29: Christmas / 圣诞节

Since it’s now Christmas in China, I wanted to take a moment and share a few observations.
I once told Laurence that Christmas in China could be best explained as unsettling. Imagine if you got off the plane and found that an entire country of a billion people celebrated a holiday that was important to your culture, but they have no idea what it means or what it’s for. It’s not bad, I’m glad that they’re able to celebrate other cultures’ holidays, but it’s just strange for me. It’s also scary that they’ve managed to commercialize Christmas way more than any American can hope to.
It’s not uncommon to see HUGE Santa decorations everywhere. They’re in restaurants, bars, stores, and malls. Usually they’ll have the full “Merry Christmas!” on it, but it’s not uncommon to see “Merry!” or “Happy/Merry Christmas!” They’re outlined with sparkles and Santa has no less than a thousand glints in his eye.
On Christmas Eve, the Chinese eat apples. This is a real tradition: apples go from 2 kuai to about 10 kuai on Christmas Eve. This is because the Chinese call Christmas Eve ‘平安夜’ (ping’an ye) or ‘Safe and Sound Night’ and apples are called ‘苹果’ (pingguo). Since the first character in both have the same pronunciation, they believe eating apples on Christmas Eve will ensure you a safe and sound year. Laurence and I ran out to buy some apples once we found this out! Also, when we went out for some Christmas Eve hot pot, our server gave us free apple slices!
It’s a common debate in America that people should keep Jesus in Christmas. People say that atheists have secularized Jesus out of Christmas, but I think the Chinese not only did that, they locked the door behind him. Tonight, I’m hanging out with Laurence, Ben, Ben’s girlfriend Mandy, Laurence’s roommate Shakira, and Alex. The fact that this is the one tradition that me and many other people are keeping up in China made me realize that Christmas is about hanging out with those you love. Even though my family is halfway around the world, I’m still thinking of them and missing them very much!