Anna V. Blough letter to dear ones at home, Dec. 25, 1914

              Ping Ting Hsien, Shansi, China
Dec, 25 �14

Dear Ones at Home: -

Breakfast is over and it is not time for church, so I will talk to you awhile. At home it is bed time 
now, night before Xmas. I wonder if you are atsome entertainment or if you have already retired. 
You see we get our Xmas a little ahead of you.

Even tho we are in China, we have some very good reminders that it is Xmas. Before daylight 
this morning the school girls got up and came to our windows and sang Xmas songs.

Yesterday afternoon the Girls Government school was invited here to our school. About fifty 
came, including three teachers. One of the teachers teaches English there. I fear it is not much of 
English tho, perhaps as much as I could teach Chinese now. They were given the story of 
Christmas day. We served the teachers tea, according to Chinese custom.

Then last eve the girls of our school wanted a good time and asked us to come back. They acted 
out some things that were very funny. In one of them they had school. One of the girls was the 
teacher. She certainly got things twised up proper. Said she had been a school mate of Minervas 
in America, and she knew what she was talking about. When it came to English, they spelled g-
oso, b-o no, etc. Of course it was all put on. We told Minerva that we could tell what she was 
teaching the girls. After this a treat was given to the children of Chinese sweets in a sack. A.S.S. 
in Indiana had sent some dolls. I wish you could have seen these girls get their first dolls. I never 
saw anything better than the way they acted. Do not think Irene could beat them on the doll 
question

Then when that was done we went up to the boys school and saw them recieve their gifts. They 
also got a sack of sweets and a tennis flannel muffler. They were quite pleased and put them 
around their necks.

This forenoon we have a meeting for the women here in the womans quarters and one for the 
men. They went out invitations to all the shop keepers to come today. then they will give them a 
Bible. We do not know how many will come, for they are not so easily moved. But we hope they 
will respond. The native Christians are taking quite an interest in this.

This evening we are going down to Crumpackers for the eve. I recieved a pretty wall motto, a 
pillow top and booklet. So I feel quite well remembered this time. Also recieved some things 
from Jennie and Ida a little earlier in the year.

Last eve a man came around to our gate selling gold fish. I got five with a glass bowl for three 
cents in your money. I had always like to have fish around and now is my opportunity. They are 
only small, none two inches long, yet the bowl magnifys them.

Saturday eve�
Christmas is past. It was a big day here. We certainly had some crowds. At the womans meeting 
there were almost one hundred strangers. And the teachers of the girls Government school came 
back again, which seems to say they were favorably impressed the day before. We would like so 
much to interest them. The small room we had for the women was packed full and crowded to 
the utmost. Hardly another one could get in. Postcards that had been ent from America were 
given out. They are so eager to get a card. Even old women would scrap to get a card, some even 
gra bed two and held on to them like little babies would. Some of the red pin cushions that had 
been sent out from American and were given out the day before, came o church Xmas day hung 
on a button in front. So they are appreciated. At this meeting our Sisters who could talk told the 
Xmas story. Several of the native women who are learning to read, read the Bible account of the 
story. How much of the story they understood, we do not know. But we hope they got at least a 
little

Up at the bous school, the mens meeting was going on at the same time. Quite a good number of 
the business men came. Also, the city official, who corresponds to Mayor at home, came with his 
staff of officers. The Official