When Vonnie asked me those questions on Christmas day, the only thing that I could think of to say was "Happy Tree-giving festival!"
Just for the record, vonnie, those "stories about a loving community" never really exist, i think the only way you heard about them was through an international best-seller called "Chicken Soup for the soul". Just like any other best-seller in history, including the bible, this book has to include many unnecessary exaggerations to catch the readers' attention, especially those who yet had not seen the true face of whatever the author's talking about, again, just like the bible.
The typical western loving family that cares about the poor people in the community and send them food and clothes during Christmas, in my opinion, is nothing but a Hollywood image. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, on the contrary there are a huge amount of people who devote themselves into volunteer works, much more than the figure in China; but it is the kind of people that you've got to be lucky to meet. As the name of the book suggests, "Chicken Soup for the soul", the book was designed for healing. And a lot of us know that doctors can sometimes lie.
As for the meaning of Christmas. Well, when commercialism started to conquer this world, which was like a century ago, Christmas has been losing its originality and gradually become a "Tree-giving festival" (according to Ann Coulter an American columnist). The rationale is no rocket-science: Christmas was the symbol for a human being(well, let's assume he is, at least partly) who gave up his life to save other human beings, so it is about donation and sacrifice; whereas on the other hand, commercialism is about spending money to satisfy your own needs, or more likely, lusts. These two concepts are oil and water, donkey and elephant, Bush and Kerry; they only pretend to work together when you see Mr. Santa-Claus in a shopping mall, asking for 5 dollars to let your child have a photo taken with him.
Next year, it may sound more appropriate to say "Happy December 25th!"
Where has the spirit of Christmas gone? Where are those stories about the loving people in our community gone?
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