Christmas with Chinese characteristics

'Tis the night before Christmas, and all creatures are going wild! In China, Christmas Eve is all about clubbing and dancing. We have totally localized the way we celebrate Christmas.

We can turn anything, holy or unholy, into something just Chinese. Whiskey with green tea, red wine with sprite, rice hamburgers, Peking Duck tortillas - you name it, we localize it. There are still people in China who are concerned that we might lose our own traditions by celebrating Western holidays. Several years ago, this debate was quite real. I was DJ-ing a radio program and we were told not to mention Western holidays on air. On the other hand, retailers were already enjoying huge shopping sprees around Christmas time.

But honestly, the conservatives were all worked up about nothing. They should have had great faith in the Chinese ability to localize everything. Let me just describe to you how Western holidays are celebrated here, and you will know what I mean.