Christmas comes but once a year
Apologies for the long absence.
Christmas comes but once a year so the saying goes. The saying does not tell us when it's supposed to come.
Before leaving Shanghai to return to Europe for Christmas, I was feeling decidedly un-festive. The only signs of Christmas were the giant Christmas train set in the nearby Hilton which we visited at least once a day for over a month and copious quantities of poinsettias and tangerines. A search for Christmas cards proved fruitless and I resorted to buying postcards from the Shanghai Museum. Clearly, the Chinese did not celebrate Christmas and indeed, why should they?
We left for the UK on the 18th December and were back on 2nd January. Somewhat to my surprise, there were Christmas trees all around, pictures of Santa, lights, messages. Eliot was overjoyed. "Look Mummy, it's still Christmas in Shanghai. Will there be any more presents?".
I thought about it and wondered why, amidst the decorations, there were numerous pictures of pigs. I also noticed that the florists were selling bouquets not of roses but of individually wrapped stems bearing toy pigs and then, I realised. The Chinese are a pragmatic lot. Chinese New Year is in February. It will be the year of the pig. The Christmas decorations will double up as Chinese New Year decorations (let's face it, they're all made in China) and there is always the possibility that someone might give them a Christmas present into the bargain.
Christmas comes but once a year so the saying goes. The saying does not tell us when it's supposed to come.
Before leaving Shanghai to return to Europe for Christmas, I was feeling decidedly un-festive. The only signs of Christmas were the giant Christmas train set in the nearby Hilton which we visited at least once a day for over a month and copious quantities of poinsettias and tangerines. A search for Christmas cards proved fruitless and I resorted to buying postcards from the Shanghai Museum. Clearly, the Chinese did not celebrate Christmas and indeed, why should they?
We left for the UK on the 18th December and were back on 2nd January. Somewhat to my surprise, there were Christmas trees all around, pictures of Santa, lights, messages. Eliot was overjoyed. "Look Mummy, it's still Christmas in Shanghai. Will there be any more presents?".
I thought about it and wondered why, amidst the decorations, there were numerous pictures of pigs. I also noticed that the florists were selling bouquets not of roses but of individually wrapped stems bearing toy pigs and then, I realised. The Chinese are a pragmatic lot. Chinese New Year is in February. It will be the year of the pig. The Christmas decorations will double up as Chinese New Year decorations (let's face it, they're all made in China) and there is always the possibility that someone might give them a Christmas present into the bargain.
posted by The Heywoods at 3:06 pm
