My first Christmas in China was in 1984. Wanting to do something nice for the motley crew of foreigners who were working in Henan Province, the Provincial Foreign Affairs Office decided to take us all on a trip to Xi’an, Shaanxi, about 12 hours away by train. On Christmas Day, we saw all of the […]
Christmas in China
Here is an an al-acarte of stories and posts related to Christmas in China. And as we say in Chinese, Shengdan Kuai le (圣诞快乐), which means, well Merry Christmas. The Chinese word for Christmas is Shengdan Jie (圣诞节), which literally translated means Holy Birth Festival. From The Economist: Oh What Fun: Christmas with Chinese Characteristics Cities across […]
The Great Manchurian Christmas Scarf Incident
“Welcome to Qiqihar,” they said in one accord. “There’s been an outbreak of bubonic plague.” That ominous greeting notwithstanding, we were overjoyed to see our friends at the station in the middle of the night as we got off the train. We had spent the better part of 12 hours trundling across the Manchurian Plain, or […]
A Second Glance
In 1997 my sister and her family traveled to China to spend Christmas with me in Changchun. While they were in town, we visited a miiddle school. This was of particular interest to my three nieces, who were all still in middle school and high school at the time. The following essay about that visit […]
Some Thoughts on “Ping An Ye” (Silent Night)
Note: This is an essay I wrote in 2001. “Silent Night” is probably the most loved of all Christmas carols in China, at least among those who know Christmas carols. In this society, “sweet” music tends to be favored by the masses and “Silent Night” is definitely in the “sweet” music category. In Chinese, it […]
Sheik’s Platter
I realize that Christmas was almost two weeks ago, but I have a little Christmas story anyway. A few years back, we started a new Christmas tradition at Gracewood Cottage. After putting together a traditional Thanksgiving dinner cooked at home, we decided to order a Sheik’s Platter from The Holy Land Deli and Bakery, one […]
