Missing the christmas vibe

It's that time of year again...shopping malls are filled with people, Christmas carols are playing in the background, every shop window has Christmas wishes and pictures, and even icons and symbols on TV have some sort of Christmas memorabilia attached to them. Unfortunately that's not the case in Korea!

I love Christmas, it has to be my favourite holiday, although I am not particularly religious I love the feeling of good will and giving...and all the presents under the tree make it that much sweeter. I simply love the atmosphere that comes with Christmas and I naively thought that everywhere would have the Christmas festivity. Sadly, I was wrong.

Despite Korea having a very large Christian population Christmas it is not as big a deal (or should I say it hasn’t been as commercialised) as it has back home.

It only dawned on me how little Christmas festivity I have encountered when we were in Seoul last weekend and we stumbled across a Christmas display outside a large shopping centre. So there is some Christmassy stuff in Seoul and I have been told that as soon as December starts it will escalate, but that is not the case in Wonju (sniff sniff weep weep).

Brock and Lauren wanted to get some photos done for their Christmas greeting cards, so they graciously asked Oliver. Brock was dressed in a Santa suit and Lauren had some cute accessories. In the middle of a busy street in Wonju we tried to take the photos. They came out really well!

When we were taking the photos it was amazing how people lit up and all of a sudden out of nowhere I got my first..."Merry Christmas".....YAY!

Even though Koreans aren’t big on their Christmas memorabilia I am certain that this Christmas will be a special! One: because it will be covered in snow; two: because we are planning to spend it with a big group of friends at a ski-resort; and three: because it will probably be my only Christmas in Korea.

So even though there are no Christmas carols playing and I can’t see pictures everywhere....I am still excited! So I am going to take this opportunity to send out my first seasons greetings! Have a safe, fun, and awesome festive season wherever you are!

Post by Claudia