As promised, this week I will talk about a few of the symbols of Christmas that are commonly used in Japan, but perhaps not completely understood.

First, Santa Claus.  He represents giving, helping and is also a symbol of God, rewarding good children with presents and punishing disobedient children with lumps of coal or switches.

I was Santa Claus on Saturday at a local kindergarten.. What do you think?

In America, Santa always gives children a candy cane.  That is our second symbol today.

The candy cane represents helping those in need.Santa gives this to children to remind them that not only at Christmas time, but all year round, we must help others.

And finally, today, the Christmas tree.  Saturday afternoon, we put up our Christmas tree.  Last year. my father passed away,  so we didn’t put up a tree.  Christmas trees are “evergreens”, meaning they don’t lose their leaves in winter.  They are a symbol of eternal life, but I enjoy them for the beauty they bring to my living room.  Here is our tree this year.