Xmas

mikieunguyen wrote:

Everything seems boring right now! Anyone wants to hang out on Xmas day? Let me know by commenting on the box below! Btw, the more, the merrier!(;

XMAS in Saigon is awesome! Last year was my first and it was the best....

December is iPod month here and USA.

I see some stores hanging Xmas decorations already!

What is this "Xmas"? I celebrate Christmas.

Tran Hung Dao: I am being facetious. Don't waste your time explaining the origins of "Xmas" to me.

Yeh...last year was also my first but I guess it's not awesome as yours! Ha (: Anw, what do you usually do on Christmas, I mean, last year I just walked around Vincom and Diamond plaza, taking pictures...

I'm moving to HCMC next weekend (from Thailand)...

I'm really interested in seeing what Christmas is like in Vietnam.. the last 2 have been rather non-existant for me over here in Phuket!

Ah xmas, I can almost see the shop owners wringing their hands with glee, the cash registers ringing, a time of happiness for them, and the children , who expect many presents , with parents struggling to find the money , ( so their kids can have the latest fashion/trends etc, ), if they don't go to church, I think they shouldn't get anything, it's about as hypocritical as most Asian ' Buddhists '.  Or has it also become a ' traditional ' thing?

Xaviar84 wrote:

I'm moving to HCMC next weekend (from Thailand)...

I'm really interested in seeing what Christmas is like in Vietnam.. the last 2 have been rather non-existant for me over here in Phuket!

Lucky you.  I'm the USA those songs almost drove me insane.  Peak suicide season in America.  I think pa rumpa pum pum has a lot to do with it.

The Christmas decorations in Saigon are far "better"* than anything Sydney has to offer.

*Disclaimer: "Better" according to my wife, who has a sufficiently tacky approach to Christmas, that she puts up fairy lights and plays Christmas music. She adored the Diamond Plaza and others last year. I found them excessively venal.

Funny how the colors here are just a little different from the USA.  More carmine than red, more gold than yellow.

But ... 

trin ga bes
trin ga bes
trin ga ă gia quây

And there is some song they play here .. Mi so do!  Mi so  do!  If I wore a hearing aid I'd remove it.  How anyone can stand something so melodically trite is beyond me.  Makes the worst of Mccartney sound like Mozart.

ancientpathos wrote:

mikieunguyen wrote:

Everything seems boring right now! Anyone wants to hang out on Xmas day? Let me know by commenting on the box below! Btw, the more, the merrier!(;

XMAS in Saigon is awesome! Last year was my first and it was the best....

Yeh...last year was also my first but I guess it's not awesome as yours! Ha (: Anw, what do you usually do on Christmas, I mean, last year I just walked around Vincom and Diamond plaza, taking pictures...

milkybunnyHCM wrote:

I see some stores hanging Xmas decorations already!

Yeh, especially coffee shops. They always do these things around this time of year. It makes me wanna hang out with my friends all day. (;
So you're from Ho Chi Minh right? From your nickname, I guess you're Vietnamese too! ((:

Xaviar84 wrote:

I'm moving to HCMC next weekend (from Thailand)...

I'm really interested in seeing what Christmas is like in Vietnam.. the last 2 have been rather non-existant for me over here in Phuket!

Same here. When I was jus in my hometown, Christmas seemed like a normal day! Nothing fun at all!

bluenz wrote:

Ah xmas, I can almost see the shop owners wringing their hands with glee, the cash registers ringing, a time of happiness for them, and the children , who expect many presents , with parents struggling to find the money , ( so their kids can have the latest fashion/trends etc, ), if they don't go to church, I think they shouldn't get anything, it's about as hypocritical as most Asian ' Buddhists '.  Or has it also become a ' traditional ' thing?

Well, I know one thing that it's definitely not a traditional thing about children expecting their parents to buy them trendy clothes. Well some do, but me and my friends, we like, never ask our parents  things like that 'coz we are atheists. On Christmas day, just wanna have fun with friends, something like that!

MatthiasB wrote:

The Christmas decorations in Saigon are far "better"* than anything Sydney has to offer.

