Christmas in China

By Sr. Jean Perry, C.S.J.
January/February 2002

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Christmas 2001 was a quiet but pleasant celebration. Although our contract as foreign teachers does not stipulate Christmas day as a holiday, the English department at the university gave us the day off.

Scarboro missioner Sr. Jean Perry with her students at the college in Inner Mongolia where she and Fr. Brian Swords teach English.

With the increased access to the internet, the students have become very keen on 'borrowing' certain aspects of the Christmas feast so that they, too, can participate in the festivities.

On the afternoon of December 24, they put on a performance featuring plays, dances and even a traditional Christmas carol sung by the university choir. I'm always amazed at how much they can produce with so few resources.

After the performance, Fr. Brian Swords and I, both Scarboro missionaries, attended an evening service at the church. We found it quite different from what we had experienced at our last teaching post in Changsha. Apparently priests from Belgium, early missionaries to China, had served here and the people still maintain some of the rituals from then.

As we cycled into the church yard we were greeted with a huge bonfire and many people standing around chatting. We parked our bicycles and were told that the service would begin with a candlelight procession. For a moment I thought I had missed a season and it was already Easter!

We became one with the crowd trying to keep warm while waiting in temperatures of minus 18 degrees Celsius. We had been told to bring candles, with extras to share with those who did not have any. It didn't take long to give away our extras.

Twenty minutes later we were still outside, stamping our feet and moving closer and closer to the others to take advantage of the body heat. I thought Canadians were tough, but those Belgians must have been a hearty people.

Finally the word was given to light our candles; the procession had started. At the end of the yard and on the other side of the bonfire we could see candles flickering in the darkness. Along came the priest at the head of the procession carrying the baby Jesus in a little wicker bread basket covered with sparkles. At the same time fireworks exploded in the background while the choir sang carols with melodies that sounded faintly familiar, but with words that I could not understand.

After that, approximately 700 of us filed into the dark, unheated church to find standing room. Then, right on cue, someone turned on the light switch and colored lights came on in every conceivable space. The baby Jesus in his wicker basket was placed carefully between his parents in a manger and I knew it was Christmas in China.

The liturgy ended around 8:30 and Fr. Brian and I were invited to join the parishioners in the meeting room for a meal. Many people had brought food to share-mutton, pork, rice and vegetables.

People came by to wish us a Merry Christmas and to tell us how pleased they were to have us join their little community. We were the only foreigners present. Of course, all this was in Chinese so Fr. Brian translated for me.

After the meal it was back to the church to enjoy a performance of carols sung once again by the choir. We finally wished everyone a Merry Christmas and left around ten o'clock.

I scraped the ice crystals off my bicycle seat before beginning our 20-minute bike ride back to the school residence. The night was clear and crisp as we rode slowly through the back lanes and the unlit streets. It was dark and icy, but we arrived safely.

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