Cambodian Caroling : Group May Be Buddhist, but St. Nick Still Stars

Mixing rap music, traditional carols and a visit from Santa himself, more than 300 Cambodian children and adults celebrated Christmas American style Saturday at a community center here.

“We are Buddhists, but we do all the customs,” said Maleth Leao, who brought her 2- and 3-year-old nephews to the Cambodian Family community center to see Santa. “We just have to try to have a new life in the U.S.”

The celebrators crowded into the center’s assembly hall for performances of Christmas skits, carols by a Cambodian children’s choir, presentation of awards for good grades and a visit by St. Nick.

Santa, played by Michael Schumacher, a center board member and the county’s chief probation officer, jingled a strand of bells, loudly chanted “Ho! Ho!” and occasionally stumbled over a Cambodian name as he greeted a steady stream of children and parents.

Earlier, in street clothes, Schumacher stood in the back of the room, watching with pleasure as two dozen Cambodian children sang “Frosty the Snowman.”

No matter that most of them had never built a snowman. Or had ever seen snow. Saturday’s festivities were still “quite a deal” for these young people, Schumacher said.

For one thing, “This group of youngsters lives in an area ravaged with drugs and problems, so this is a momentary oasis away from the trouble. Plus, it’s a real introduction to a piece of American culture. Plus,” he added with a broad smile worthy of Santa, “it’s fun!”

Since January, 1983, the center has been offering art, dance and Cambodian language classes for children, as well as English, parenting and consumer education classes for their parents. But at Christmas, the agency has tried to do something extra for its low-income families who, even when they do celebrate Christmas, have little money for presents.

For many years, the annual event featured only a mass giveaway of toys. But that seemed overly materialistic, Schumacher and other center officials said. So for the last two years, Cambodian Family officials have tried to create a participatory Christmas party for children and their parents.

This year there was so much on the agenda--the carols, a children’s skit about Christmas revelers discovering a homeless man, a series of phone calls from Santa--that there was no room for native Cambodian dancing, center director Rifka Hirsch said.

Instead, wearing baggy red pants, red suspenders and spit-shined black shoes, Phann Choy, 13, and Phat Yam, 9, brought down the house with two fast-paced, thoroughly American rap dances that would have done M.C. Hammer proud.

“Better be sweet. Better be nice,” Phann chanted as part of “Santa’s Rap Message.” “Stay in school. Be cool. You gonna be cool?”

“Yeah, yeah!” some 200 Cambodian children responded as Phann told them again, “Stay in school!”