*Disclaimer: "Better" according to my wife, who has a sufficiently tacky approach to Christmas, that she puts up fairy lights and plays Christmas music. She adored the Diamond Plaza and others last year. I found them excessively venal.

That's the thing in Vietnam. People usually just walk around to see the decorations, especially the area around Vincom and Diamond plaza.

milkybunnyHCM wrote:

I see some stores hanging Xmas decorations already!

Just bought my Christmas tree..

saigonmonkey wrote:

What is this "Xmas"? I celebrate Christmas.

Tran Hung Dao: I am being facetious. Don't waste your time explaining the origins of "Xmas" to me.

I know...I was going to ask her the same question.  Alot of things of Western culture, the locals have no idea the meaning behind it...they just follow the crowd and see Xmas, they just re-write/re-use it.  Like I keep seeing girls wear "Playboy" jackets and I'm SURE they don't know what that means.

Tran Hung Dao wrote:

low the crowd and see Xmas, they just re-write/re-use it.  Like I keep seeing girls wear "Playboy" jackets and I'm SURE they don't know what that means.

Hate to go off topic but this one cracks me up. People have offered to buy me those because "it's western" and I honestly tell them in US, that's a tacky thing to wear.

To stay on topic, being atheist never prevented me from getting gifts from my parents.

milkybunnyHCM wrote:

Tran Hung Dao wrote:

low the crowd and see Xmas, they just re-write/re-use it.  Like I keep seeing girls wear "Playboy" jackets and I'm SURE they don't know what that means.

Hate to go off topic but this one cracks me up. People have offered to buy me those because "it's western" and I honestly tell them in US, that's a tacky thing to wear.

To stay on topic, being atheist never prevented me from getting gifts from my parents.

Yes and I want to find a factory to product this T-shirt.


Since Locals think English words are cool and rarely pay attention to what they mean, this T-shirt will make Expats crack up!  A win-win situation.  Make good Christmas gifts...maybe stand around D1 and hand them out on December 24th!

Tran Hung Dao wrote:

Yes and I want to find a factory to product this T-shirt.
http://rlv.zcache.ca/fartbook_shirts-rb … 57_324.jpg

Since Locals think English words are cool and rarely pay attention to what they mean, this T-shirt will make Expats crack up!  A win-win situation.  Make good Christmas gifts...maybe stand around D1 and hand them out on December 24th!

I'm surprised Vietnam doesn't have this already. Though no one can top the Chinese and Japanese in that.

Ok! Im really sorry if I upset any of you! I mean it!
So can you just please drop it?

In Japan people sold Tshirt to tourists who thought they were wearing a city name or something, but read in Japanese "I have no penis."

The ones that weird me out are the American and Australian.

I have no ideas why the (local) people here like Christmas a lot? (yah, except for ones are Chris re.) Start getting bored and tired of Christmas in the city because: (i) very crowded, people make traffic jams when the Christmas days coming just for posing pictures! Seriously? You really need some things to upload on FB? (ii) people CELEBRATE Christmas without understanding what it means? (haha); (iii) stores spend a lot of money for decoration which may only be used for some days - ah nooo, you may still see Christmas decoration somewhere when Tết comes (haha)...

Anyway, young people need a day/a reason just to go out, right? But they can go out everyday? Haha. I hope I am lucky enough not to be in town on Christmas day this year!!!

aibiet150204 wrote:

I have no ideas why the (local) people here like Christmas a lot? (yah, except for ones are Chris re.) Start getting bored and tired of Christmas in the city because: (i) very crowded, people make traffic jams when the Christmas days coming just for posing pictures! Seriously? You really need some things to upload on FB? (ii) people CELEBRATE Christmas without understanding what it means? (haha); (iii) stores spend a lot of money for decoration which may only be used for some days - ah nooo, you may still see Christmas decoration somewhere when Tết comes (haha)...

Anyway, young people need a day/a reason just to go out, right? But they can go out everyday? Haha. I hope I am lucky enough not to be in town on Christmas day this year!!!

Cuz Vietnamese are so hard up on wanting to be like a "modern country" they forget what makes Việt Nam special. Probably if given a choice, all the youth today would rather live in S. Korea than Việt Nam.  I even saw like a 4 year old Việt kid do the "gangman style" (gangnum...gangbang..gangmon...whatever - I'm not going to bother googling it). 

