‘Everything is gone’: trees, lights and bells vanish amid China’s Christmas crackdown
- Seasonal humbug appears not to be centrally organised but a spreading resistance to foreign festivals by local authorities
Even the giant teddy bear at the mall entrance was not spared, said Ma Jun, who works at a tutoring company in the building.
“Everything is gone and cleaned,” she said.
Christmas continues to be a shopping festival across most of China, with huge trees adorning shopping malls in Shanghai and Beijing, but a growing emphasis on traditional culture by the ruling Communist Party and the systematic suppression of religion under President Xi Jinping are imperilling Santa Claus’ position.
At least four Chinese cities and one county have ordered Christmas decorations banned this year, according to official notices and interviews. Students, teachers and parents from 10 schools around China said Christmas celebrations had been curtailed.
“The ongoing local reaction against Christmas is part of the wider sentiment since Xi took power,” said Zi Yang, a China expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.