Christmas has come to China since the early 80s. At that time, as hotels received an increasing amount of foreign guests (both tourists and business persons), they started to decorate their restaurants and organize banquets during the Christmas season so that their foreign guests could have some holiday spirit and celebrate the holiday as they did back in their home countries Since then, Christmas traditions have started spreading across China, especially for young people who love and celebrate Christmas yearly.
It should be noted that in China, Christmas is greatly celebrated in large cities such as Hong Kong, Macau, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Guilin, and Taiwan.
Hong Kong is known for its fantastic Christmas decorations, delicious food, and Christmas shopping. This city is one of the best cities in the world to celebrate Christmas. During the Christmas season in Hong Kong, there are many Christmas events for both children and adults, which bring great joy to people from around the world.
Moreover, Christmas is actually a public holiday in Hong Kong, and even banks are closed for the holiday. Starting December 22, restaurants and hotels will offer traditional Christmas dinners.
Christmas in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Taiwan is more commercial than in Hong Kong. In those cities, Christmas is mainly celebrated by young people. It is an excellent opportunity for them to go on dates, get together with friends, and throw big parties. During the holidays, streets and shops are beautifully decorated with colorful lights and Christmas decorations. Restaurants offer Christmas specials because many people would eat out to celebrate the holiday. Some would even go to fancy restaurants and pay high prices for a good Christmas Eve dinner. Large shopping malls and stores also take the opportunity to offer great Christmas discounts because Christmas has become one of the biggest shopping seasons in China and the most profitable period in terms of sales of goods. Especially for young people, this is a time when they would shop for themselves and prepare gifts for others.
Interestingly, apples have become a great gift for Christmas in China. In general, apples have long been associated with wellness and peace of their phonetic resemblance in the Chinese language, and hence considered a great gift with goodwill. Coincidentally, the translation of Christmas Eve (Silent Night) in Chinese literally means the night of peace, and then some merchants start to sell apples wrapped with a paper-cut image of Santa Claus as gifts for good Christmas wishes.
Chinese people do not have the tradition of having and decorating a Christmas tree at home. However, during the Christmas season, street trees are lit up by various kinds of colorful lights, and people call them “trees of fire.”
Chinese children also hang stockings on the wall to receive their presents from Sheng Dan Lao Ren (Christmas Grandpa). It is different from receiving red pockets (with money inside) on Chinese New Year, but kids are also very excited and expect to receive some new toys.
Nowadays, not only do young people celebrate Christmas, but it has also become an excellent time for everyone to get together with relatives and friends and to go shopping or simply check out the fabulous Christmas decorations everywhere. Christmas may have different meanings for everyone, but one big theme is having fun and sharing happiness with loved ones.
The Parcel Up team wishes everyone a fantastic Christmas!
May you all be surrounded by blessings, joy, and happiness, and enjoy a great holiday season with your families and friends!
We invite you to read our blog post about New Year Celebration in China.
Enjoy your shopping with Parcel Up!