We had two opportunities to "carol" for Christmas. One was in a Protestant Church in Jinan (lower right) which was packed with Christians. We were amazed how many filled the church. We sang a medley of Christmas hymns on their program Christmas Eve as did some other groups. We sang carols on a square near a Catholic Church on Christmas afternoon and attracted quite a group of picture-taking spectators.
We also had the opportunity to visit a couple of schools in a somewhat remote village near Qingzhou, about a two-hour drive from where we live. We took athletic equipment, notebooks, pencils, erasers, etc. and candy to a school for the deaf (upper right) who invited us to share lunch (upper left) with them and to a school which has both a kindergarten (note the beds for naps, lower left) where the 3 to 5 year olds were warmed by one small coal stove in the room (lower middle) and an elementary school through grade 6 where students sang and performed for us in gratitude for our donations to them.
It was a nice way to spend the Christmas holiday and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.
