennigans or Marche. Some opt to organize groups of foreigners and have a mock Christmas dinner together at someone's apartment, and some decide that they must go all out and pay 70,000-100,000 won and attend Christmas events and turkey dinner at one of the luxury hotels in Seoul.

If want to do something for Christmas, then this article can give some ideas of what might be available to you. Most churches which offer English services usually have Christmas events and masses. You won't have much trouble buying a plastic tree -- E-Mart carries them, for example -- but real ones are extremely difficult if not impossible to come by. (Wiki.com)

I, myself, opted to join friends for a celebration at Juliet and Rob's apartment with mates from all around the world. It was a joyous/crazy time, indeed, filled with Christmas music, scrumptious food, drinks, and the most hilarious conversations one could encounter.

The quote of the day was "It's !@#$ing Christmas, it'in it?!? (Insert slurred, Keith Richards-like accent here)

Until this year, I had never heard of Boxing Day. It is the name bestowed on the day after Christmas in the UK and Canada. In Ireland, it is referred to as St. Stephen's Day.

"Swilley, what do you call December 26 in The States?"

"Well, Claire, I'm glad you asked. We call it The Day After Christmas."

Later, I met my friends Cherita, Dave, Lynn, and Tom for some authentic Thai cuisine. I'm pretty sure that I could eat pad thai everyday, every meal, for the rest of my life. Speaking of Thai cuisine, I am excited because I leave for Thailand on Tuesday (more about that in my next blog). I guess it goes without saying that the food and atmosphere got me even more excited!

Tom studied in Thailand for a month, so he felt it best to take me under his wing and teach me the ways of the Thai. This is what I got:

"All you need to remember, Swilley, is SWEATY CUP"

Laura: Um...come again?

Tom: Swilley, it is of the utmost importance that you show respect to elders by placing your hands in the Y position and say 'sweaty cup.'

Lynn: I don't think that's right. When I was in Thailand, I pretty sure I pronounced it differently.

Tom: No. I'm completely correct. I'm very good with other languages and cultures. Swilley, stick with "sweaty cup" and you will be fine.

Lynn: Laura, I'm not saying Tom is wrong, but you miiiiiight want to double-check. It's just a suggestion.

So I approached one of the workers in the restaurant and said "Thailand. Tuesday. Sweaty cup?" (lots of hand gestures going on to reinforce my question)

She just laughed and replied "Sa-wet-dee Ka for women. Sa-wet-dee Krub for men."

(Seriously, Tom. I don't think you want me to survive in Thailand.)

I came home and did some research on Thai greeting and the "Y" position, which is actually the "wai" position, and it looks like this...

Also, according to my research, AWAY FROM TOM, the higher the hands are held in relation to the face and the lower the bow, the more respect or reverence the giver of the wai is showing.

I even found a picture of a McDonalds in Bangkok with Ronald outside waiing to customers. 

I then called my family to wish them a Merry Christmas morning, snuggled up in my bed with my hot pink flannel snowman sheets inside, while snow fell outside, enjoyed the warmth from my heated floor, and drifted off to sleep.

It was a very Sweaty Christmas, indeed.