Life.Culture.Discovery.

Then & NowHow Christmas in Hong Kong evolved from a European affair to a Chinese religious festival, until an American Santa Claus swept all before him

Early Chinese Christian congregations in Hong Kong observed Christmas as a religious obligation – there was little feasting or gift-giving going on

From the 1920s, the idea of a secular Christmas motivated by consumer spending began to appear in Chinese port cities. Now it’s a seasonal party open to anyone

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Children at a Christmas party at the Royal Hong Kong Lifeguard Club in December, 1978. Scenes like these were not always part and parcel of the city’s seasonal celebrations. Photo: SCMP

Published: 8:45am, 13 Dec 2021

How has Hong Kong celebrated the Christian festival of Christmas since early times, and in what ways did this change as society expanded, diversified and evolved?

From Hong Kong’s mid-19th century urban beginnings, and for decades thereafter, Christmas – like the Jewish Hanukkah or Muslim Eid, along with Chinese festivals and the religious commemorations of Hindus, Parsees and other minorities – was mainly a family or communal affair, celebrated among one’s co-religionists, but otherwise ignored by the wider society.

Early European communities here celebrated Christmas according to their own national traditions – British, French and German variants abounded.

Festival foods from these countries – in particular, cakes and puddings – were replicated as far as available ingredients, kitchen facilities and culinary skill sets permitted.

Making a Christmas pudding in China. December 20, 1873. The Illustrated London News. Photo: Getty Images

As time went on, emergent Chinese Christian congregations in Hong Kong observed their new festival, but they did so entirely as a religious obligation. Feasting, gift-giving and other aspects borrowed from European traditions were mostly absent.