Can you have a proper Christmas in China?

• Source: Global Times
• [23:46 December 24 2009]
• Comments

Evelyne Latawe, a native of Belgium who is now a MBA student at Peking University

With friends and strangers

For many Christmas automatically means going home. Our minds are geared up toward it.

From the first autumn cold, we imagine the perfect turkey, the family gathered around a bonfire, games with cousins, and so on.

But the Christmas homecoming we dream of in Beijing often turns out to be a very real, very human thing with boring aunties, little feuds, and hyperactive kids.

On the other side, if you stay in Beijing, as you see the city emptying itself of your friends and acquaintances, there is always a slight fear you will end up alone. So, until mid-December, there is a worrying gray zone in your agenda. But suddenly, the survivors come together, and you end up having a party.

There will be a moment where each of the guests will go quiet for a while, thinking of his or her own home and loved ones. That's what telephones are made for.