If you’re an ESL teacher in Taiwan, your buxiban or public school will most likely hold some sort of Christmas party and show. Christmas parties at Taiwanese schools will usually include some sort of performance showcasing how fantastic the students’ English-speaking skills have become under your tutelage. Here are a few photos of my favorite Taiwan Christmas memories …
My first year my at my first buxiban, we began preparing for Christmas early in the fall. I taught my younger students various Christmas songs including “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman.”
My older students recited “The Night before Christmas.” Performance day was a pretty big event, with many of the parents coming to the school to watch their children take the stage. And the end of the performances, my coworker and I had to dress up like Mrs. and Mr. Claus and the kids lined up for pictures. It was pretty fun, though some of my older students weren’t all that thrilled about the photo op. 
My second year in Taiwan, I worked in the beautiful mountainous region of Puli. We didn’t have to go through the torture of holiday performances. Instead, we had a Christmas party, complete with a visit from Santa Claus.
Most of the day was spent preparing for and playing games. And eating. And trying to snap pictures of my older students, who kept hiding from the camera.
Sharing Christmas with my Taiwanese students was a lot of fun and helped me get over homesickness during the holidays. How have you enjoyed celebrating Christmas while living overseas?
Thank you for sharing this information.