christmas

[paperboy]

hi everyone
this might be a stupid question, i dont know, and i dont know the answer
so maybe somebody and enlight me.
I know is most parts of the world people give christmas presents on the 25th december, here in spain we do kings day 6th janurary
In thialand, is it tradtional to give presents at christmas or do they have another day in the year when they give each other presents????
ive never been in Thailand at christmas time so i dont know, just being curiuos.
In spain its only really over the last 20 years that santa clause has arrived, so some people get presents on the 25th december and some 6th January.
so what about Thaialnd?????

thanks
paperboy

[Neal]

They appreciate presents anytime and everytime. If they don't get another present on Christmas day they will be disappointed but what they hay. I would give a gift only if it were someone really really special and not bar boy.
Just remember, you are setting a precedent.

[UncleTom]

I would give a gift only if it were someone really really special and not bar boy.
I'm special :old:

Like Da boss I too would probably restrict any buying of a Christmas present to someone important to you and not just for AN Other bar boy. I made that mistake one year myself when one waking up on Christmas morning with AN other bar boy I realised what day it was and on wishing him happy Christmas and feeling slightly guilty / sorry for him as "he get no presents" etc away we went and I bought him a bottle of whatever expensive aftershave he picked - which to be fair he was over the moon about and I should add I didn't begrudge to Him in any way.

But it was only later when I sat down and thought about it that I realised that my buying him a Christmas present was actually about ME acknowledging Christmas to myself in some deeper way and still trying to hold on to that in some way - which when considering I came to Thailand to get away from all that crap totally defeated the whole purpose and of course to him Christmas Day meant nothing and was just another day, except he and his friends had noticed that their farang customers tended to be more generous on that particular day for some reason they didn't quite understand ( nor care about).

So, I've never made that mistake since and now if I but presents for boys it's because I want to and not because of some commercially induced, long ingrained sense of guilt anymore, so to answer your question no gifts are not required nor expected, but of course no matter what day it is the boys will ALWAYS "appear" grateful for any gift, no matter when received or for what the perceived reason.

Ha I've just realised I must sound like Scrooge himself and I'm really not :-) but just in case - bah humbug !! Lol

[paperboy]

thanks for the replys,
is there a day in thailand when they give each other presents, like our christamas?????

[francois]

A gift on their birthdays is a must if you attend their party.

New Years Day but Thais will happily relieve you of anything you have every day of the year.

[luvthai-2]

If you can bring a little happiness into someone's life why not?

[Neal]

Recently I went to Cambodia to visit with a boy's mother and family. His mother has about 20 mouths to help feed and assists in cooking for them from her shack nestled in the thick mosquito infested woods with no tap water or electricity. She has water delivered a few times a week, a 5 gallon plastic jug. This while her son plays with a computer, I Phone 4 and many other toys. Sure he sends her 1,000 a week, but maybe I would like to ask which one deserves a little happiness in their lives once in awhile? The boy who sells your phones and gifts or his family that maybe you may want to get to know. Go and get to know the family and if you wish to give a christmas gift, think who needs it more. I for one am trying to get a drilling machine to mama to get a water well dug, a chicken roost and some chickens.

[francois]

Good for you DaBoss; Bravo. To answer the question "is there a Santa Claus" the answer is Yes.

[corky]

If you go with the boy to buy a present in (say) Central or Big C, keep an eye on what happens to the receipt.
If the boy is keen to keep the receipt then that means he will most likely be returning to the store to exchange your generous gift for something that he really wants - cash.
If you give him something bought in your home country then he will sell it on for a fraction of its value when the rent is due or when there is a bottle to be bought.
Do yourselves a favour and leave the sentimentality at home. They are in business to relieve you of your assets - treat them like you would any other business.

[kjun12]

I think many of us have had the unfortunate experience of giving Thai boys a gift only to see it pawned as soon as possible. That is the real downside of giving them anything. Best to just give them the money and let them piss it away as they want.

I was in my local coffee shop here in Brissie just finished breakfast not a f***ing Xmas carol to be heard just normal music.

[francois]

I was in my local coffee shop here in Brissie just finished breakfast not a f***ing Xmas carol to be heard just normal music.

Sorry to read that BrisbaneGuy; here is a nice Xmas carol for your pleasure. Not even necessary to understand French to enjoy it. Bonjour Noel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rGJAwBmyog

I was waiting for the punchline you know the kid to throw up over its mother or the camel to fart but nothing at least I didnt understand the words maybe if christmas carols in Thailand were sung in Thai?

Oh and since Joe269 is forever wanting a trip report my trip to the local coffree shop this morning included scrambled eggs and coffee and none of the waiters were cute.

[kjun12]

none of the waiters were cute.
And, I guess you are.

[francois]

.....at least I didnt understand the words maybe if christmas carols in Thailand were sung in Thai?
. :jok:

That would be like asking Australians to speak English, mate. :alc:

[a447]

comme les Qu├йb├йcois qui parlent "fran├зais" ??

[francois]

Yes, same-same. ;)

[francois]

comme les Qu├йb├йcois qui parlent "fran├зais" ??

a447; I just noticed you are from Australia. I was jesting about Australians speaking English. As with all regional accents it takes a little time to "tune in" to the speaker before recognizing the speech. Although French-Canadian/Qu├йb├йcois fran├зais is probably as incomprehensible as American Southern (deep South) English. Of course there is always Scottish English to confound the ear.

[a447]

I was jesting about Australians speaking English.

Yes, I know you were, and I took your comment in that spirit. :)

Speaking of the Aussie accent, I remember when I moved semi-permanently back to Oz. Although I worked in an industry where English is the only language permitted, it was limited to work related language and technical jargon. All other times I communicated in Japanese.

On arriving back here, everyone used to laugh at me whenever I opened my mouth, as they had great difficulty in understanding my accent. One person thought I was from Pakistan (!) even though I don't look Pakistani. I was often asked where I had learnt my English and where I was from. They all thought I was an immigrant from somewhere.

A few years ago a friend replayed the tape of a speech I had made at his birthday in 2004. What a hoot! Even I was laughing at myself.

These days when I travel, I always get "Where abouts in England are you from?"

And sorry, Neal, but I wish I had a dollar for every American who, when discovering that I was Australian, complimented me on my ability to speak English. :sign5:

Losing your accent is really sad, I think, as it is a part of your identity. I actually LOVE the Aussie accent - well, the mild one.

Merry Christmas!