Joe Louis celebrates Christmas
In the United States, Christmas season is not shy. Familiar songs such as “Let It Snow” and “Joy to the World” start playing on the radio as soon as the Thanksgiving Day Parade is over. Houses are decked out with strings of colored lights and lawns are littered with glowing reindeer and mechanized elves. City corners are populated with bell ringing Salvation Army volunteers.
I wasn’t sure what to expect in China. Communist countries typically aren’t big on religious showmanship. Surely the Chinese weren’t getting ready for New Years; they have their own new year closer to February. Would I even recognize the holiday season there?
The answer is an emphatic YES. It turns out that China is very big on Christmas. Well not so much the Christ part, but definitely the consumer holiday spirit. Beijing’s electric bill must spike in December, because lights are everywhere! There are large trees in public squares and decorations abound. Malls are open and crowds of jacket clad Chinese consumers jockey to take advantage of the best sale. I did a little shopping of my own, looking for a new electric shaver. As I bounced from display counter to display counter I realized, the holiday season here is a lot closer to the one back home than it is different.
See what other sites are saying about the holiday season in China:
“Christmas is ‘an excuse to party’ whereas Chinese festivals are comparatively ‘solemn, serious, and spiritual'”
–The Atlantic