So probably like you said, Christmas is just another day to go take pictures to upload on Fartbook....since it's a cool Western holiday....If I participate, then I'm cool.

I saw even the youth did the Holloween dress-up too.  Have no idea what it means but it's a Western holiday...if they do it, I will too.  I'm cool! Upload photos to Fartbook.

Tran Hung Dao wrote:

... A lot of things of Western culture, the locals have no idea the meaning behind it...they just follow the crowd and see Xmas, they just re-write/re-use it...

Haha! They dont have better things to do and they think anything marked as "western style" is "expensive" (not anything actually ). Like people go out and celebrate "Valentine day", "8/3" ) haha well, you only need to love each other on 14/2 and women only need to be respected on "women day" haha

Xmas in the USA is a depressing and crowded time and there is no uglier video you will ever see tan people waiting for the stores to open the day after Thanksgiving, it's like the Hunger Games, stampeding obese people trampling each other.  The phony good cheer doesn't fool anyone and anybody who has any relationship with music has a terrible month as the older, more solemn tunes have been supplanted with mawkish sentiment and ghastly perkiness.

I give presents to my closest friends, I don't do decorations and I have never put up a tree. 

I do play a very old record of a church service my parents had on vinyl to honor their memory, "A Festival of Lessons and Carols" by the King's College Choir

As someone who grew up in the era of progressive rock, that whole "Gangnam Style" thing is morbidly depressing, but then, so is most popular music since the late 70s.

Tran Hung Dao wrote:

...
So probably like you said, Christmas is just another day to go take pictures to upload on Fartbook....since it's a cool Western holiday....If I participate, then I'm cool.

....

Oops

mikieunguyen
I am from Vietnam. I am currently in Ho Chi Minh.

My path
 
About me
Hi! My name's Mi! Well, you can call me Mickey! Im now a sophomore and my major is English. So I guess my E isnt that bad! Haha! ) Anw, I wanna make friends and have fun! Feel free to inbox me!
My birthday is on 23 May, I was born in 1994

Interests
eating, facebook, music, volleyball...

Trần Hưng Đạo: she is only 19 - still too young, don't be so rude!!!

[Moderated: Unnecessary]

As a sophomore you don't have anything to study Mi?

Hmm.. that's an age of explosion

aibiet150204 wrote:

Trần Hưng Đạo: she is only 19 - still too young, don't be so rude!!!

ChrisFox wrote:

Xmas in the USA is a depressing and crowded time and there is no uglier video you will ever see tan people waiting for the stores to open the day after Thanksgiving,

Hate to break this to you big guy, but some retailers have already started the "Black Friday" sales already. The largest retailer in the USA started ads two weeks ago to get a jump start on the sales or the "must have" items this year. And who says they must have them? Why the retailers of course.

To be honest the name Xmas is more appropriate than Christmas because the reason for the season has turned commercial many many years ago.

ChrisFox wrote:

He's the alpha male around here

Hi ChrisFox: I don't get it here

charmavietnam wrote:

Hmm.. that's an age of explosion

aibiet150204 wrote:

Trần Hưng Đạo: she is only 19 - still too young, don't be so rude!!!

and sensitive and vulnerable too...

Good_Man wrote:

Hate to break this to you big guy, but some retailers have already started the "Black Friday" sales already. The largest retailer in the USA started ads two weeks ago to get a jump start on the sales or the "must have" items this year. And who says they must have them? Why the retailers of course.

To be honest the name Xmas is more appropriate than Christmas because the reason for the season has turned commercial many many years ago.

Yeah and some radio stations go to 24/7 jingle bells/pa rumpa pum pum alternation on November 1.

I load up my devices with Japanese Noise around mid November and play the harshest stuff in my collection until it's safe to come out.

*mistake*

Good_Man wrote:

To be honest the name Xmas is more appropriate than Christmas because the reason for the season has turned commercial many many years ago.

I was TOTALLY going to post a reply like that!  Xma$$$$$$$$$$$$$ is not anywhere close to Christmas. 

Are you sure you passed that stage?

aibiet150204 wrote:

and sensitive and vulnerable too...