An Early Christmas

Profile

An Early Christmas
By Wendy Yeh

Christmas customs around the world reflect the variety of cultures that celebrate the holiday. At the root of Christianity, Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus. However, the modern-day celebration of Christmas also combines many non-religious customs. This complex layering of sacred and secular observances has created many different ways of celebration that vary from nation to nation and from culture to culture.

The North Texas Collin County Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce (NTCCTCC) celebrated an early Christmas on Sunday, December 2, at the Renaissance Hotel in Richardson. Symbols used during the party were bright and colorful. We saw gold and silver wrappings and huge red and green bows mounted on the walls of the hotel lobby. There was a giant snowman on stage as a wonderful prop.

From the grandeur of the decorations and sumptuous food to the talented performances of the past local karaoke winners and a live band, all contributed to the success of this festive party. The master of ceremony at the party was Beverly Lu. She introduced all of the scheduled entertainment programs. Several pairs of international ballroom dancers showed the audience the complicated steps of waltz, cha cha, and other dances. The audience also joined in the fun of dancing after dinner to work off some of the calories. President David Hsu jumped on stage to sing an energetic rendition of the popular Feliz Navidad with his special set of dance moves. The audience responded to all of the entertainers with hearty applause and warm cheers.

Elected in June of this year, President David Hsu knows that the most valued resource of any organization is its members. He remarked, “The prospect of an end-of-year bash can be a remarkable boost for the morale of the organization and the community. Not only is this an occasion for sharing a good time with members and friends, it is also an excellent opportunity to motivate members to work together.”

As an MBA from the University of Dallas, with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Feng-Chia University in Taiwan, Hsu is the owner of Jis Engine, L.P. In order to reach the goals for NTCCTCC, Hsu emphasized, “I delegate various responsibilities to talented members within our organization and fully authorize their decisions.” He added, “Unity is everything. Individual abilities have to be united in order to be powerful. This is true to solving personal inner conflicts and to obtain family harmony, too.” Hsu and his wife have a daughter. She is a sophomore at the prestigious Pratt Art Institute in New York.

Although president Hsu was not feeling well for the past few days, he still put forth his strength to make sure all of the attendees enjoyed the Christmas party. Addison Mayor Joe Chow and his wife also participated in the celebration.

The NTCCTCC was founded in 1995. Currently it has over one hundred members from the North Texas community of Taiwanese businesses. It has been enthusiastic in many charitable activities, including assisting the elderly and the homeless people in this region.

Under the leadership of President David Hsu, many members and volunteers generously donated their time, energy, and money to make every activity that the NTCCTCC was involved with a success. Most of them make precious sacrifices of time to help out the organization after work to better the community.

After the party, people were still immersed in the fun of this early Christmas celebration. Many concluded, “This is so much fun” as they walked out of the hotel doors. #