Santa Claus Coming In Tricycle

I was told in olden days Santa Claus came in reindeer-pulled sleigh to hand out goodies to all kids.

We came out with a modern version of it to suit the trend.

Santa Claus is going to be tricycled in with ho! ho! ho! to give away sweets to all waiting children.

See you at Premier Hotel (www.premierh.com.my ).

Xin Fu Yuan Methodist Church - Children's Christmas Concert

It was Christmas party time for children this evening and Xin Fu Yuan Methodist Church moved it to the premises of Public Book Co. on Level 4, Wisma Sanyan.

The venue was jam-packed with lovely children and eager parents when we arrived, making it a hard job for me to slip through.

The street-style concert gave a better sense of closeness, enabling a good rapport between the stage and the floor. This is not what theatre-style concert can achieve.

As the children clapped their hands, tapped their feet and sang along, the mood of Christmas filled the atmosphere. When I looked at the children, I saw a glow of joy and happiness on their faces. Gee, Christ Jesus had got to be embracing them!

When we walked off, our minds kept echoing with the sound of their laughter and the soothing music.

Xin Fu Yuan Methodist Church -" Walk Out To Reach Out" Christmas Celebrations

Xin Fu Yuan Methodist church aims to reach out to wider public the good news of the birth of Christ Jesus through open public concerts this year. In other words, the church is not celebrating Christmas this time within the confinement of four walls in the church building. Instead, it is a "Walk Out To Reach out" - the church is taking the entire celebrations to the open public.

On the run-up to Christmas, the church kept the momentum running this evening with a Evangelical Musical Christmas Concert at the foyer of Wisma Sanyan.

Themed "Rise! Rise! Rise!" (I was made to understand that it referred to the sizzling economic inflation which besieged the consumers at large, landing them in great distress), the live concert was evangelistic in nature targeting at the public at large. Through shows comprising of dances, songs and sharing, the presenters sought to get across to the spectators the message of Christmas and what it meant to you and me.

I was drawn to pop over by the melodious singing after my dinner at Blue Splendour Restaurant. The lively and creative programmes were an attraction for the evening in Wisma Sanyan. The messages getting through were clear and forceful, giving the thronging audience a time to pause for rethinking.

The Christmas concert concluded with a choir presentation, but that did not end the celebrations. The participating brothers and sisters stretched out their hands to welcome you to another show at Sunday Market, Jalan Chiew Siik Hiong on the evening of Dec. 25.

See you there!

If you wish to know more about the church, you may log in their website at( http://xfymc.spaces.live.com ).

Dong Zhi

Yian's specialty - Roasted Chicken!

Deep Fried Snow Fish with sauce.

Winter Solstice Festival or Dong Zhi is a major Chinese festival marking the start of the first of the 24 seasonal division points. Its prominence was on par with Chinese New Year in the olden days in China. No Chinese, therefore, can afford to miss this occasion.

The mantras or the traditional teachings go like this: Dong Zhi falls on three days before Christmas.

But this year the Lunar and Gregorian calendars defy the mantras! Instead of the old saying of three days, Dong Zhi falls on today which is four days away from Christmas. Those who are unsuspecting might have been caught by surprise!

Yian set her hands in to come out with a satisfying 6-course Dong Zhi dinner for the family. Praise Lord for the delicacies and the wonderful meal time!

The photo shows Deluxe Fried Noodles.

Ecumenical Christmas Carolling - Joy To The World, The Lord Has Come!

Sibu Town Square was a splendour this evening as 4,000 church members from different denominations gathered together in the name of our Lord for the annual Ecumenical Christmas Carolling. The congregation orderly lined up for a sing-along and prayer time before they marched off to the streets to sing to the Sibuians the good news of the birth of Lord Jesus to the world.

The birth of Jesus Christ gave to mankind the hope of eternal living and that is precisely the theme of Christmas. Never be caught in the illusion that Santa Claus is the lead player in this profoundly important occasion.

Along with the contingents were more than 10 floats, all creatively decorated to meaningful themes, with the purpose to share with the world the joy of having Christ Jesus!

As the brothers and sisters marched along the streets, they filled the air with joyous mood of Christmas. When they sang out the Christmas songs melodiously to thousands of on-lookers eagerly thronging on the road sides, the contingent members were like angels proclaiming the good news of our Lord to them!

Hallelujah!

The above pictures show the carolling teams and the floats. (Photos: Steve Ling)

Joy To The World!

The Masland Methodist Church gathered together more than 600 brothers and sisters under one roof in Regalla Ballroom of Kingwood Hotel for a joint celebration of Christmas. I partook of this grand occasion with Yian to sing to the world with all the brothers and sisters the joy of having Christ with us!

The sumptuous meal, wonderful programmes and the posh ballroom were not the essence of Christmas. In other words, the delectable foods and so on should not take the centre stage of this joyous occasion. Then, what is Christmas all about?

Rev. Kong Chong Lin put it aptly by quoting John 3:16-18 :For God so loved the world the he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

Rev. Kong shared that Christmas is meaningful to the world for one reason that Jesus Christ came as a savior to give all believers eternal lives.

So don't make Christmas trees or Santa Claus the themes of Christmas. Christ Jesus should be!

From Germany With Love

This group of German tourists are travelling overland from Kuching to KK on their tour of Borneo. They are CAN ( culture, nature, adventure) travellers who are attracted by the exotic beauty of the island.

Sibu remains a stop-over in their itinerary.

In our efforts to promote Sibu as a tourist destination, perhaps we may take a serious look at our underdeveloped tourist potentials.

2009 has been officially declared as "Visit Sibu Year". Sibuians are awaiting for some surprises!

The pictures show the group at Premier Hotel's (www.premierh.com.my ) lobby upon arrival.