Do you return home for Christmas?

I remember in the mid-1990s, my Chinese colleagues would leave the office on Dec 24 earlier than normal with a "Merry Xmas, Lisa!", while I used to work till 8 pm to be able to enjoy a day off on Christmas. They used to leave early to celebrate Christmas Eve in a big hotel, with a banquet, dance and all the other trappings.

Those days, Chinese students would offer a card as a gift to their foreign teachers. But nowadays, many young Chinese stick a big Santa Claus on their door, and it remains there for months if not the whole year. Only last month, I told my neighbor in a lighter vein: "You better remove that image, or this year Santa Claus will not bring you any gift!" He took it seriously.

Children in kindergartens draw Christmas trees for decoration at school and at home, and many Chinese people have even developed the habit of exchanging gifts of all kinds with their friends.