How Do People in China Celebrate Christmas?
Although only about 10 million people in China (roughly 1 percent) consider themselves Christians, a fact that they keep private, Christmas is still a celebrated time of year across the nation. Chinese are interested in the commercial aspect of the holiday more than they are the religious reasons behind it, but still love to celebrate and spend time with their families during the Christmas season. Does this Spark an idea?
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Decorations
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An example of the paper lanterns you might find decorating a Chinese city or home during the Christmas season. The Chinese decorate trees, called Trees of Light, with paper flowers, lanterns and chains. Houses are decorated in beautiful lights, and Chinese children hang stockings made of muslin.
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Food
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The roots of this lotus flower may be eaten as part of the Chinese Christmas meal. Families in China make large meals to celebrate Christmas. Some of the more interesting items include lotus roots fried with ginkgo, pork tongue salad and tingling spicy chicken.
Gift Giving
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On Christmas Eve, children anxiously await a visit from Dun Che Lao Ren, the Chinese version of Santa Claus. The translation means "Christmas Old Man." Valuable gifts, such as jewelry, can only be given to someone's immediate family.
Church Services
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Participants in a midnight Mass will fill this church on Christmas Day. Chinese Christians go to a midnight Mass on Christmas morning, much like the ones popular in other parts of the world.
Spring Festival
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A woman participates in the Spring Festival in China. Even those who are not Christians celebrate the season through the Spring Festival, also known as Chinese New Year. Called Spring Festival because the new year represents new life, it includes giving the children new clothes, delicious food, small toys and firecrackers with which to celebrate.
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- Photo Credit "Merry Christmas 2007!" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: Jakob Montrasio (Jakob Montrasio) under the Creative Commons Attribution license. "Chinatown, L.A at night" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: La Citta Vita under the Creative Commons Attribution license. "Lotus - Beautiful Flower" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: Shamih ( iZZo ) (Easa Shamih) under the Creative Commons Attribution license. "p.v. jensen-klint 10, grundtvig memorial church 1913-1940" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: seier+seier+seier (seier+seier) under the Creative Commons Attribution license. "Beautiful Woman" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: ellievanhoutte (Ellie Van Houtte) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
