Christmas in China 2015

 

 

Christmas in China is a really strange way to spend the holiday season, well except if you work in China, it is not the holiday season. Christmas  is just seen as another valentines day in China, a day for couple to go on a date, a day for young kids to get another gift from their parents, but that is about all it is here in China.

 

 

 

Almost all Christmas decorations are made in China and most supermarkets will have a small selection for people to look at or buy for their children. If you want to decorate your house for Christmas, then you will have no problem in China. You will be able to find anything you want for Christmas with regards to Christmas decorations and it will be really cheap.

 

 

One of the strange things about Christmas here in China is how other parts of western culture gets added into Christmas here, like Disney or western cartoons.

 

 

One of the strange traditions about Christmas here in China, is that on Christmas Eve, Chinese people tend to give each other apples. Each Christmas I get a ton of apples from all my Chinese friends. In Chinese, the word for apple is “Ping guo” and the word for good luck, good fortune and safe travels is “Ping an”  but when Chinese people wish each other Merry Christmas, they say “Ping an ye” which sounds very similar to “Ping guo” so they give apples to people they care about to symbolize good luck, good fortune and safe travel.

 

 

 

 

Taking photos inside a Chinese supermarket is not easy, because theft from supermarkets is a big problem in China, each shop has many security guards walking around in plain clothes, watching people, and as soon as I would take a picture, they would come over and kick my out the store or even call the police and make me delete the photo. Such a huge pain in the ass. The only way I got any photos in the store was to shoot as fast as possible and walk as quick as I could to the exit before security could get to me. Horrible shooting like that, makes you feel like you are doing something bad.

 

 

 

 

To be honest, I really don’t enjoy Christmas in China, there is really no Christmas or  holiday spirit at all here, it is just another normal day. The shops will play Jingle Bells all day long, and on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, it is nothing more than lets make a quick cash day as the restaurants and taxis try to milk you for all your money. I try to stay at home on Christmas in China and just spent time with my friends and family if possible. If you come to China, be prepared that the Christmas you know from home, is not the Christmas you will find here in China.

 

 

And on a side note, if you are religious and look for a church to go to on Christmas day, that is very difficult to find in China and strongly not recommended. Religion and China do not mix well together and you can get into a lot of trouble if you try.

Shaun