Christmas is here! Enjoying the holiday season in Shanghai

HelloRF

As the holiday season rolls around again, we find ourselves in quite a peculiar spot.

Years of COVID-related restrictions were just eased earlier this month. Reactions and responses to this new paradigm have varied quite a bit. Some folks are relishing the reclaimed ability to move around the city without having to worry about further lockdowns or quarantine if they'd scanned the venue code at a place where someone positive for COVID had been. Others are more cautious, perhaps having developed a new set of personal and social habits under the pandemic's influence. Others yet are frightened, perhaps worried about catching COVID and what their particular symptoms, which can vary greatly from person to person, might be.

Regardless of your personal point of view, this year's Christmas in Shanghai will be one unlike any other we've seen in previous years. For some, the party is just getting started, and, undoubtedly, many others will choose to celebrate in a much more subdued manner. Either way, here's wishing everyone a happy holiday season and the best of health, and, of course, if you're dealing with COVID (or any other ailment) while reading this, here's to a complete and speedy recovery for everyone.

Christmas in China, for me, has always been a bit of a bittersweet time. For most, it's a holiday where the traditions and spirit involved are very family-oriented. If I'm in Shanghai, it means that I'm not with my parents or extended family, who all live across the big pond in North America. Unfortunately, I'm not always able to get back for Christmas, and while it's regrettable, sometimes the circumstances just don't allow for it.

In an ideal world, I'd spend Christmas with family every year. Hopefully, some of you are able to do just that! But for those of us who frequently spend the Christmas season in Shanghai, we know the vibe is quite a bit different than it is in many other places.

Of course, Christmas as a holiday originated as a holy day in the Christian religion, and for its practitioners, it certainly remains as such. But without getting too deep into the history and its cultural significance, the fact is that today, for many around the world, Christmas has developed a meaning and a cultural gravitas that transcends, and in some ways is completely separate from, its traditional religious genesis.

Growing up, Christmas was mainly about celebrating with family. Shops are closed and the towns and cities shut down, much like they tend to do during Chinese New Year around here. I'm sure many readers had similar experiences. I find that CNY has more of a feel.

This year, it seems that some Christmas displays and decor, particularly at shopping malls and complexes, have reemerged. This does provide a bit of nostalgia, but the overwhelming source of my Christmas memories was the ostentatiously decorated houses replete with giant plastic Santas and reindeer surrounded by thousands and thousands of multicolored flashing lights.

Imaginechina

Imaginechina

Imaginechina

Tacky? Absolutely. But iconic and fun as well, to be sure. Though I am happy to report that a neighbor in my compound in the building adjacent has wrapped their outdoor porch in colored lights! Perhaps I need to step up my game.

Where I lived as a kid, the common practice was to use an actual pine tree as a Christmas tree. Either you'd go to a Christmas tree farm and purchase one, or, if the family lived in a sufficiently rural area, you'd go and chop one down yourself, strap it down, and haul it back to the living room to be decorated. Nowadays, more families use fire-resistant artificial trees because they reduce fire hazards and can be boxed up and reused annually. Certainly, in Shanghai, procuring a large pine tree and managing to squeeze it through the apartment door would be a tall task. Now we've just got a meter-high artificial tree that does the job just fine.

HelloRF

Despite the fact that I'll miss the family Christmas in the US for the third consecutive year, I will be sure to get together with some close friends this weekend. Fortunately, I've recovered from COVID already and am now testing negative and symptom-free, so I'll meet up with some friends in the same situation to have a small get-together. As we're a fairly international group, each party will bring along a special Christmas dish from their native land, so we get a holiday fusion smorgasbord of sorts.

I think the one aspect of the Christmas feeling that is present in Shanghai is the music. Christmas songs and carols are, in my mind, just as much of a part of the holiday season as anything else, and, when strolling through a mall or downtown building, these songs can often be heard in the background during the month of December, replacing the normal background tunes.

When I first came here, I thought I'd finally be escaping the torture of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," but, alas, we aren't so lucky. The more traditional songs, though, do subconsciously conjure up feelings of the holiday season.

So even though, depending on where you're from, Christmas in Shanghai may not be exactly like it was in earlier years, it's still a cause for celebration. So assemble your artificial tree, throw on a Christmas tune, and turn your TV screen to a looped video of a cracking fireplace. Have some friends over, if you can, and enjoy whatever food or beverage makes you feel like the holiday season has arrived.

Wishing the best of health and great happiness to everyone, and for Pete's sake, let's hope this Yuletide season brings in a new tide of good fortune for 2023.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.