If you're staying in Shanghai this Christmas it may be difficult to feel festive far from home. But it can be a great opportunity to step out of the habitual festivities of your home country. Instead of being surrounded by a nation of people doing exactly the same things at exactly the same time, take advantage of Shanghai's famous cosmopolitan nature and see how this special season is shared with the rest of the world.

Christmas is the biggest yearly festival for countries of Christian heritage, but the ways of celebrating it is as varied as the countries themselves.

It is also not the only big festival in December.

Two events this weekend give a taste of a culturally varied season.

Community Center Shanghai brings everyone together this Friday with an event based on how Christmas is celebrated in 10 different countries.

The list includes countries you'd normally associate with Christmas - such as those in European - plus less widely known areas in Asia and Latin America. They are China, United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Prague, Spain and South Korea.

The event will center around displays of the nativity scene and its different representations around the world. It will take place at the center's two locations, one in Pudong, one in Puxi. Christmas displays will be shown in the morning followed by lunch of traditional Christmas fare from the featured countries. The whole event is free.

It's the latest installment in the community center's twice monthly "Coffee Connections" mornings that provides useful information and social networking for expat new to Shanghai. Exhibitors at "Christmas Around the World" are regulars from the coffee mornings and members of the international community in Shanghai.
"Christmas is so widely celebrated over the world, and the nativity scene is a central part of the decorations," says Christina Showalter, organizer of the event. "Not only do different countries celebrate Christmas in different ways, but nativity scenes also take on local contexts and interpretations. So this event is about appreciation and education."

Local context can be seen in the Mexican nativity scene.

Ana Solis, organizer of the display, describes her nativity scene as wearing traditional Mexican robes and with indigenous Mexican faces.

She will also bring a "pinata," a papier mache jar filled with sweets that children break in the colorful, nightly parties that characterize Mexican celebrations from December 16-24.

Jennifer Smith, organizer of the American display, will also bring nativity scenes from the US plus Christmas books and decorations. For her the event will be a chance to talk to others and share her personal family traditions, and what Christmas means for them.

"Celebrating Christmas grounds us as a family, it's a nesting time," Smith says. "It's a time to build tradition."

(Shanghai Daily December 5, 2007)