Chinese Christmas Food Like American traditions, those that celebrate Christmas in China have a feast. Rather than turkey and stuffing, the menu would look similar to a Spring Festival fair with roast pork, jiaozi (Chinese dumplings), spring rolls, huoshao (baked roll with or without stuffing), and rice.
1) Christmas Day is not a religious celebration.
But in China, observers estimate only 3-5% of the population is Christian, which means Christmas is more of a secular season of shopping and feasting. Tapping into the festive mood, commercial establishments and malls attract shoppers with seasonal sales.
02 Nov Why Chinese Restaurants Are So Popular During The Holidays. Each year, millions of Americans gather at Chinese restaurants on Christmas day. In fact, Christmas and Christmas Eve are the busiest day of the year for most American Chinese restaurants. The combination of Christmas and Chinese food is iconic.
Santa is known as 'Sheng dan Lao ren' in Mandarin, which translates as 'Christmas Old Man', and he is seen as a non-religious figure who lives in a fairytale Arctic Christmas Village in China's North Pole.
The small number of Christians in China call Christmas Sheng Dan Jie, which means Holy Birth Festival. They decorate their homes with evergreens, posters, and bright paper chains. The family puts up a Christmas tree, and decorates it with beautiful lanterns, flowers, and red paper chains that symbolize happiness.
It's always a very merry Kentucky Christmas in Japan. Every year, millions of families make a beeline for the nearest KFC in Japan and order bucketloads of fried chicken. Children reach in for the best piece of the lot, commemorating what they know to be the most natural tradition–a KFC dinner for Christmas.
It is said that eating a peace apple on Christmas eve will bless you with a safe and peaceful year ahead. This tradition of gifting peace apples or “Ping'anguo” on Christmas Eve has become so popular in China that the price of apples rises every December 24.
China. Santa is known as Sheng dan lao ren – Old Christmas Man. On Christmas Eve, which the Chinese call Peaceful Evening, no food or drink is left. Instead, people exchange apples – chosen because the Mandarin word for apple and peace rhyme.
Millions of people around the world celebrate this festival on the night of 31 December to 1 January. China began celebrating New Year only in the XX century, when the Communist Party of China (CPC) rose to power. 1st January in China is a public holiday.
Many young Chinese enjoy Christmas parties with their friends and exchange gifts. A new trend in China on Christmas Eve is to give apples to your friends. Apple in Chinese is 苹果 (píngguǒ) and Christmas Eve in Chinese is often called 平安夜 (Píng'ān yè, literally meaning safe night).
In Chinese culture specifically, superstitions intertwine with food to bring about special dishes intended to bring good luck for the new year. Auspicious meanings are represented by a food's appearance or pronunciation, and common homophones include words for prosperity, success, and family togetherness.
Americans began embracing their neighborhood Chinese restaurants as special places where they could be treated to a meal they didn't have to cook. And began appreciating the flavors of the exotic cuisine. “They were among the first to deliver food into the hands of consumers,” Chen said.
People in Hong Kong celebrate the holiday with their own special events and customs. The most popular food to eat on Christmas is... It means "roasted turkey." The locals make an effort to eat in restaurants on Christmas.
Christmas is on its way and many people hold gift exchanges with family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, etc. However, it is still relatively new to celebrate Christmas in China. Instead, it's much more common for the Chinese to exchange gifts on Chinese New Year.
Over the past four decades, Christianity has grown faster in China than anywhere else in the world. Daryl Ireland, a Boston University School of Theology research assistant professor of mission, estimates that the Christian community there has grown from 1 million to 100 million.
Australia. Australian children set out cookies for Santa, but instead of milk, they leave him an ice-cold glass of beer. After all, December is summer in the land Down Under. The children leave carrots for Santa's reindeer to munch on, too.
Traditional Santas wear bright red fleecy suits, lined with white fur and big black boots to fight off the northern winter. In Australia, it's summer at Christmas time so you're much more likely to see a boardshort wearing Santa on a surfboard.
🤶🏼🎅🏽 To say “Santa Claus” in Chinese, it is 聖誕老人/圣诞老人 (shèng dàn lǎo rén), literally, Christmas + old person. In China, especially in major cities, some Chinese postmen would dress up as 聖誕老人/圣诞老人 when delivering letters before Christmas.
Enter the tradition of giving apples. Ever wonder why you may have been receiving them from Chinese friends and coworkers this Christmas? Over the past decade, gifting apples on Christmas Eve has become so popular in China that the price of the fruit has actually risen every December 24.
Oranges, kumquats, tangerines and pomelos are common Chinese New Year food gifts because they're believed to bring good luck and happiness. The Chinese words for orange and tangerine closely resemble the words for luck and wealth. The gold color also symbolizes prosperity.
Colors and Decorations
Green, red, and gold are the most common Christmas colors in the West, adorning the streets, houses, and shop fronts. In China, red and gold are also the most typical colors, representing prosperity and happiness.
The small number of Christians in China call Christmas Sheng Dan Jieh, which means Holy Birth Festival. They decorate their homes with evergreens, posters, and bright paper chains.
National surveys conducted in the early 21st century estimated that some 80% of the population of China, which is more than a billion people, practice some kind of Chinese folk religion; 13–16% are Buddhists; 10% are Taoist; 2.53% are Christians; and 0.83% are Muslims.