While you were sleeping[boyxboy]

09 Merry Christmas! part 02

As soon as they entered the Jin house, Yibo went straight to the kitchen to drink a glass of water, as his throat felt really dried for some reason.
"Thank you for inviting me!
It's my first time celebrating Christmas! And especially in such a big, lovely family!", Yibo bowed before NaiNai who had already taken control over the Christmas dinner menu.

"We do have quite a busy winter holidays agenda.
We always celebrate Christmas and The New Year according to the Western Calendar at the end of December, but we also celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. Oh, let's not forget about the Reyes Magos, the Three Wise Men which we celebrate especially for Lulu and A-Yuan. Because traditionally there is no Santa Claus in Spain, the presents are usually delivered to children on 6th January by the Reyes Magos."

"And that way, these two lucky little brats are getting presents on Christmas from Santa, and again, two weeks later from those three dudes.", LingLing laughed, ruffling A-Yuan's hair and kissing Lulu's cheek, who had just barged into the kitchen. All three were planning to steal some from NaiNai's cookies, but their plan failed miserably, as they were not quick enough to come before the vigilant NaiNai.

"By the way, what religion are you? Not as it matters to us in any way, but I just ask out of curiosity. After all, our family is like a big hotpot of mixed religions, haha!". NaiNai laughed, stirring in the steamy and aromatic content of the hotpot bowl.

"To be honest, I am far from being a religiously inclined person, but as my parents were one a Christian and one a Buddhist, I could eventually say that I am both a Christian and a Buddhist. In any case, I didn't cremate my father, but I buried him in the Christian cemetery, even though he was a Buddhist. Because he loved my mother so much that he once expressed his wish to be buried in her tomb. ", Yibo replied, with tears brimming in his eyes.

"I am so sorry for you loss. But I assure you that they are both happy where ever they are and very proud of you!
As I said, religion is a private matter, that's not as important as love or harmony, to our family. But if you're curious, I could let you know about the religion of each family member.
Do you think it's salty enough?", NaiNai asked, blowing into the spoon of sauce, then giving it to Yibo to taste it.

"Yes, please, do tell me.
It's deliciously yummy! It's simply perfect!", Yibo smiled, licking his lips in delight, to NaiNai's happiness.

"Well, let's start with the Spanish branch, then.
Baba XinCheng is a Taoist, and Mama Alexandra is a Christian. They agreed to baptize the twins in the Christian religion, until they would be grown enough to decide on their own what religion to follow.
As for ZhanZhan, he chose to be a Christian, even though he was Taoist while living in China, probably because of his Baba's religion. He started to learn about the Christian religion's insides because he needed this knowledge for his wedding planning business, as the majority of his customers are of this religion. And in the end, he chose to join this religion, not because of some strong faith or something, but mostly because it would be more helpful to his business. He is not a religiously inclined person, either, same as you.
Now, let's see the Chinese branch!
MianMian is a Christian, as you probably already know. Same as her Ma, Jin Sanren.
Me, my son Jin GuangShan and one of my grandchildren, GuangYao, are Buddhists.
And the youngest one, LingLing, is still in search mode. He said that he considers himself an agnostic, for now.
Let's go back to the dining room, they might wonder what we have been plotting here for such a long time", NaiNai smiled.

"Meaning that I am a person who believes that any ultimate reality (such as God) is unknown and probably unknowable. Broadly, I am not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of a God or Gods.
Oh, God! This smells so heavenly! Not as I believe or not, in God, or in heaven, but it's just a saying!
But, NaiNai, you're the Goddess of food, for sure! And I don't even lie when saying that I believe in you! You could be my chosen religion!", LingLing chuckled ,  placing  the bowl of hotpot on the gueridon trolley,  to push it to the dining room, after receiving NaiNai's usual, endearing slap onto the back of his head.