By Agnes Donato Cornibert
Philippine Daily Inquirer
SIEM REAP, Cambodia—A Filipino spending Christmas in a predominantly Buddhist country is a curious cultural experience. Walking around town, I realize there is little here to indicate that the two billion-odd Christians throughout the world are celebrating what is probably their most important holiday.
“When I first got here, people had no idea what Christmas was,” said Ilonggo artist Loven Ramos, who moved to Siem Reap five years ago. “Once, I went to a dance club with my friends and we found ourselves dancing to ‘Jingle Bells’—in the middle of February.”
Shopping for Christmas decor, he added, was a nearly impossible feat. The Christmas tree now towering over his living room had to be shipped from Vietnam two years ago.
That the Khmer people aren’t agog over Christmas doesn’t come as a shock. Not only is Cambodia a Buddhist nation; the country’s pride, the Angkor temple complex, is said to be the world’s largest religious structure, built initially as a Hindu site and later converted to Buddhist use. It’s a long way from Bethlehem.
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