Christmas – Give where it matters most.

Warning : Very long post with religious stuffs. In a gist – Why buy so many presents for so many people? Why not do something for the less fortunate, instead?

Almost everyone is shopping for Christmas. Even my non-Christian neighbour who puts up a heavenly god (thnee kong) altar (the hanging red thing outside of most Chinese’s home which they put candles and joss-sticks?)at her main door has a Christmas wreath hung next to it. Her wreath is bigger than my mini one. Secretly, whenever I pass by, I would praise the Lord (and thank the over-commercialism). 🙂

Now, call me a scrooge or whatever but I don’t go out of my way to buy Christmas presents. Yeah, my kids do grow up with ‘Santa Claus’ dropping lots of gifts but they have reached an age where Santa’s origin is explainable. The only two gifts I will buy this year are for my godmother and Auntie S.

My kids had a nice time at the St. Joseph Home today. Songs, games, gifts and lots of foods. About 30 of us, the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit choir members volunteered our time (and melodious voice which puts the smaller kids to sleep!) whilst another group of kind hearted people finance the event including catering the food and gifts.

I did not take photos of the faces of the cute little boys and girls there because I feel it is not right. Sort of invading their privacy. But I hope this pic tells a thousand words. See how happy these kids are running around, playing the musical chair? I really like this photo because they moved so fast, shrieking with excitement and thoroughly happy with the prizes they get.

I am deeply touched with the dedication of the members there who totally immersed themselves in keeping the kids entertained. They ran along with the smaller kids (below 5 years old) to keep them safe. (sorry, I where got time to do that? I chase my own toddler also ‘chuan’ liao la.) The kids really had a good time.

So, good people out there. Instead of cracking your head what to buy for your gf/bf/ex-bf/spouse/mil/colleagues/etcetc, why not use the money to buy gifts for those less fortunate?

See the little boy above? The one on the left? The right is my toddler. He was beaming with so much joy because he won a little backpack and got a red goodie bag filled with lollipops, biscuits and stickers. His name is CK, four years old and so, so adorable. He followed my toddler around, asking me each one of my son’s name. (~after publishing this post, something hits me! Vincent would have been at the same age as CK!~)

I know there are lots of little boys and girls (old aunties and uncles too) out there like CK who probably will appreciate gifts more than us. Go on, bring a smile to these people. Call up a shelter home/orphanage/old folks home near your area, find out how you can help.

It doesn’t have to cost much. I bought some really cute candy canes for a mere RM20 and the kids love it!

Christmas is a season for giving. Giving love.

A ray of hope flickers in the sky
A tiny star lights up way up high
All across the land dawns a brand new morn
This comes to pass when a child is born

Lyrics of When a Child is Born

The below is copied from Google cache page on St. Joseph’s Home. I am pasting it here for the record as I believed the original website maintained by The Lions Club is not working anymore.

– Quote –

GROWTH OF ST. JOSEPH’S HOME

52-K Jalan Penang,
10000 Pulau Pinang,
Pulau Pinang
Tel: 04-2635418

A hundred years after the founding of Penang by Captain Francis Light, Penang remained very much a land of promise for the daring and the adventurous from all parts of Asia. It was also a land fraught with dangers. The early immigrants from India, China and the neighboring countries to Penang were plagued by sickness and diseases – typhoid, cholera and malaria, the three main killers. Children of all races and creed were left orphans to fend for themselves with the sudden demise of their parents. A French missionary, Fr. Hab saw the needs of the time and founded St. Joseph’s Orphanage in 1865 with 20 orphan boys. Through the years, the Orphanage has grown and today, it is managed by a Board of Management in partnership with the Staff.
With changing trends in society in the nineties, and the rise in problems faced by families, there was a need to expand the services of the Orphanage in order to be more responsive and relevant in society. Hence St. Joseph’s Orphanage opened its doors to include not only orphans, but also to children of all religion and ethnicity who come from very poor socio- economic and psychological background. Thus, St. Joseph’s Orphanage became St. Joseph’s Home.

– Unquote –

God bless us all!