Santa Claus Came to Town

Presents, Christmas trees, fairy lights, decorations, large dinners, and no school. These are some of the images that float through our minds whenever the word Christmas is mentioned, but these are not typical for Chinese public school students, especially when they are nearing the end of the school year and their finals exam during Christmas.

This Christmas, “Santa Claus” stepped foot into White Village and handed out presents to the left-behind children of White Village Elementary School. The man under the costume remains a mystery to the children, but will not remain a mystery to us. He is one of the US Marines and he drove all the way from the US Consulate in Zhujiang to the Longshen Town in Kaiping, Guangzhou. Most of the children in the school have parents who work in factories hours away making bags, clothes, or other items, which typically leaves the children to be brought up by their grandparents.

The US Consulate purchased and attempted to gather as many brand-new toys as they could prior to the event, coming to a total of 230 toys! They also wrapped and labeled the toys according to gender and grade level. The children were all pleasantly surprised when they saw Santa Claus walk into their classroom and they were overjoyed with the presents they received. They felt the Christmas spirit like never before, and what proceeded was a flurry of wrapping paper and bright smiles.

More fun was yet to come when the AISG students, Marines, and the children threw themselves into each game, whether it was following random instructions in “Simon Says”, crowding together in “Huggy Bears”, or sprinting across the playground in “Octopus”. All the AISG students, Marines, and consulate employees joined in on the games, and expressed afterwards that the outing was more fun and enriching than intended, and it is something they hope to continue in the coming years.