When I first moved to China in 2010, signs of Christmas were about as was as hard to find as a clean toilet. But now? The foreigner or Wàiguórén 外国人 holiday is everywhere.
While I haven’t seen the Shelf Elf today, there are Santas galore…
Most often, he is playing a saxophone. Go figure. And his top Elf needs to eat more carrots.
Even the Muslim restaurant is decked out….
But the camels aren’t for the holiday. The place serves Tibetan food.
Thermos got into the fun with this huge display in front of the Aegean Mall in Kunming. They decorated a tree with bulldogs and spray-painted artificial grass white to look like snow.
Little Town of Bethlehem buildings replace pagodas…
Antlers replace Chinese school uniforms…
Spinning top chairs replace salad spinners and Chia Pets…
Yes, the holiday does gets a little lost in translation…but not Christmas gifts. Pandas help with package delivery. If you get something in the mail, you’ll find your gift in one of these cubby holes).
And Santa still gets fan mail. I hope his Chinese is better than mine.
So what’s the true meaning of Christmas in China?
It’s 快乐购物 Translation? Happy Shopping!