The good news of this year's Christmas was that there was absolutely no stress at all. The bad news of this year's Christmas was that there was no Christmas mood at all either. First of all, all presents were delivered way in advance. Secondly, we didn't decorate our Midway home as we were headed to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) on December 5. (Obviously, not much Christmas experience happened there except for the hymns we sang.) And once we arrived in Japan on December 20, there was very little Christmas lighting or decorating or celebrating going on. Although the Japanese do not honor the Christmas holiday, they tend to celebrate it a little in stores and some Christian sites.
New Years is their big winter holiday.
Christmas Eve afternoon found us, the Arnells, and two children they were babysitting (ages 3 and 6) taking the train to a popular winter/summer destination--a former U.S. air base turned into a park.
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| Dragon Climbing Area |
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| Dragon Climbing Area |
We strolled through the park until we reached the boys' desired location, a "bouncy place." Their suffering from the freezing cold was briefly eliminated as they bounced away their "pain."
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| Bouncy "hills" of very sturdy, but flexible plastic |
After that we waited until the big event, The Illumination, occurred (like turning on the lights at Temple Square); then we escaped the cold and boarded the train for home as thousands of Japanese were pouring in to watch three hours of freezing cold outdoor entertainment before the 8 p.m. fireworks would be set off.
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| Ground Illumination |
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| Illumination of thousands of champagne glasses |
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| Lighted icicles on the tree actually "dripped"! |
Christmas afternoon found us at the LDS chapel nearby. The military branch put on the typical musical narrative of the nativity. Although it didn't compare to the almost-professional versions we have witnessed in various home wards, it was equally tender to witness the best efforts put forth by the small branch. After sacrament meeting, we picked up two boxes of "Missionary Christmas Gifts" that members had filled in the foyer and took them to the Arnells' apartment. The two missionaries assigned to this branch came with us to open the gifts. Most of the gifts were a variety of treats, but some were extra special treats to the American elders as they were large bags of chips and salsa purchased from the commissary! The elders also got ties and socks. It was fun watching them open the gifts.
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| Sister Arnell |
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| Elder Arnell |
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| Elders Christensen and Graham |
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Fussa chapel right near the main gate to the base.
The chapel is on the 3rd floor. Toilet seats are
heated in the winter!!!
A couple in the branch have the missionaries for Sunday dinner every other week; thus, this week they hosted the two elders, the Arnells, and us. They are the parents of the two boys who nearly froze to death the night before. It was good to see the boys in better spirits! ha! The wife had fixed a wonderful ham dinner and a wonderful homemade plum pudding. It was a very enjoyable visit there and a unique Christmas overall that will not be forgotten.
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ohhhh i want heated toilet seats! sometimes i don't even sit down to go to the bathroom because the seat is soooo cold - too much info?! :)
ReplyDeletesounds like a fine Christmas - different, but good.
the park looks super great - i love the dragons! and the bouncy thing would be a huge hit with my kids, too.
and the illumination is awesome.
Didn't see the name of the park so it makes me wonder if that's on the old base (Tachikawa) where I lived all elementary school.
ReplyDeleteIf that's the case, your pix of the kids bring me a lot of nostalgia.