Merry Apple Eve!

Christmas is not widely celebrated here in East Asia.  It's still referred to as a Western holiday, but some locals have adopted it as their own, especially if they're religious and celebrate Jesus' birth as a part of the day.

One of my favorite things about Christmas in East Asia is the tradition that on Christmas Eve you give your friends apples.  For a long time, I had no idea why this was happening.  I thought, apples, huh? I know we sometimes get oranges for Christmas, but never apples.  Well someone kindly pointed out that in the local language "Christmas Eve" sounds like just the word "apple".  So it became a tradition that a way to celebrate Christmas Eve was to give apples. Haha... It's so funny to me!

So when I was out and about on Christmas Eve, I saw lots and LOTS of people buying/selling/giving apples as gifts.  I've received plenty in my time here in East Asia.  It's a fun little tradition.

Apples in cute little gift boxes for sale!

 Look how beautifully wrapped this apple was! I was amazed!

 See? Just an apple. haha

Also sidenote… the word "Christmas Eve" in the local language also translates to "Peaceful Night".  I love that in even a culture that knows little about what happened that night years ago, it still translates that way.  It's so beautiful.