Christmas in Beijing

Here are a few pictures of Christmas decorations near our apartment in Beijing.

This is actually inside the lobby of our apartment and greets you as you walk in the front door.

The color theme at China World this year is purple. It took a crew about 6 weeks to to put up all these lights. These are real trees with lights out onto every branch.

This is down the street a bit. The tree in the center is a huge aluminum and plexiglas structure that changes color. It must be 25 feet tall.

Here is the same tree from another angle.

I have been asked why the Chinese decorate for Christmas. Well, for the vast majority of Chinese it is strictly secular. There is, in general, very little knowledge about the Christian faith for those not raised in Christian families.







In recent years the government has stopped being openly antagonistic toward religion but from what I can see there have been no western religious studies in school - not even from an historical point of view.

So, in the end it is all about the commercialization of Christmas. The holiday decorations are all over but strictly secular. You may hear a religious hymn over the PA mixed with Jingle Bells, etc. but I suspect that is only because the person in charge doesn't understand English well enough to appreciate the lyrics.

I have no idea what the light count at China World is but it has to be in the millions.

This tree is in the lobby of our building. Be sure to click to enlarge and check out the tag just above the presents.

Here are links to last years postings on the same subject.
Christmas in Beijing 2012 - 1
Christmas in Beijing 2012 - II
Christmas in Beijing 2012 - III