It was tough enough teaching the holiday of Christmas to my varying age groups of students. To them it just seemed like a hodgepodge of zombie like religious figures (jesus is pronounced ye su here), magical fat men who flew around like harry potter, and the kind of paganism worship of trees that one of my students response in Chinese was "Backward culture".
Lets face it, Christmas is a strange mix of consumerism, christianity and suspension of disbelief. That's a pretty tall order to sell to a bunch of kids still raised on rhetoric of forward progress tinged with realism. But, as I tried to explain to my classes, Christmas to most Americans is about being with friends and loved ones, and is about spreading Christmas "cheer". It's a time of celebration. A time to make those around you smile and be joyous.
So in that vein, and almost by accident, I stumbled upon Santacon Beijing 2008. Ho Ho Ho-yeah!
Santacon is an event in which a highly motivated and merry group of people organize, dress up as Santas and mobilize throughout large metropolises around the world. Although more prevalent in the US and western cultures, Beijing seemed ripe for the picking. After all, a throng of Santas marching through the national capital of a country of 1.4 billion?
This was the first Santacon Beijing to exist in China, and as the photos will show, it was arguably one of the most enjoyable experiences here in Beijing.
From the Subways, to the streets, to Tiananmen, to Hou "Ho Ho" Hai, Sanlitun, Workers Stadium and Wudaokou, Santa brought the spirit of merriment and Christmas to the city of Beijing. We were flocked with Beijingers and tourists snapping our photos. Crowds formed, police nervously directed traffic and we assembled in mass throughout the day. Looks of bewilderment, incredulity and confusion mixed with ear to ear grins of young and old alike. Beijing loved us, and we loved showing China some Christmas cheer.
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