Falalalala~ lala la la!

Christmas is back with a vengeance and Santa’s gonna ride his sleigh over your ass soon! The season of giving and being thankful for the people around you, even if especially if they annoy the hell out of you, is upon us!

Short history lesson: Christmas is the celebration of the birthday of Yehoshua the Nazarene some 2000 years ago. Sure, technically, it’s almost certain that he wasn’t born on the 25th of December but that’s not important! The important thing is the spirit and symbolism of the celebration: hope, reconciliation, forgiveness and thanksgiving to name some.

This article is actually about the JE Christmas Bash. Now, let it not be said that I did not warn you people: This Bash is organized by the JE – the Jesus Embassy. It is a religious group and therefore, there will be some elements at the Bash that some people might find offensive. I mean, I haven’t seen the agenda but there might be prayers, carols and the songs might revolve around Jesus. I know, it IS Christmas, what did I expect, right? But I do know some people who felt they were caught off-guard in the previous Bashes, so I might as well add this warning here.

Being a Malaysian, let me begin with the food. If you’ve never had authentic russian food, this is the place to have it. First of all, it’s free. Second of all, no, it’s not the weak-ass generic-tasting kotlet pa-kievskii that went up by 13 roubles since I first came here. No, these are real home-cooked Russian delicacies. Sure, it might be the same salat s krevetkami and the chicken you can find in any stalovaya but seriously, these are home-cooked. Come on, you know the difference between home-cooked and commercially sold meals, right?

What is Christmas without caroling, eh? Yep, usually, the Bashes open up slowly with carols. It’s hard to believe that the choir members are students from our very own university. These are the everyday people who we interact with, yet once a year at the Winter Solstice, these people unleash their angelic voices upon us. And every year I get that feeling of awe at the harmony and unity that these people beam.

A staple of the JE Bashes would be at least two modern dance performances and at least one performance art. I’d be very surprised if the LIFE dance group isn’t invited to perform and/or if there won’t be a break-dance show by the African students. Personally, the highlight of the night for me would be the performance art thing. In past years they had sketches, comedic lip-synching and, last year, they even had a very deep mime act. I actually keep score with myself whether each year performance trumps the year before or not. So far, it has not been disappointing. I sometimes wonder from where these people get the creativity to come out with this stuff.

Now, no party deserves to be called a Bash if it doesn’t have an open floor session, does it? Don’t worry, JE Bashes traditionally open the floor to boogie-woogie. Last year, they actually had a live band! Not your mellow yellow bands, either. They had a Real Rockin’ Band! To be COMPLETELY honest with you, dear readers, this is the part of the night that rates the lowest on my scale. No, not because the song selection sucks – they rock. Partly it’s because of me having two left feet that couldn’t decide which would be the right foot, but a bigger part would be I feel that I’m too old for these things.

Yes, I’m younger, much younger than most of you think but I’m a recycled soul. In the immortal words of Kipling, “He never wasted a leaf or a tree, do you think he would squander souls?”

But I digress. Let me end this with the details now lest I get chastised for my haranguing. Damn, Kipling got me all literal and shit.

The Christmas Bash: 27-12 1800

JE XMas Bash `08: El Amor Mas Grande
Date: 27/XII/2008
Time: 1800 sharp
Venue: Церковь Иисуса Спасителя <- I’m not quite sure where but…
Transportation: Buses will be made available at both Kim and Hiroshima hostels.

P.S: The good people at JE provided us with a slideshow of last year’s event: