Christmas and Other Big Events

 Winter is upon us here in Shanghai.

The trees have bundled up.

Parker and Peter have changed their biking wear.

And Santa is making guest appearances all over town.

In our apartment complex, the only sign that Christmas is approaching is a small string of blinking lights that adorns a single window. Ditto for the street below. But if you venture downtown, or to a shopping mall, you find Christmas cheer galore. 

There's also plenty of Christmas music. The other day we went to a restaurant near the university, a high-end place where we were the only Westerners. But when we walked into the lobby, we were greeted by Feliz Navidad. Various Christmas tunes (mostly bad cover versions) played in the background throughout the meal. It's the same all over town.

We see plenty of approaches to holiday celebration.

A downtown hotel set up this gingerbread house/shop in its lobby.

A department store outfitted its elephants.

Apple dressed its Shanghai geniuses in red shirts.

Christmas pandas, anyone?

 Our local Wal Mart has a good-sized Christmas section, even though virtually all its customers are Chinese. (We went there to get a space heater because our apartment, like most Shanghai apartments, has terrible heat!)

Some of the stuff is familiar.

Some isn't. Dragons or reindeer? You make the call.

We thought we made a sensible tree choice. Expats in the French Quarter were paying big RMB for semi-real conifers.

The main point of all this Christmas cheer seems to be to sell things (surprise, surprise). Our friends tell us that Christmas stuff first showed up in the late 1990s, as China started becoming more capitalistic.

If a billion Chinese people (and their aunties!) could be inspired to buy each other Christmas presents someone would make some serious money. 

Here in China, some people would see that as a good thing. Unlike folks in the U.S., those in China save  huge amounts of money. This means that much of China's economic growth depends on exports – on people in other countries buying the stuff they make. Chinese leaders would like to see more of that stuff sold at home (for more on the challenges faced by Chinese families, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/10/business/global/households-pay-a-price-for-chinas-growth.html?scp=2&sq=Chinese%20consumers&st=cse). 

If a foreign holiday like Christmas helps, well . . .

Of course for us, the Christmas season also means another important holiday.

Parker started off his 11th birthday with a three-computer Skype with friends (from left: Kiran and Elias, Schuyler and Bradley and Will Gray).

He got a great rendition of "Happy Birthday" (to see the video version, go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/quarterscale/6542295579/in/set-72157627461266055)

We cycled off for breakfast at one of Shanghai's best dim sum restaurants.

Then it was on to the slaughterhouse for a round with his favorite Formula One game.

Happily, the Ferrari cafe had caught the Christmas spirit.

After some quality time with his new iPod Touch (thanks, California clan!) he donned his new, hand-tailored velvet jacket and we headed to his favorite Japanese restaurant for dinner.

Shintori is a stylish place, and Christmas is no exception.

If you look closely, you'll see that the waiter is wearing a black Santa hat.

A marvelous end to a marvelous day. Happy Birthday Parker!