You may want to watch what you say this Christmas
In a recent Education Counsel meeting of Beijing schools the Chinese Government asked schools to stay away from Christmas celebrations. Previously, anything western seemed to be a novelty to Chinese schools and they couldn’t get enough of it. However, it seems now that Chinese public schools will be operating their Christmas holiday in the same way as many American public schools. Instead of hearing teachers in American schools say, “Merry Christmas” you will hear them say, “Happy Holidays.” Chinese public schools are now insisting that teachers do not use the term, “Sheng Dan Kuai Le.”
I didn’t buy it at first, but then a Chinese friend of mine who works at a public school told me a story.
Her and her co-workers decorated their teaching building just as they do every year around Christmas time. It had been a tradition for the past 6 years. The decorations included Christmas trees, holly, snowflakes, merry Christmas signs with bells, etc. Later the same day a particularly annoying teacher came into the building and demanded the decorations be taken down. A scuffle nearly broke out before the vice principal and communist party representative arrived on scene. To make a long story short, the communist party representative made the teachers take down all the signs that said either, “Merry Christmas” or “Sheng Dan Kuai Le”
This friend of mine who regularly attends Beijing Education council meetings said that at the last meeting there was concern about the growing amount of Chinese who are developing Christian beliefs. Cracking down on Christmas celebrations in schools must be a reaction to this worry.
Us teachers might have one more thing on our lists of sensitive topics not to be discussed in a Chinese classroom. I wouldn’t say it’s quite there yet, but it doesn’t look far off.