Santa Is Coming And No One Can Stop Him!

I had not been sure when I first came to China, but now I am convinced. There is a Cultural Revolution taking place here, as significant as any, in its long history. As the days have passed since my arrival I am being drawn to an unequivocal understanding about life here. It is this; the Santa Claus virus has invaded the country from top to bottom. There is no cure and the people don’t seem to care.

Arriving in Beijing just days before Christmas, I was amused to see Christmas decorations here and there - brightening the place up. After all, what winter dark city cannot be cheered up with an infusion of some Yuletide spirit. It is however, when I noticed the appearance of red felt Santa hats start popping up on smiling faces everywhere, that the complete extent of this all embracing invasion became readily apparent to me.

The entire hotel dining staff in Beijing wore the hats. There was of course a Christmas tree in the lobby and bright coloured lights strung across the façade of the building. The hats also graced most of the heads of the sellers in the market stalls clustered on the bustling edges of Tian’enmen Square. It does not take long before the very unique characteristics of China’s interpretation of the Christmas Holiday spirit become evident. Any hint of religion has been stripped clean from the red hated carcass of Christmas. Jesus has not been invited to the party.

The secular event that remains then becomes just an excuse to be jolly, have a party and smile your way through the darkest coldest days of winter until the next good time comes along - which just happens to be the biggest party of the year, the Chinese New Year that comes along shortly in February. When the Christmas trees are knocked down they will be replaced by images of brightly decorated roosters.

The unsanctified nature of the Christmas spirit is clearly demonstrated by a huge billboard decorating the front of my hotel in Qindao. It shows a jolly bearded Santa drinking a steaming bowl of tomato soup that has just been handed to him presumably by one of his elves. It is a green hated character with something of an Alfred E Neuman demented smirk on his face. Since the background is a cold snowy wasteland who would not want Santa to have a nice bowl of warm soup. What I found discomforting about this image though was the fact that in the background the sleigh is piled high with cases of Campbell’s chunky soup. Not a ribbon wrapped teddy bear or doll to be seen.

The English newspaper, the China Daily, had an article recently, describing China’s wholehearted acceptance of the Christmas spirit. It is, by the way, a very slender news publication that some would say runs disturbingly short on hard-hitting reportage. There tend to be lots of feel good articles about ducks being freed from frozen ponds and taxi drivers returning lost wallets. A recent front-page article described all the healthy benefits of Christmas. It suggested that it provided a great opportunity for young people to have a party. It had no mention of gift giving or whether or not Campbell’s chunky soup was the proper dish to be served at any Christmas festivities.

My own investigation into the history of the arrival of Christmas in China, I will confess, is mostly anecdotal and not extensive. It appears though to be a recent phenomenon that took root only about 2 years ago. Toni, a receptionist at my hotel in Qingdao, smiled when I asked. She said that she could not say whether or not the hotel had decorated this way last year as she had only been working here 9 months. When I asked her if she could ask someone else she replied that there was no one to ask as she had been working here longer than everyone else at the desk. She said that what people did at Christmas in China was have parties. Certainly judging by the traffic in local restaurants on Christmas, there was lots of celebrating going on.

There is a lot to celebrate. The economy seems to be booming with the dimension and scope never before seen in any modern society. Even here in the city of Qingdao on the coast, new beautiful towers are springing up in all directions near my hotel. Early in the morning you see gangs of hard hatted men parading up to job sites. Sleek BMW’s whisk well-styled young entrepreneurs back and forth along the clean wide streets. A financial rainbow is shining on the entire country, it’s just that not everybody is able to dip his or her fingers into the pot of gold.

There was news in the paper recently about the great success of a Mr Zhang Haofu Hu who had built for himself, just north of Beijing, a magnificent chateau. A successful real estate developer, and communist party member, he had meticulously crafted his home by copying a famous French home called Chateau Laffitte. His own version, of the one built in 1650, cost him 9.7 million. Of course his architect had added improvements and also installed additional wings on either side, so that the now Chateau Laffitte Zhang would be superior.

What the article also included was the additional interesting news that several hundred wheat farmers would no longer be able to farm on the land now occupied by the Chateau. They would instead be joining a growing group of hundreds of thousands of farmers across the country, who are not allowed to own land or able to farm anymore. (Christmas spirit may not be for everyone’s liking.) It seems that as the list of unemployed grows the number of super wealthy is increasing. In fact supposedly there are 10,000 people in China worth more than 10 million dollars.

In the chaotic environs around Tian’enmen there is a lot to be gathered in understanding the shocking contrasts of Chinese life. Besides the red hated folks selling woolen commemorative Olympic Games hats at inflated prices there are other little ironies. For example...

Beijing would not be Beijing without Peking duck. In one famous restaurant just a quack call away from Mao’s tomb are pictures of celebrities who have partaken of the famous duck dish there. In one photograph is pictured the ex conservative Prime Minister of England Ted Heath - apparently autographing a plucked whole duck. Right next to him is Fidel Castro who looks more like he is giving a speech to his duck. In between is a picture of musician Yanni, looking super naturally well groomed.

Something powerful is happening in this country and you would have to be blind not to see it. It may not touch the homeless who live at night in the tunnels which pass under the busy roads near Tian’enmen. It will not touch the body of the late Chairman who lies at frozen rest in his mausoleum in the heart of the square.

But it is Mao’s picture that looks out from the front of every printed Yuan banknote. Whether he likes it or not, his image is linked inexorably to the economic miracle that is China. His little red book is forgotten, lost in the waste bin of history. A red Santa hat instead, is now the new symbol, in the bright capitalistic future.

"When you have failings do not fear to abandon them." - Confucius.