How English celebrate Christmas day?

　　By Stephen Shelbourne (From UK)

　　Christmas is traditionally a religious festival, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. But nowadays Christmas is not only celebrated by Christians, but by many people of different cultures all around the world. Some may visit church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day while for many others it simply offers an opportunity to spend time with family and friends, exchange gifts and, much like Chinese people during Spring Festival, eat too much food!

　　In England, like many countries, Christmas has become less a religious celebration than a commercial one. Shops and internet sites compete to try and maximize sales as thousands of hungry shoppers hunt for the best gifts for their loved ones. Indeed, the sales made in the period immediately before and after Christmas account for a huge proportion of a company's yearly profits and can be a huge boost to a country's economy. In this sense, it is possible that in the future in China shops and department stores such as In Time will to promote Christmas more so they can make more money!

　　Although Christmas is loved by people of all ages, it is truly for children. It's a magical time for kids as they believe in Santa Claus and that, if they have been well behaved, he will visit their house on his reindeer powered sleigh and give presents. I remember writing a Christmas list and letter for Santa every year, telling him how good I've been and asking for the newest Transformer, football kit or GameBoy. Really though the letter simply goes to my parents who (might) buy the gifts and, in the middle of the night, sneak into my room and put them in a stocking at the end of my bed. My brothers, sisters and I would then wake up very early in the morning screaming with excitement as we found that Santa had come to visit! Eventually though, children discover the truth as, when disturbed while sleeping, they don't wake to see Santa in his red and white suit but instead one of their parents tripping up in the dark and destroying the illusion forever!

　　As an adult, Christmas is more a chance to relax from work and enjoy some time with friends and family. Almost everyone will have a day off on the 25th and 26th of December, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Christmas Eve is normally spent celebrating with friends, going out to eat dinner and going to some bars for some festive fun. Christmas Day is a day for family. Brothers, sisters, and other relatives such as uncles, aunts or grandparents will come together in one home to exchange gifts. All the presents will be placed under the Christmas tree in the living room and family members will take turns to collect a present. Perhaps the best time of the day though is Christmas dinner. Hours are spent preparing and cooking an amazing dinner for everyone. Traditionally the foods eaten are turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, roast potatoes and many vegetables. In fact, I'm hungry just thinking about it! Often ham will be eaten on Boxing Day. And, in the following week, every meal will include leftovers: turkey sandwiches, turkey and ham pie, turkey curry, turkey salad, turkey everything…

　　There are many foreigners living in China, especially in a great modern city like Hangzhou. How can we celebrate Christmas here? For some, it is the first year spent away from home; for others, they have spent many Christmas's apart from their family. Either way, friends become your adopted family for the festive season. Colleagues and friends, both foreign and Chinese, spend time together to celebrate. On Christmas Eve, some of these friends go to church. There are many churches in Hangzhou and, even if the service is entirely in Chinese, many like to attend as they normally would at home. I instead spent the evening as I would at home, going out to party with friends. Many Chinese people were celebrating on Shuguang road and some bars were giving gifts to guests. We joined the celebrations, wishing everyone Sheng dan kuai le!

　　For Christmas day itself, perhaps the most important part is the food. As much as I love Chinese cuisine, the last thing I wanted to eat on Christmas Day was rice, noodles or any Chinese dish! Fortunately in Hangzhou there are many hotels who offer traditional Christmas food so my friends and I were able to enjoy a turkey dinner. We also exchanged presents. At our work everyone took part in a 'secret Santa'; that is, each member of staff picks a name at random and must buy this person a gift. The gifts are given out but the Santa remains secret resulting in much speculation. I received a beautiful traditional Chinese decoration but I have no idea who gave it to me!

　　So, Christmas in Hangzhou is certainly different to England but there are ways to celebrate. It also seems that more young people in China like to celebrate Christmas and that it will become more and more popular in the future. Merry Christmas everyone!