Holiday Wars

Our first year in Thailand on Christmas morning, the old Thai lady from two doors down came up to me, sang a verse of “Happy Birthday”, and handed me a wrapped gift. (It was the only song of celebration in english that she knew.) I was amused because it was the recognized birthday of Jesus, not me. Thailand is a country that is 96% Buddhist and they give gifts at year’s end as so many cultures have done throughout history. This phenomenon, and all year-end holiday rituals that we practice as “Christmas” predate Christianity.