The New Holidays of China...

It’s the holiday season in Beijing and not the kind of holidays many of us associate with this part of the world. Christmas wreaths, plastic snow men, over sized candy canes and holiday decorations of all sorts can be found in the markets at Flower Street just past the lines of visa seekers outside the US Embassy. Christmas trees are everywhere, in commercial establishments and can been seen even at night in the windows of private apartments… “Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer” is played in every mall, holiday decorations are in every hotel, red and white ribbons adorn the columns of buildings and many businesses… and the government favors this development… obviously not for the religious significance but as part of the effort to stimulate domestic consumption. The Crowne Plaza Hotel is advertising a kind of “Holiday on Ice” package and a private development where I had lunch was pushing their “Christmas Casino Night” with fireworks… all aimed at getting Chinese consumers to spend more.

For some this is certainly sacrilege… my Chinese friends tell me that their children have started to have “Halloween” parties in school and that “Thanksgiving” (yes, the old fashioned American Thanksgiving) is now a solid part of the landscape. They note that the traditional Chinese holidays while still celebrated, are under assault by this latest form of creeping “Western Imperialism”. And it’s certainly true… in part. Only a few years ago, few in China knew of “Thanksgiving” and “Halloween” and now they are widely celebrated. But then again, so is Michael Jackson.

True, these celebrations are Western creations but should my Chinese friends be surprised that they are being woven into the fabric of a nation that produces these artificial trees for the world, makes the plastic Santas, assembles the Christmas wreaths and produces all the festival regalia associated with these Western celebrations? These plastic manifestations of Western holidays have brought employment and wealth to China and so in a certain sense it’s not surprising that they have influenced the producers.

At the same time it’s natural for people to look for meaning and I think it's not a surprise that many Chinese seek rituals to fill their lives. You see this at a Buddhist temple in downtown Shanghai or in temples outside Beijing… there is a natural human longing for meaning and spiritual substance. But as everyone knows, religion in China is minimized… regulated... and the government works to control avenues of belief.

The major religion in China at the moment is arguably “Commercialism” not “Confucianism”, not even “Communism”… I’ve seen too many plastic Chairman Maos for sale to believe "The Party" is in complete control... Economic activity is celebrated and in the absence of religion and spirituality something must fill the void. So, why not a plastic Santa?… or a tree?…

It’s cold in Beijing this December and for a Westerner I’ll admit it seems a bit more like home… warm chestnuts on the street and holiday wreaths everywhere… but what must my Chinese friends be thinking and feeling about these developments? I guess many would say it’s the price of modernization, the price of raising the standard of living for the Chinese people. But what will it mean in the long run?

Well enough of this, I’ve got to take down my artificial wreath and drag those inflatable Santas out of the front yard.