Christmas Cavalcade

For many countries and regions, the celebration of Christmas is a high point of the year. But why, when these days this essentially religious event is vastly commercialized? It begs the question:does a meaningful Christmas message still prevail for ordinary people? Colin Manley harnesses his own reindeer and sets out in search of Beijing's Christmas highlights and traditional aspects that are part and parcel of the season.

A bit like individuals who each week go to church for the wrong reasons and come away with the right religious message, most people now seem to annually celebrate the birth of Jesus on what almost amounts to a secular basis, not that they are necessarily anti-church or irreligious.

They see no harm in the fun, merrymaking, eating, drinking, and glittering gifts that surround Christmas. On December 25 in the West generally, special TV programmes are in, and attendance at a seasonal church service largely out. The vast majority of children prefer playing with their new toys rather than spending a period in church.  

The fact that Yuletide is an exciting and rewarding time for young children especially also influences parents' thinking and household budgets, so it's not all pretty. For many Mums and Dads, Christmas can be a time of debt and resultant stress due to their children's expectations of expensive i-Pods, high-tech games and other electronic gadgets.

What happened to modestly priced cuddly soft toys, modelling clay, board games and new outfits for Barbie dolls? They weren't very profitable for manufacturers and retailers, that's what.

The bottom lines are that Santa Claus is now, more than ever in history, the human face of Christmas (though you will find the infant Jesus on seasonal cards), and that children aged under 10 by and large believe more in this red-cloaked, bewhiskered figure than they do in Jesus. Parents seem generally content to let their youngsters' thinking about the religious point of Christmas supplant interest in Santa as they get older.

Meanwhile, it's tempting to believe that a visitor to our planet from another world would think the Christmas season to be a festival to the gods of money and shopping.     

    

Christmas Trees

More and more Beijing families are following the western tradition of having a Christmas tree in their home, be this addition naturally grown or fashioned from plastic pines. Along with other seasonal home decorations such as holly and mistletoe, whose origins stem from western pagan times, the tree should be removed on January 6, the 12th night of Yuletide, to ward off bad luck. The tree was popularized by Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who erected one in the royal household in 1840.

 

Greetings Cards

It was also in the 1840s that the first-ever Christmas card, a hand-painted greeting, was posted in England, a spontaneous gesture by an individual that mushroomed beyond all expectations as Britain's rail network and postal services rapidly expanded. More than a billion Christmas cards are now sent every year in the UK. It could be argued that this reflects at least part of the ''message'' of Christmas, people's care and concern for each other. Millions of the cards are bought in aid of charities.  

 

Christmas Crackers

Largely unknown in China but widely popular in the West, these are mainly used when a family is enjoying Christmas dinner. Crackers, brightly coloured paper tubes twisted at both ends, contain a folded party hat, a trinket and a written riddle or joke. They were invented by a London baker in 1846. The cracker's contents are scattered when it is pulled apart by two people. A mild explosive crack accompanies the pulling. 

 

Boxing Day

Devoted to December 26, this is a largely British institution whose name derives from the giving of a ''Christmas box'' containing money or food to the poor. Originally, the boxes, which were displayed in churches throughout the year, were given to a neighbourhood's have-nots who were unable to celebrate on Christmas Day. While Boxing Day prevails, it is now conventional for families to give a monetary ''thank you'' to people who give them good service during the year, including newspaper delivery boys, postmen, dustmen and tradespeople.

 

(SIDEBAR 1)

Do you know the names of Santa’s reindeer? They are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen. What about Rudolph? It comes from the song ''Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.''

 

 

(SIDEBAR 2)

A famous song about the gifts given during the 12 days of Christmas is broadcast over and over again in Beijing's malls and department stores, just as in their Western counterparts. Here's a reminder of what the gifts are:

A partridge in a pear tree; two turtle doves; three French hens; four calling birds; five golden rings; six geese a-laying; seven swans a-swimming; eight maids a-milking; nine drummers drumming; ten pipers piping; eleven ladies dancing; and twelve lords a-leaping.