Christmas in Saigon

If it weren’t for the tropical weather, Saigon could kind’a feel like many cities in the US during Christmas time, only perhaps with a bit more kitsch and smaller Asian versions of Santa Clause. Many of the streets are lined with thousands of lights, department store windows are decorated with North Pole and nativity scenes. And all of the children about 5 years and under are dressed in little Santa Clause outfits for about a week and come from 15 mins to an hour away to line up to take photos in front of all of the decorations. In one area of the city, District 8, where there are mostly Catholic families, nearly every house on

an entire street, which is about a mile long, is decorated with lights, trees, a very odd looking mammoth sized reindeer and nativity scenes, complete with the every member of the Holy family and the wise men adorned with bright green or yellow halogen light bulb halos. One of my favorite scenes on that street is the Holy family superimposed, on a backdrop, in a green field with rolling hills, in the middle of nowhere, in what looks like Switzerland... (see the second photo) The kitsch of it all is really amusing. Christmas is primarily a commercial holiday here akin to Halloween in the States, although the Notre Dame Cathedral in Saigon is packed out on Christmas Eve. Also, on Christmas Eve everyone comes into the city center just to hang out and see the lights. Last year, we couldn’t even walk for several minutes because it was just too crowded. Christmas in Saigon is comical and fun but it’s certainly not as meaningful for us as being in the States, near to our closest friends, family and church.