Christmas in Asia

We all know how Christmas is celebrated in European countries or, more generally, in countries where the main religion is the Christian one. This concerns mostly the west part of the world. But what about the East? What is Christmas in Asia, where the Christians are just a  minority of the whole population? Let’s take China, for example! Only about  1% of the entire population is Christian, so, most people know only a few things about Christmas. Santa Claus turns his name into “ Shen Dan Lao Ren”, while  the shops sell plastic trees and decorations.  The festivity isn’t widely celebrated in small towns and rural areas, but nowadays it’s becoming well known. A tradition that’s becoming more and more popular in China, on Christmas Eve, is “giving an apple”. That’s because the Chinese word for “Christmas Eve,” sounds like the one used for the word apple! 

Paolo Panetta  3 BL