Christmas in China: jazz Santa, Smurfs and toy trains

Christmas has exploded in China in recent years, with marketeers using everything from saxophones to Smurfs to steam trains to get shoppers to open their wallets.

Anyone walking into a shopping mall is welcomed by an orgy of festive cheer: Shop windows are bedecked with plastic Christmas trees, garlands and baubles, while the strains of "Jingle Bells" fill the air.

Christmas is celebrated widely across Asia, particularly in commercial centers like Japan and Hong Kong, where it has become a major shopping holiday shorn of most religious trappings.