Merry Christmas everybody, I hope wherever you are in the world you are full of food and merriment and all the rest. (Merriment, there is a word you don’t hear outside December)
For my sins I am at work. Christmas is not a holiday in China and even if it was, I work at a newspaper so I’d probably be stuck in the office anyway, but nevermind! Some of the foreign staff are ducking out to the restaurant next door for a Peking Duck Christmas lunch and I celebrated with rather a lot of merriment last night.
I wanted to write this post to tell you a little about Christmas in China.
A few weeks ago my Chinese language tutor, Ivy, told me her husband had suggested they go to church on Christmas, to find out what it was actually all about.
“Oh, you don’t have to go to church for that,” I said. “I’ll tell you about Christmas”.
I explained the basics of the Christmas story, Joseph, Mary and the manger, the three wise men etc. Ivy listened seriously but when I finished her brow furrowed with confusion.
“But where does Santa Claus fit in?” she asked.
Christmas carols have been playing in the bakery down the street, and my office has stuck a tree up in the lobby, but if you are one of those types who moan that the religious aspect of Christmas has been lost in the West, then you best avoid China in December.