Are you starting to feel like Christmas is long gone? Maybe I would be, except here Christmas ushers in another holiday. Chinese New Year. It’s later than usual this year, as it follows the Lunar Calendar and the big day is next week, on the 19th. We’ve had a full few weeks and now we get to take a break, again. We almost have to because fireworks will be going off day and night for a few weeks. Cherry Blossom couldn’t sleep last night, but lay in her bed, listening to them.

But before we dive into the New Year celebration and memories of Christmas fade far into the background, I wanted to share with you, the long awaited…

3 Things I love about Christmas in China

While it’s easy to focus on the absent elements of a good Canadian Christmas, my perspective changed after a friend and her family travelled home to the States for the holidays. Upon their return she told me how much more she appreciated Christmases in China after missing one. I have been savouring them all the more ever since.

After hearing we have no snow or winter activities and neighbourhoods are not decorated with Christmas lights, it may be hard to guess what it is we enjoy so much about our Christmases here in China.

Here they are.

3. Sticking Out – Since Christmas is not celebrated by most people here there just isn’t a lot going on. In fact, people look at me like I’m crazy when I fill a grocery cart with a few toys for each of my children. I’m sure they wonder what on earth I will do with all of that, especially since most people around us live a fairly modest life. I have taken to explaining that it’s Christmastime, grandparents have sent money and I am buying gifts for our three children.

One year my brother sent me some money to buy clothes and since I hit a sale, I was able to buy several items. The lady behind me said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “Wow, look at how much you are buying.” Her daughter was mortified. “It’s Christmas, I explained. Our biggest holiday of the year. My family sent money for gifts.” “Yes,” her daughter said, “Christmas is their biggest holiday just like our Chinese New Year.”

While we get this kind of attention all year round, I find it increases during the Christmas season. It gets tiring but I feel like I can handle it better than usual at Christmas. And while I don’t particularly like sticking out, I do like the opportunities it presents, to explain that Christmas is a time of giving and generosity. And to be generous!

2. Diversity – We spent Christmas Eve with families from the States, Singapore and Malaysia and at a Christmas Dinner ate with people from Brazil, England, Ireland and Zambia. I love being a part of such a diverse community. At Christmastime the expat community comes together more tightly than any time of the year. We ‘fill in’ for each other as family. Our Christmas memories have included different people every year, from all over the globe. It is fun to incorporate other’s traditions into our holiday season. We share and learn from each other and our experiences become richer, together.

3. Tradition – When I talk to friends back home they tell me about their schedule filling up so full I wonder how they manage. For us there are just a few Christmas events, which makes each one so special. While this year was fuller than ever, I don’t feel the harried rushing around from here to there that is so often portrayed in Christmas movies.

Christmas here would definitely not make a scene for a movie. We have only a few Christmas events, but I enjoy having a lighter schedule and it makes each event so special. A highlight this year was watching Cherry Blossom perform a ballet dance with a group of girls. They had practice for months and danced beautifully in their snowflake white tutus and silver ballet slippers.

Cherry Blossom and her good friend, ready to dance!

But it’s more than the events. It’s a time when Brian and I work hard to bring our own culture and traditions alive. We save up through the year to be able to buy imported items that we can’t bring ourselves to spend the money on at other times. It’s just not Christmas without them. Cranberry Sauce and marshmallows from the US, olives from Italy, pickles from Germany and butter from New Zealand. We buy huge butternut squashes, bake them and turn them into pie and cheesecake. We take the time to teach the kids how to make the foods and treats that we grew up with and share stories from our long-gone childhood Christmases.

They don’t think about the absence of Christmas lights, sledding and skating. They build upon their own memories of these unique Christmases.

And like any other kids, they love it!