The hi-jacking of Christmas

The Chinese are getting rather too enthusiastic about Christmas. Particularly the young urban Chinese. And even more particularly students.

This is quite a recent phenomenon, I think. I don't remember too much happening in my first year or two here; but three years ago, the University district around Wudaokou was a sea of party-goers on Christmas Eve (the human log-jam made worse by heavy snowfalls that had gummed up the city's public transport system). And it seems to be getting worse year by year.

Yes, that's Christmas Eve - the Chinese seem to have got the idea fixed in their heads that Christmas Eve is the main holiday (is this insidious cultural colonisation by the French, who - astounding as it may seem! - are now reputed to be the most numerous nationality amongst Beijing's expats?). Tulsa was actually instructed to go home when she innocently showed up for work on Monday - despite the fact that: a) Christmas Eve is not a holiday anywhere in the known world (not even in France, I don't think); b) she is a Muslim; and c) she had just taken a day or two of holiday (not without some huffing and puffing of persuasion) for her own winter festival of Eid al Mubarak at the end of last week.

On Christmas Eve this year, Beijing's students were partying their little hearts out. It seemed that every single bar was packed to the rafters. Early evening, it was hard even to get through the door at my favourite haunt, the Pool Bar, and there was clearly going to be no chance of getting on the table for a game. However, I don't begrudge these youngsters their fun (and I certainly don't begrudge Luke the business - I don't want to think he's relying on me to keep him afloat!). It became part of the special charm of the evening to be surrounded by so many happy locals, to have so many complete strangers eagerly clinking glasses with me and wishing me a 'Happy Christmas!' This is the essence of Christmas in China - they steal your holiday, but you become everybody's friend.

And the next day..... the city seemed ominously hushed, almost deserted, as in one of those post-apocalypse sci-fi films. A good chunk of the population was cowering at home in bed, nursing a huge collective hangover.