Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas from Erin, Sam and Posie! The last few days in Korea have been gratifyingly full of Christmas cheer: shops have switched from K-Pop to carols, malls are festooned with red and green decorations, and the radio is full of familiar tunes. Even Korean TV is getting into the act, with such Christmas-y movies as Die Hard and... Lord of the Rings.
Okay, they're not perfect, but South Korea takes Christmas sort of seriously. At least, much more than Erin and I would have imagined. South Korea has a fairly high native Christian population (estimated at about 30%) and it is the only Asian nation (from what we can tell) that has made December 25th an official state holiday. Churches all over town are packed to the rafters with people celebrating the birth of Christ. Unlike in the US, presents and gift giving are not as big a tradition here, though it is catching on among the younger generations.
Anyway, we mainly wanted to say Merry Christmas! We wanted to thank everyone who braved the postal system to send us cards and gifts, and we wanted to express how deeply grateful we are for all of you. I mean, look at all the loot!
From the bottom of our hearts, Merry Christmas.
-Sam, Erin and Posie
PS, We're taking the week off from our normal blogging schedule, and will resume next week. YAY!