tree and girly bar

From Christmas in Cambodia

Woman selling food on Street 104, in front of the many girly bars near the Pickled Parrot (that really clean place that feels sort of like Dayton, Ohio inside and has incredibly complex pool game rules that no one ever follows, you know, that one). The one with the blonde hair is having her lunch and jockeying for space with a large and sparkly tree. Did I mention that no one decorates quite as aggressively or as well as the girly bars?

I asked my Khmer language teacher today what your average Cambodian-on-the-street thinks about this Christmas thing.

"Oh, they love it!" he said. "More people are celebrating Christmas now then are celebrating Khmer New Year—I don't know why. Maybe it's more fun."

"So, what do you think about Christmas?" I asked.

"It's good. It's happy. It gives people a good feeling. It's not a bad thing. Something happy."

"So do many people celebrate?"

"Oh, yes. Wait until December 24th, 25th, you will see. Many families giving each other presents, eating a lot."

"Do Cambodians get really drunk on Christmas? I know Americans do."

He snorted and shot me an "are you kidding" look. Of course they do.

You can rail against Westernization and the pervasive inroads of a corporate and cynical holiday all you want, but if Cambodians are having fun with it....more power to them. Can we in anyway argue that Christmas (for most people) has become a secular holiday, anyhow? The Christ has already been taken out of Christmas. What's left is the fun stuff. And, again - what's wrong with that?