Christmas (圣诞节 – shèng dàn jié) is right around the corner, which is just as obvious in Chinese cities as those in the west. Just visit a shopping mall in Beijing or Shanghai, and you’re guaranteed to see massive Christmas trees, hear “Jingle Bells” on repeat, and see plenty of shops offering up holiday sales. While you may not think of China as a country that celebrates Christmas, it’s becoming more and more popular with each passing year. To help get you in the holiday spirit and teach you a bit of Chinese – as well as show you some interesting ways it’s celebrated in the Middle Kingdom – here are some of our best posts from the past couple of years about Christmas:
Get the scoop on Christmas in China by reading this post. Learn about what happens around the holidays in China in regards to both the religious and secular aspects of the holiday.
You’ll be ready to talk about Christmas in Chinese after studying this post, which teaches a bunch of vocabulary and has a few fun videos to watch as well.
The title is pretty self-explanatory with this one – learn how to sing this traditional Christmas song in Chinese, and then impress your friends (or scare them away) by practicing in front of them.
What happens when 100+ Santas hit the streets in China to spread Christmas cheer? Find out in this post that details the epic Santa Con event that started in Beijing back in 2008 and is now in multiple cities across the country.
On his way back to the North Pole last year, Santa’s sleigh crash landed in China. Follow his long journey home as he navigates the streets of Kunming on a 4th-hand electric bike, dances with ladies in the park in Guiyang, drinks a 40 down by the Yangtze River in Wuhan, and much more.
If those posts and videos don’t get you excited for Christmas, then you must be a serious Grinch. Are you celebrating Christmas in China this year? We’d love to hear from our readers how they’re spending the holiday, especially if you can comment in Chinese!
Sasha is an English teacher, writer, photographer, and videographer from the great state of Michigan. Upon graduating from Michigan State University, he moved to China and spent 5+ years living, working, studying, and traveling there. He also studied Indonesian Language & Culture in Bali for a year. He and his wife run the travel blog Grateful Gypsies, and they're currently trying the digital nomad lifestyle across Latin America.
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