Christmas letter from Dora Giffen to her family, December 2, 1924
MLA Citation
Giffen, Dora Eunice, 1897-1982. “Christmas letter from Dora Giffen to her family, December 2, 1924.” Digital Gallery. BGSU University Libraries, 31 Mar. 2023, digitalgallery.bgsu.edu/items/show/41498. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
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Title | Christmas letter from Dora Giffen to her family, December 2, 1924 |
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Subject | Giffen, Dora Eunice, 1897-1982 |
Women missionaries--Correspondence | |
Missions--Egypt | |
Protestant churches--Missions--Egypt | |
Presbyterians--Egypt--Correspondence | |
Egypt--Church history | |
Christianity--Egypt | |
Missions to Muslims--Egypt | |
Egypt--Description and travel | |
Description | Christmas letter from Dora Giffen to her family in which she describes her work as a missionary and alludes to political dissatisfaction in Egypt. |
Creator | Giffen, Dora Eunice, 1897-1982 |
Source | Dora E. Giffen papers; MS-0309; Center for Archival Collections; University Libraries; Bowling Green State University |
Date | 1924-12-02 |
Rights | |
Format | Correspondence |
application/pdf | |
Language | eng |
Identifier | ms00309_b001_f003_i00013.pdf |
https://digitalgallery.bgsu.edu/items/show/41498 | |
Is Referenced By | https://lib.bgsu.edu/findingaids/repositories/4/resources/1425 |
Spatial Coverage | Fayyūm (Egypt) |
Type | Text |
American Mission Girls’ School Fayoum, Egypt. Tuesday, December 2, 1924 Dear Family, One and All: This will have to be a Christmas letter to each one and Martin's birthday letter all in one. I am afraid it will not be much of a letter either, for these are busy days here; howbeit it carries much of my love and my very best wishes for a happy Christmas. And many happy returns of the twenty first, Martin. I am sorry I am getting nothing off to you this year for Christmas, not even a check. I had meant to get a few things in Cairo, but the rather unsettled state of things made me think I had best perhaps not send them for this Christmas. The check will have to come along later. The trip to Cairo with its purchases of curtains, etc. made a hole in my pocketbook. The state of affairs has still not effected us much. We get the Galloway’s Gazette and read it with more care and interest, but as yet we have not felt the opposition and dissatisfaction that we know exists. You are acquainted with the population and know how fond they are of hot air and less so of putting anything across. I have read a few quotations from New York papers, and am led to hope that Uncle Sam will keep his foot entirely out, since it is evident he does not know much about the situation. The island has shown great forbearance. I am afraid I don't have much love for the policies of our U.S. “The World Safe for Democracy” no longer has the pleasant sound it once had, for Democracy does not mean the same thing to me now as it did then. A queer Christmas letter! I am afraid there is not much of any “Christmassy” news I can write, except that I received a Christmas card last week from Charlotte Roy of Philadelphia (you know as much about her as I do) addressed to 45 Faggala, Cairo. Do you recognize the address? The card finally reached me. I am glad I am here and not there: there is not much resemblance between old noisy Faggala St. and this nice country establishment. The fields behind us that furnished cotton pickers for us to watch several weeks ago are now green with some other plant, (not that the pickers were plants.) In front of the school we have some new neighbors, corn shellers and gamoosas. We wish they would soon move away, but our wishes will hardly be carried out soon, since any unoccupied, uncultivated land in this country is temporarily taken possession of by anyone who wants to use it, unless such land is fenced in. I have gotten practically no letters and cards off to my American friends for Christmas. I hope soon to get letters off to Valencia, Aunt Dora, aunt Anissa (to whom I have owed one for so long) and Gertrude, but this Conference next week is taking any spare letter writing time. We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, potatoes, gravy, peas, homemade bread, salad, pickless, olives, cranberry sauce, pumpkin and mince pies, oranges, salted and unsalted nuts, raisins, and candy. When several people go together to furnish a dinner there is always a larger assortment. Probably the next Special Dinner will be at Christmas. I am just going to give our Christmas Day as vacation in school, and then not let out for the regular vacation until January 2nd. Ass’n Begins on Monday the fifth. There is to be an Education Conference of all Missions Jan. 1st to 3rd in Assiut which I will probably attend. I have gotten my “room & board” assignment for Ass’n: Room – No. 206 Johnston Hall & Board – College dining room in Khalil Hall. We are asked to bring, or rather take, all of our bed coverings for a single bed. It is not nearly as convenient as going to Cairo and having everything furnished. We are asked to bring tennis, golf, or baseball equipment, if we “are interested,” so our vacation won't be all work. I imagine we will only have morning sessions some days, in order to give us a little time for recreation. Plans for housing the women delegates to the Conference next week, in our School, are beginning to crystallize, but Beni Suef is not helping us out much, for Misses Wilson and Noordewier say they cannot let us know how many are coming until they arrive. These young ladies at Beni Suef are as new to the game as are Laura and I. The teachers and Bible women who live in the school are meeting in our drawing room every evening now for prayer for the conference. We with them, of course. Last Friday Miss Sara and I made some calls at the homes of girls who were going to leave or who had already left our school for the Catholics. I don't know how much good we did, since two of the girls left on Mon. However we have taken in one or two new ones this week. One of our 6th yr. girls is crying her eyes out today because of the death of a little nephew, whom Laura and I saw when we visited the house two weeks ago. He was an unusually attractive baby; his parents live in Cairo. This afternoon I hope to call on another 6th yr. girl. Yes, Mother, I think Daniel, Sebastian, & Elmer Kriudenier are all living. The new houses in N.C. seem to me to be going up very fast. Out here it takes a year to build one house - of stone of course. I am housekeeper this month and there is the dinner bell, so I must go. Ever and ever so much love to you all from your Dora. OOOOOOOOOOOOO I enjoy the reading of Aunt Dora’s letters. Her children are getting along so nicely. They were to speak at the State C.E. Convention – in Aunt Dora’s last letter. |