Taipei, Christmas in Catholic schools: aid for the elderly, evangelization in markets
Taipei (AsiaNews) - "I love, I light, I share" (爱, 分享, 点亮 生命 之 光) is the slogan strictly in English for students of various Catholic schools in preparation for Christmas. In Taipei the Advent season begins when the drivers of bus line 235 begin to dress up as Santa Claus, complete with fur-trimmed red jackets and pants, some even with a hood and a white beard. No wonder too: the drivers of that line are mostly Filipinos and ... they follow the liturgical year.
Christmas is also gaining ground among the indigenous Taiwanese and for this reason the Christians, especially the younger ones, are not letting the opportunity to spread their beliefs escape.
For the Christmas feast the Catholic schools in the north of Taiwan have organized a fundraiser for a home for the elderly, in a poor village in the province of Yilan (宜兰 县) about 60 km from Taipei. The building used as a shelter for the elderly living alone is already very old and in a poor state in urgent need of renovation.
Born of an idea of a couple of teachers, the pupils are garnering efforts concretely bring Christmas relief to the guests of the shelter. Many students are involved in the project. A first gesture is a sale of T-shirts with the words "I love, I light, I share." In one school adjacent to the cathedral, the students have already sold more than 3 thousand shirts. They also composed and recorded a song, a including a dance and video clips to sponsor the fundraiser and last night hosted a big event, along with nine other schools in the city, in order to involve as many people as possible. From 5 to 7 they sung carols, lit a nativity scene and staged several plays. After the performance in the large auditorium, the students poured out onto the streets towards the great night market "Ning xia" (宁夏 夜市), one of the most famous in Taipei, located in the centre, very close to the largest train station, to "sponsor Christmas" as the work of evangelization "for all those who do not know exactly the meaning of the Christian holiday and especially the mission of Jesus as a gift for all mankind." Professor Chen Jinhua (陈金华), director of the Department of Education for life, said: "I think it was a special evening. The young people normally pass through the market when they leave school at 5 pm, but see them announce the good news of Jesus has a certain effect. In addition to sharing with the poor, which is our goal, it further motivates all the students. "
This year, following the message of the bishops, all 48 Catholic schools in Taiwan will undertake to prepare and share Christmas reflecting on the message of the Bible, "Love your neighbor as yourself" and trying to put it into practice.
.png)
28/12/2004
