December 25 is Christmas Day(圣诞节). Christmas is an important holiday in many countries. On Christmas Day, most families get together for a big dinner. They give presents to each other and visit friends. The Christmas tree is an important part of the Christmas holiday. Most families buy trees. The families decorate(装饰) the tree together. Parents usually tell their children that Father Christmas comes during the night and brings presents to good children. Of course, Father Christmas isn't real. The parents of the children are really "Father Christmas". They put the presents under the tree or into their children's stocking(长统袜) after the children go to sleep.

    In the eyes of many foreigners, Chinese are the best hosts (主人) and the worst guests in the world. They're not really bad guests, but because the guest-host relationship in China is much different than in some western counties, it appears they are not nice guests. And western guests sometimes look rude (粗鲁的) in the eyes of Chinese guests.

    In China, guests are almost like gods. Whenever I enter a Chinese person's home, there is always fruit on the table for me, and someone is quick to bring me a cup of tea or water. In the west, generally the guest is not a god. Acting according to the host's way of doing things is usual behavior for a guest.

    My wife's mother, a very kind elderly Chinese lady, doesn't smoke. When I see some of her guests smoking in her house, as a non-smoker, I feel unhappy. Usually I want to stop them directly, but I must realize that in China, to be a good host, she must not do that. In most North America homes, if you are a guest, and the hosts are not smokers, you should not smoke in their house. At the very least, you could ask, “Is it OK if I smoke?” “But, don't be surprised if they say, “No, you can't smoke.” In our culture, if you smoke in their home, you are a bad guest, but if they don't allow you to smoke in their house, they are not a rude guest.

    Guests in China also have special habits. Some western people may not adapt to these habits very soon. Thankfully my wife is Chinese, so whenever we visit a Chinese family she tells me to buy them a gift. However, giving a gift to a host is not always necessary in my country. So, if you invite international guests to your home, don't be too surprised if they don't bring you a gift.

    In China, you probably won't need to change the guest-host relationship very much because you will probably only be the host, and Chinese are naturally very good hosts. If western hosts invite you to their house, try not to be too surprised if their style of treating you is not what you have expected.

    People use their mouths for many things. In the English language, there are many expressions using the word "mouth". But some of them are not so nice.

    Sometimes, people say something to a friend or a family member. Later they regret because it hurts that person's feelings. Or they tell the person something they didn't mean to tell. The speaker might say: "I really put my foot in my mouth this time."

    Sometimes when one person is speaking, he says the same thing that his friend is going to say. When this happens, the friend might say: "You took the words right out of my mouth!" Sometimes a person has a bad or sad experience with another person. He might say that experience "left a bad taste in my mouth." Or the person possibly has a very frightening(可怕的）experience, like having an angry dog running after him. He might say: "I had my heart in my mouth."

    Some people have lots of money because they were born into a very rich family. You might say the person "was born with a silver spoon (银勺) in his mouth". He is the opposite of a person living from "hand to mouth". This person is very poor and only has enough money for the most important things in life, like food.