Received 2 sweet Christmas greetings in the mail from Canada and US this year. Technology advanced from mail to e-mail and to the more common instant message greetings nowadays, but getting a mail in the post from friends who cared enough to go through the trouble of mailing me a physical greeting beats 1000 instant messages! I wanted to return the favor, but missed the international mail deadline again, will try to make up for it with a CNY greeting.
Frankly not in a joyous holiday mood this Christmas, actually I have been feeling rather gloomy for most of the year due to the never ending pandemic and the helplessness of witnessing the rapid deterioration of the city. Countless people from the pro-democracy camp are detained or imprisoned or had fled the city and are separated from their family and friends this holiday season. As though that wasn’t enough to kill the holiday mood, the government secretly dismantled the many Tiannamen Square Massacre related sculptures across universities, just before Christmas! How could one feel joyous in such an atmosphere?
Regardless, the joy of receiving the 2 greetings from faraway friends had inspired me to spread some toxic positivity this year. I decided to bring back my studio’s annual tradition of crafting Christmas trees. The design, prototype, refine, and production process took just about a week. Made 2 dozens “Christmas trees” and delivered more than a dozen to friends. Hopefully they’ll find a little joy in knowing that a friend cared enough to go through the trouble of delivering a physical greeting to them this holiday season, just like the joy I experienced when receiving my friends’ greetings in the mail.
