(Third of Three Photo Collections)
HONG KONG – As a materialistic city ruled by plutocracy, burdened by Chinese sovereignty and full of skyscrapers, Hong Kong probably pays little heed to Christmas, right? Well, yes and no!
A stroll through Hong Kong’s best-known shopping districts, like Central, Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay, those where tourists prowl, shows elaborate Christmas decorations complete with big trees, colorful ornaments and wrapped “gifts”. The sides of tall buildings along Victoria Harbor light up with holiday messages, transforming the nocturnal skyline. Maybe Hong Kong’s seven million residents – including some of the world’s richest people, but many more desperately poor folks -- really do embrace “the spirit of giving”.
Snow never falls in Hong Kong, but the stores offer holiday sales, Santa Claus visits and youngsters go ice-skating (indoors, of course). Yet like so much about Hong Kong, there’s more pretence than substance. In less famous neighborhoods like Sham Shui Po or Mongkok, the signs of Christmas prove much tougher to spot.
Actually, the big Christmas displays come mainly from commercial enterprises, especially shopping malls. They’re geared to promote holiday spending, the exact opposite of generous seasonal spirit.
Of course, that’s true elsewhere too. But in Hong Kong, Christmas amounts to “just another holiday”. Some people welcome it as a respite from work or studies. Others focus on earning money from the seasonal sales.
This year, Hong Kong residents look sure to miss the deeper meaning. Their government has launched a “consultation” about “democratic” political reforms and advanced new proposals to block the people from choosing their own leaders anytime soon. Such a Scrooge-like performance badly dampens any holiday mood.
How about Christmas gifts like valid democracy and meaningful universal suffrage for Hong Kong? Fat chance!
Buying and selling nearly never stops.
Seasonal adornments push
mundane flags to the background.
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