The New China Etiquette - An e-publication by Chinese American Etiquette Association

The old saying: “When in Rome, do as the Romans” is not sufficient for bridging the communication gap and cultural differences between China and the US. The world operates in the climate of globalization with a constant need for cross-cultural communication. Chinese American Etiquette Association (CAEA) explores how interractions occur during a process of cultural adaptation between these two countries and cultures.

Friday, December 22, 2006

What I want for Christmas?

By David Tang
The Founder of China Club and Shanghai Tang
Source: The South China Morning Post

I am a Christmas humbug. But mind you, only by conventional standards. My family accuses me of being lethargic and unenthusiastic about Christmas Decorations and presents.

But when I see the amount of half-pointless and half-unwanted presents that are bought and given away each Christmas, I cringe with desperation.

Even more upsetting is when we have to pretend we like the presents we receive, when in trough, we don’t – and don’t need them – and after December 25, we put them under our beds and eventually throw them away.

That’s why, when all my friends get into a frenzy over Christmas presents, I tend to lapse into total immobility. But it does not mean I don’t like Christmas, I adore Christmas.

As a good Catholic boy, I have always been thrilled to celebrate the birth of Christ. But the problem is that the modern world has turned Christmas into a retail bonanza. I am ashamed to say that I am myself intimately involved with the retail business, and for Christmas, I get excited about significantly increased sales figures. But I am only excited as the seller, not the buyer.

So again, in this sense, I am a humbug. But spiritually, I am very fond of Christmas. Not only with the religious aspect, but also in literature. Shakespeare didn’t write much on Christmas, but n Hamlet, after the ghost of Hamlet’s father “faded on the crowing of the cock”, Marcellus recalls a Christmas legend. . . .

And we sing endless carols – nothing wrong with them as hymns. But why can’t we have the proper piece: Bach’s Christmas Oratorio?

It is the time of the year when we should replenish our spiritual and cultural diets.

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David Tang is the founder of the China Club and Shnaghai Tang.

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