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TdG: A Phoenix-y Christmas in London |
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**Note: This is Fengge trying to get the grasp of Christmas while in London with Elsa. Also, Carol of the Bells wasn't debuted until 1916, so it's very historically innaccurate, but it was the song that came to mind so...yeah....**
I sat looking out the window of the Ashebury’s guest room, watching the snow fall blurring the skyline of London, England. The city didn’t strike me as colorful like Beijing or Guangzhou, but it had its own ways of brightening itself I suppose. The people here were preparing for a holiday called Christmas, a holiday we never celebrated in China. Elsa attempted to explain it to me:
“On the 25th of December, we celebrate the birth of the Son of God. There are gifts and a huge dinner with family, and the night before we go to the church and sing carols…or songs and…you’re not following me, are you?”
“Well, we just don’t have a holiday like that in China…I understand the tradition and all, but…”
She giggled at my ignorance. “Just come with me and I’ll show you how it all works.”
She took me out on the streets, showing me all of the shops filled with gifts and items to give loved ones. I understood the holiday as a reverence to a religious figure, but the gift giving in such a large scale confused me. Looking around, I could see that it was me who was confusing everyone else. Elsa dragged me into a shop against my will and showed me all of the novelties I could find. “Is there anything you would like for Christmas, Fengge?”
“Uh…”
“Oh come on! There must be something! Food, tea, a pet, anything you like!”
“I don’t know…this is the first time I’ve celebrated this holiday…and if it’s religious, why do you give others gifts and not give your God gifts?”
“It’s to symbolize that Jesus gave us the gift of eternal life, so we give others gifts. Plus, it’s to get in the spirit of giving to others, rather than receiving.”
“Ah…I see.”
I was glancing at some things behind a glass case when the owner asked Elsa, “Hey, does this chap speak English?”
“Uh…yes…”
“So is he your servant or something?”
I was a little appalled that he would ask such a question, but then again, I stuck out like a sore thumb and it was common for people that looked like me to be servants…to put it nicely.
“No, he’s my fiancé. This is his first Christmas in London.”
The owner understood now. “Ah! So where are you from, old chap?”
“Canton.” I thought I would give him the English name just to spare him.
“How do you like London?”
“It’s nice.” I actually found it unfamiliar and confusing.
We loitered in the store for another hour until Elsa just picked something for me behind my back. She then took me back out on the streets.
Soon, it began to snow a little harder. “Brr…it’s quite cold. Would you like to get some tea?”
Finally something I could enjoy. “Sure. That sounds nice.”
We entered a small tea shop and ordered some tea and those little cake things…what were they called? Scones, that was it, they were called scones.
We soon began to talk about our plans for the evening. “You know, Fengge, there is a carol singing service at the church tonight. I know you love music, and you haven’t heard any Christmas carols yet, so I was thinking that maybe we should go.”
The thought of getting to sing a little excited me. “I’d love to.”
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That night, we walked down to the church that Elsa’s family attended weekly and we sat near the front. She did this knowing of my singing abilities, and wanted me to break out of the shell I had been in since we had arrived in London. All of her childhood friends were there, as were the friends of the family. Her friend Jane kept nudging her and winking and Arthur, one of her father’s co-workers, kept giving her thumbs up. I sighed. Just because I was from China didn’t mean I was stupid and that I didn’t know what these meant. I wished we could sing.
We were given song books filled with Christmas carols, each with the lyrics and the note scale.
“Your note scale is funny…”
“Yours is funnier.” She laughed.
Finally the music started and I could focus on something else.
The song was called “Carol of the Bells.” Odd name for a song, but then again, most of our songs in China were about physical deformities or things like dolls or a rabbit.
I tried to follow along as best I could.
Hark how the bells,
Sweet silver bells,
All seem to say,
Throw cares away
Christmas is here,
Bringing good cheer,
To young and old,
Meek and the bold,
I was beginning to read the rhythm and get the lyrics right. It really was a beautiful song, so different from the music I heard in China.
Oh how they pound,
Raising the sound,
O'er hill and dale,
Telling their tale,
Gaily they ring
While people sing
Songs of good cheer,
Christmas is here,
The words were becoming more and more fluid to me as…as corny as this might sound…as I began to understand the joy that this season and holiday meant for these people. I looked at Elsa as we continued to sing and she gave me a smile, but it seemed to be a nervous smile…I don’t know what she was nervous about, I thought I was doing fine. It wasn’t just her, but almost everyone around us. I just shrugged it off and continued to sing.
Merry, merry, merry,
merry Christmas,
Merry, merry, merry,
merry Christmas,
On on they send ,
On without end,
Their joyful tone
to every home
Ding, dong, ding, dong.
The music stopped and everyone in the chapel was looking at me.
“What?”
Still, only stares.
“What?”
Elsa pulled me to her. “Um, Fengge, your phoenix is showing….”
To my dismay, my hair and eyes were their original color…orange and a vivid violet. All I could do was smile like a dork until it either reverted back to my human spell or I would just stay that way. Stares and crickets were the only things that spoke to me.
I could only think of one thing to say… “Merry Christmas!”
Elsa jerked me over to her again and began to giggle. “Just sing, you idiot.”
After that night, I learned some Christmas carols, learned what Christmas was and what it was about, and learned that I don’t need to be singing in public, especially in England.
愉快的圣诞节!
 Chibi-Speck · Wed Dec 09, 2009 @ 12:57am · 0 Comments |
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