What Does Christmas Mean to You?

I believe most students love Christmas. They love Christmas because they can get lots of Christmas presents and eat lots of yummy food. Some students hope that Santa Claus will bring them lots of presents because they have been good children.

But is that what Christmas is about? I love Christmas. Christmas is my favorite festival. It's my number 1, followed by Easter. When I was young, I love it when November comes because it is the time that my mother will put up the Christmas tree with lots of decoration and when December comes, she'll start putting Christmas presents under the tree. At night, my dad would drive all of us into Orchard Road to have a look at the Christmas lights. When we got older, we also started putting presents for each other under the tree. On Christmas Day we got our presents but we could not open our presents till Boxing Day. It was always filled with fun. Every Christmas, my family would invite our relatives and friends to our home for a huge lunch and dinner.

However, is that what Christmas is all about? I remember before my parents become Christians, they would tell us to be good girls so that Santa Claus would bring us presents. But when we started going to church, my mother would remind us that we are not celebrating presents and we should not demand for presents. The reason is because we were given the BIGGEST and BEST present. God gave Jesus to us! That's a good enough of a reason to celebrate. I love Christmas because I am always reminded how God sent His son to Earth to save us. I love singing Christmas carols.

Every Christmas, I'm reminded that there are others in the world that do not have as much as I have. God has given me so much and what's giving a little of what I have to others in need? There are two charities that I support. The Kids International Ministries works with the poor children in Manila. Last July, I went to Manila with a few friends. I saw some very poor children. They wore really old clothes and I felt sorry for them. The Kids International Ministries work with the children. They give them clothes, food and give them a place to study too. The International Care Ministries is another charity that I support. They work with poor people all around Philippines. I remember visiting Cebu a few years ago and I was shocked to see so many young children on the streets begging for money. These two charities work hard to help the children.

Kids, instead of asking for more and more toys and stuff, it's time for you to share and give some of your stuff to others. Make this Christmas different. Look for an organization that you can give some of your toys to them or give them some money to help others in need. Remember, God gave His son, his only son to us. You can help others like Jesus help us.

Have a blessed Christmas! And enjoy some of the photos. These are photos from the Christmas Lights in Singapore.

Thanksgiving

The Americans celebrate Thanksgiving today. Traditionally in United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the 4th Thursday of November. It has been an annual tradition in United States since 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln declared a national day of Thanksgiving to be celebrated.

So how did Thanksgiving originate? Thanksgiving can be traced back to 1621 at Plymouth Plantation. The pilgrims at Plymouth held a harvest feast following a successful harvest. They gave thanks to God for seeing them through their first cold and difficult winter in New England. And over the years, they celebrated Thanksgiving remembering of God's goodness to them.

In modern times, most Americans travel back to their families to have Thanksgiving dinner. It's almost like Chinese heading back to their families for reunion dinners on the eve of the Lunar New Year. Like the Chinese reunion dinner, Thanksgiving dinner, there are certain dishes that would be present for they have special meanings. There's always a roasted turkey, corn, sweet potato and pumpkin. These food signify what the pilgrims years ago at Plymouth had.

I'm not American but I celebrate Thanksgiving with my husband. I like celebrating Thanksgiving because I believe that it is important for me to remember that God has been good to me and my family. He has blessed me so much and there are times that I forgot to tell Him thank you. So on Thanksgiving, I'm always reminded to be very thankful for all that I have.

So kids, write and tell me what are you thankful to God about? How has God blessed you? Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Halloween

Dear Students,

Halloween is coming. I normally don't celebrate Halloween. I don't like the idea of being scared by scary ghosts or scary costumes. Anyway, I found a book that's about Halloween. I like it because it shows a Christian view of Halloween. Enjoy the book!

Happy Children's Day

Dear Students,

Some of you might be wondering why I wrote, 'Happy Children's Day', as the title of this post. Well, it's because in Singapore, Children's Day, is celebrated on the 1st of October. I remember when I was working in Singapore on the 30th of September, the teachers would put up a concert for the students and on the 1st of October, it'll be a holiday for the students.

However, in Hong Kong, the 1st of October is National Day. Did you have fun over the long weekend? I didn't do very much. We wanted to go to Disneyland but we realised that it would be too crowded so we stayed at home and watched television. Write and tell me what you did over the long weekend.

Love,

Faith

Facebook

Dear students,

I know most of you have Facebook accounts. So I've created a Facebook account so that I can be connected to more of you. But please remember to write only in English on my Facebook's wall because I can't read and write in Chinese. You can add me by searching my email which is faithatkwmwps@gmail.com.


See you kids on Facebook. But remember, don't spend too much time on Facebook. Remember to do your revision first!

Love,
Faith

Welcome Back to School

Hi Students,

Welcome back to school. Did you have a good summer holiday? I had a great time visiting California and Singapore.

I visited my cousins in San Francisco and my best friend in San Diego too. We had lots of fun there. My cousin had a baby and her baby is just so cute. San Francisco is very cold even during summer. But San Diego is quite hot.

I also spent lots of time in Singapore during summer too. I got to play with my sister's baby. She is just so cute and adorable. I miss her very much. I also got to spend time with my family. It was good to be home with my parents and my sisters.

Time passed really fast and soon it was time for me to get back to Hong Kong to work. I was looking forward to coming to work to see everyone. Hope everyone had a great summer. Write and tell me what you did over summer.

Enjoy the photos!

Love,
Faith


My cousins in San Francisco. Don't we look alike?
My cousin, Eelynn's baby. Her name is Leina. Isn't she cute?
This is my best friend Eve. I met her while I was studying in university in Australia. We drove from San Diego to San Francisco. Isn't the view beautiful?
This is my niece Jo Claire. She's about 16 months old now. Isn't she such a cute and lovely baby? I miss her heaps!

Chinese New Year

Dear Students,

Happy Chinese New Year! Did you have a good time? You must be happy collecting red packets! I was back in Singapore visiting my family and giving out red packets. I can't get anymore red packets because I'm married. But my parents and my parents-in-law gave me red packets.

It was nice to spend time with my family. Here are a few pictures that I took while I was in Singapore.




These are Chinese New Year decorations in Chinatown in Singapore. Chinatown was very crowded before Chinese New Year. People go there to buy things for Chinese New Year.


This is my niece. She's wearing a pomelo hat. Isn't she cute?

Write and tell me what you did over Chinese New Year. I'm sure you must have had lots of fun!

Happy New Year

Dear Students,

I hope you had a great time over Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Over the Christmas holidays, I went back to Singapore to spend time with my family. I was in such a rush that I forgot to bring my camera back to Singapore! I was a little disappointed because I don't have pictures to share with you.

I had a really good time on Christmas Day with my family. We had lots of relatives and friends that came to my parents' home for lunch and dinner. I didn't get many Christmas presents but my little niece, Jo Claire had lots of presents. It's her first Christmas and everyone got really excited about buying her presents. It was fun looking at her opening her presents. On New Year's Eve, we saw the fireworks display. It was spectacular. I love fireworks and I enjoyed it very much.

Did you have a good time over your Christmas break? Write and tell me about it.

Love,
Faith