美国：圣诞--家人朋友团聚时(图)

　　Christmas, a day for family and friends

　　By Leigh DelValle (From U.S.A)

　　Traditionally the celebration of the Christmas holiday is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. In the United States of America, millions of people take part in many different church ceremonies. As there is in Hangzhou, many churches cater to all walks of life.

　　For other Christmas celebrators, this is simply a time for family and friends to be together. Most elementary and high schools will be given 2-3 weeks off for the holiday, where as most universities can have up to 2 months off. Allowing children and young adults ample time to spend at home with their loved ones.

　　The two most important days of the holiday are Christmas Eve and Christmas day. During Christmas Eve families plan events ranging from huge sit down dinners with more than a 100 people, to quiet gatherings for those who are close to home. Most will attend a Midnight Mass at their local church. This gives neighbors a time to see and greet everyone for the holiday. Most church-goers attend the same church for many years, and become a very good friends over the years. Christmas Day is filled with many of the same happenings as Eve, except the fact that children are taught that Santa Claus has paid them a visit in the middle of the night while they were sleeping. Children all over America will be getting up bright and early to see what presents and gifts Santa has brought for them this year. By the end of the morning, the neighborhood streets are filled with new bikes, skateboards, and balls being tested out for the first time.

　　For myself, Christmas has many family gatherings to attend as well as making time for a few drinks with some friends. In most cases the holiday week is so filled with obligations it should be scheduled like a workweek. At this stage of my life many friends have moved to other cities within the USA. Christmas is exciting because I know that they will be coming home to see their families and, in turn, we will be able to see each other. In most cases we all tried to meet at a local bar for a quiet catch up with some close friends, as the years have passed by this casual meeting has turned into a well known spot for Alumni of our high school.

　　There are some events that can be planned for those happy go lucky bar-goers, such as a Santa Pub Crawl. Gathering up a more than a few people to bar hop from bar to bar across town dressed as Santa Claus. This causes quite a scene when 9 Santa's come barreling into a bar together. Even here in Hangzhou, I was at a bar on Shuguang road when a group of 7 or so, Westerners rolled though as Santa's. The whole bar laughed and cheered them on as they stopped in for a drink.