Chinese finding their own ways to celebrate Xmas
Source: Xinhua |
December 25, 2012, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AT Christmas, Chinese youngsters embrace the festival like Westerners but not for religious reasons or family reunions.
Young people have found a "Chinese way" to celebrate. For them, Christmas is more like an excuse to have a break from their busy lives.
Liu Ping, a postgraduate student from Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, spent last Christmas having dinner with her boyfriend and enjoying the sales.
"I had a great time, and I'm planning to do the same this year," Liu added, recalling she spent 10,000 yuan (US$1,604) on the day.
In many department stores across the country, Christmas decorations, trees, Santas and jingle bells can be found, luring shoppers with the promise of seasonal bargains.
The sales volume on Christmas Eve is the highest for the whole year, Kang Wei, sales director of Guidu department store in Taiyuan in north China's Shanxi Province, said.
Some experts believe more Chinese youngsters have started celebrating Christmas due to the pressures of life and seize any opportunity to have fun.
"Carrying a lot of pressure, the young seek to relax, providing moneymaking opportunities for merchants," said Ma Zhichao, of the Shanxi Academy of Social Sciences.
While some are celebrating Christmas in a commercial way, others are celebrating the festival's original meaning.
On Sunday, Chen Kejia was baptized and became a Christian.
"I chose to be baptized on that day. To spend a real Christmas with other Christians," said Chen, a nurse at a hospital in Beijing.
At the South Cathedral in Beijing, Catholics were attending Mass last night.
One of them, surnamed Yang, said: "Christmas is a day to remember the birth of Jesus. It moves me and gives me power." He said Christmas had been commercialized in China, which had nothing to do with religious belief.
"It's completely different from our real Christmas," he said.
Young people have found a "Chinese way" to celebrate. For them, Christmas is more like an excuse to have a break from their busy lives.
Liu Ping, a postgraduate student from Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, spent last Christmas having dinner with her boyfriend and enjoying the sales.
"I had a great time, and I'm planning to do the same this year," Liu added, recalling she spent 10,000 yuan (US$1,604) on the day.
In many department stores across the country, Christmas decorations, trees, Santas and jingle bells can be found, luring shoppers with the promise of seasonal bargains.
The sales volume on Christmas Eve is the highest for the whole year, Kang Wei, sales director of Guidu department store in Taiyuan in north China's Shanxi Province, said.
Some experts believe more Chinese youngsters have started celebrating Christmas due to the pressures of life and seize any opportunity to have fun.
"Carrying a lot of pressure, the young seek to relax, providing moneymaking opportunities for merchants," said Ma Zhichao, of the Shanxi Academy of Social Sciences.
While some are celebrating Christmas in a commercial way, others are celebrating the festival's original meaning.
On Sunday, Chen Kejia was baptized and became a Christian.
"I chose to be baptized on that day. To spend a real Christmas with other Christians," said Chen, a nurse at a hospital in Beijing.
At the South Cathedral in Beijing, Catholics were attending Mass last night.
One of them, surnamed Yang, said: "Christmas is a day to remember the birth of Jesus. It moves me and gives me power." He said Christmas had been commercialized in China, which had nothing to do with religious belief.
"It's completely different from our real Christmas," he said.
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