A Chinese Christmas

As it is Christmas time, we decided to take a look at how the Chinese celebrate this very Western festivity. Jin Cuihong tells us about the significance that Christmas has taken on in China and about the ways in which the Chinese living in Finland mark this special occasion.

Jin, who has published two cookbooks, came to Finland to study eight years ago from a city situated on the Yangtze river in southern China. After earning a degree as an environmental engineer, Jin settled in Tampere and now works at the Tampere Polytechnic University.

Jin tells us that she had not even heard of Christmas before she came to Finland.

"I can't remember the first time I heard about it. It was after I came to Finland. I think eight years ago in China it wasn't very popular yet, except in the big cities. And I come from a quite small city. So at first, I didn't have any special feelings towards Christmas.”

“When we came to Finland as students, we didn't really get integrated into the Finnish society - I mean, we weren't invited to Finnish families or anything, so we only knew we had a holiday from school at Christmas. Then we just got together to celebrate like everyone else does here, but we made Chinese food,” Jin recalls.

Nowadays Christmas is becoming a big thing in China's cities, Jin says, adding that some shops even stay open around the clock, even on Christmas eve. “Among university students Christmas is quite popular, especially students of the English language. For them, Christmas is a chance to get together to practice their English skills. Young people are now getting into the habit of exchanging Christmas gifts, but mostly it's lovers who give them to each other, not everybody.”

The search for the spirit of Christmas

Jin Cuihong has lived in Finland for eight years. (Image: Radio86)

The Chinese, in general, do not celebrate Christmas as an occasion marking the birth of Jesus Christ, even though China has a large Christian population. “They believe in Christ, but they don't really celebrate Christmas because the Chinese New Year, which is much more important in China, is just around the corner,” Jin explains.

The Chinese have adopted the tradition of decking the halls with a myriad of colorful Christmas decorations. However, such ornamentation, including moving Santa Claus robots, are mostly found in shopping malls and restaurants, Jin says. “In China, we are just copying the idea of Christmas. We have learned about it from television and foreign movies,” she says.

In China, Jin knew Santa Claus by his Chinese name sheng dan lao ren. “We didn't know he came from Finland, but then again, we didn't know that Nokia was from Finland either. We only knew that he lived in a far-away country someplace in the West and brought gifts for children through the chimney. But we didn't know that he only gave them to good children. And we didn't know if he was real or not.” Since moving to Finland, Jin has seen proof that Santa in fact does live in Finland and has even visited his home in Lapland.

“In Tampere, there are close to three hundred Chinese. The Chinese gather together, but not in the same way as the Finns. We make Chinese food and give gifts to the children. It is more like a gathering of friends. If we have Finnish friends with us, they help us buy a small tree and decorate it, and sometimes they even dress up as Santa Claus and bring the presents.”

Adapting to local customs

One of the most popular Christmas foods among the Chinese population in Finland is dumplings, jiăozi, in Chinese. “The food is more like festival food, which is not eaten on a daily basis,” Jin explains.

Christmas decorations bring light to the dark winter nights. (Image: CRI) Being married to a Finnish man also means following local traditions during Christmas from time to time. Jin says that she has learned to like traditional Finnish Christmas food. “I like ham. After Christmas I went to the store and bought a ham and a thermometer to help in the roasting. I like carrot casserole, rutabaga casserole and potato casserole. The only food I don't like is liver casserole," she laughs, and adds that she even likes the local delicacy, blood sausage, or mustamakkara.

When asked about what Chinese tradition Jin would like to incorporate into the Western Christmas customs, Jin mentions the tradition of giving money as a present. She says it is hard to think of suitable gifts for everyone every year and that it would be simpler to do what the Chinese do during the Chinese New Year and give money to everyone. “If Christmas was as simple as the Chinese New Year, it would be much better. It is not pleasant to buy gifts for the sake of buying gifts,” she says.

Last Christmas was especially important for Jin and her husband, as the couple's first child was born during the Christmas holidays, and Jin's parents had also traveled to Finland for the very first time to be there to welcome the baby.

Jin says that she has made a pact with her friends not to exchange gifts. "I wish for people to have a very peaceful Christmas. We decided with our friends that we wouldn't give each other gifts. Instead, we will spend more time together and less time looking for gifts. I told them, that if I really needed something, I would tell them."

The staff at Radio86 would like to wish Jin and her family, as well as all our readers, a Very Happy and Peaceful Christmas!

(Originally published on 12-21-2007)