I read Gawker. It’s kind of my guilty pleasure. Today it reminded me of two Christmas phenomenons that are right up my alley:
- Christmas as the tie that binds the Jews and the Chinese. Because of this holiday, and only because of this holiday, people are able to identify all these similarities between Jews and Chinese: Cheap. Difficult. Pretty isolationist communities. Ancient civilizations with national identities spanning several millennia. Recently redefined national identities. Lunar-solar calendars. Religions that are based more on conduct than creed. Short.
- Donald Duck in Sweden. Donald Duck and His Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas is to Swedes like A Charlie Brown Christmas is to Americans. If I moved to Sweden, I should fit right in…
There are still 11 hours of Christmas back home, so I’m still celebrating.