Holiday food in China

I used to celebrate Christmas, but over the years it became kind of pointless. Sure there are fake Christmas trees up, and the malls play Christmas songs...but they do that year round anyways. Any Christmas decorations stay up year around anyways.

Getting a turkey is nearly impossible. You have to order it on the internet, then you have to cut it into small parts to cook it in your tiny oven. But everything else can be made from scrap.

Over the years, we have taken to eating out . Typically, eating chicken at KFC, or finding a Western restaurant that would serve a Turkey Christmas dinner.  Some times, we would make a "spread" at the home with authentic french style bread, fresh vegetables, and some roasted ham or chicken. It all depends.

I'll tell the wife that we should eat "Western" and she immediately thinks of steaks.

Not that I am complaining, but every now and then it would be great to eat a traditional Christmas dinner meal. Now, all that being said, we can easily go to Macao or HK and get one. Also, there are five star hotels that cater to Western clients that all offer a nice Christmas style feast.

Yet... yet...

You are going to pay a lot of money for that. And I, well, I try to keep a budget. So I tend to be a little on the cheap side.

Think chicken instead of turkey. Mashed potatoes are easy to make. You can buy cranberry sauce at most international supermarkets. You can get fresh bread and rolls at certain bakeries if you look. Special dishes like baked yams, buttered corn, salad, and the like can be made with a little planning and enough room in your tiny kitchen.

Think in terms of friendships and include some friends. This is China. Bring wine or beer. Mae your Chinese friends feel at home with beijiu. Put on a game for the background and just have a good time. You know, maybe we are all far from our biological families, but it is our new friends, our new extended family that matters. Make it matter and spend time with them.

If you can't do it in your home, then go out and eat Hot Pot together. Friendships and family is what Christmas is all about.

I spent one Christmas in China, after that one experience I told myself never again!!! 

Thanksgiving is OK because it is just a holiday to share a nice meal and give thanks for the blessings we've had over the previous year.  You can get Turkey and Ham at many of the major supermarkets, it is quite expensive; however, it is better than going to one of the restaurants that serve a Thanksgiving dinner.  So, what I do is buy food and invite the other expats in my local group to share Thanksgiving with me and exchange blessings we've experienced over the previous year.

Christmas in China is another story.  You simply can't have Christmas without some religion.  After all, the day is to celebrate the birth of Christ!  Most Chinese people are agnostic; so, it simply doesn't work.  The entire holiday is cast in China as a commercial event, mostly aimed at foreigners, with Santa Clauses hung everywhere, Christmas Trees and other decorations; however, the one thing that seems to be missing is the "Christmas Spirit".  In China, this spirit is very much present for the Chinese New Year, and I equate the Christmas Spirit in the west with the Chinese New Year spirit in the east.  But, because this spirit is lacking, I have chose to NEVER spend another Christmas in China again.  I try to always come back to the US for Christmas to celebrate with friends and family and feel the Christmas spirit that is generated during the holiday season.

One of the things I found interesting the one year I spent in China, all of the restaurants offered a "special Christmas dinner".  For many though it was the same dinner they always offer, but this special "Christmas Menu" was just 3 or 4 times more expensive than normal.  And, the only people in the restaurants were expats.  So, in essence, China found a way to capitalize on a traditional western holiday by overcharging expats!

In summary, my Christmas experience in China was not good.  Thus, I will be in the US for the holidays every year!

Holidays in China begins in February. And there are no places to go to celebrate. People gather with their families and spend almost one month eating, giving hongbaos, drinking baijiu, visiting the grandpas  and so on. I've being living here for almost seven years. February is the worst time for traveling inside China, besides the damn cold the crowds.

This how most of foreigners spent the CNY