Christmas in Hong Kong

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Deprived of shivery snow, sleigh rides and silent nights, the holiday crowds celebrating among Hong Kong’s skyscrapers must look beyond certain seasonal norms familiar in colder climates. Badly overdressed in glaring sunshine, Santa Claus makes public appearances. Heavily decorated Christmas trees stand in shopping malls and public squares. Holiday music blares from thousands of shops. Children plead for gifts. Shoppers ride the green-and-white Star Ferries through the smog between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. When darkness descends, towering buildings glow with festive lights. For a time, the Swedish tall ship Gotheborg floats in polluted Victoria Harbour.

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