РІР‚СљThis year there have been lots more people - the Christmas Eve service was an overflow crowd, with lots of students.РІР‚СњР”В¬hinaРІР‚в„ўs Christian population remains small but is growing. РІР‚СљWe had three Chinese services this morning, and then two English services,РІР‚Сњ Lu said. РІР‚СљAre these giveaways?РІР‚Сњ one older woman in a green fur coat and oversized sunglasses asked. Curious passersby, many of whom were toting shopping bags from the nearby luxury goods mall, crowded around. In front of the church, nuns such as 60-year-old Sister Lu were selling rosaries and candles and handing out informational pamphlets about Christianity. РІР‚СљThis is a holiday for spending with friends, sending gifts like apples.РІР‚Сњ I know Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, but IРІР‚в„ўm not so sure about Santa and the trees and all that, where that came from,РІР‚Сњ Tsao said. РІР‚СљI just like the sculpture, the way it looks. On Wednesday morning, they were taking photos of a statue of the Virgin Mary and Jesus in front of Wangfujing Catholic Church, situated on the capitalРІР‚в„ўs busiest shopping street. Tsao Jiahui, 22, a university student from Jinan, took advantage of her Christmas break from school to visit Beijing with a friend. The upcoming Chinese New Year begins at the end of January. The peace apple, she said, was just a little bonus.Р”Р‡or many young, urban Chinese, Christmas is a РІР‚СљfestivalРІР‚Сњ to be spent with friends, as opposed to Chinese New Year, which is heavily family-oriented and freighted with obligations to travel long distances to visit relatives in distant hometowns. РІР‚СљHeРІР‚в„ўs got school on Christmas Day, so we gave him his big gift early,РІР‚Сњ she said. He had already received his major Christmas gift, a giant Lego set, on Monday.

On Tuesday, 35-year-old Liu Xingwen was buying a peace apple for her 5-year-old son, Li, near the Yonghegong subway station. The tradition, which dates back at least five years, seems to stem from the fact that the Chinese word for apple, pingguo, sounds similar to the word for Christmas Eve, pinganye. Young men in particular find them an appealing gift for girlfriends some of the boxes are decorated with hearts and lips, rather than Santas and Christmas trees. At about $1.50, theyРІР‚в„ўre more than twice as expensive as a regular apple but well within the reach of regular consumers. Peace apples are regular, individual apples packaged in a special box or wrapped in colored paper some have messages like РІР‚СљMerry ChristmasРІР‚Сњ stenciled on them. Those with more modest Christmas gift-giving budgets could opt for a distinctively Chinese way to mark the holiday - giving РІР‚Сљpeace applesРІР‚Сњ on Christmas Eve. The state-run China Daily reported that upscale hotels in Nanjing, Guangzhou and other cities had slashed prices for Christmas buffets to about $140, down from $300 or higher in 2012. The Scandinavian country has been mounting efforts to promote SantaРІР‚в„ўs Finnish heritage to Chinese consumers, recently allocating some $400,000 to a publicity and tourism campaign.) (At least one jewelry company, though, bucked the trend, sponsoring an РІР‚Сљauthentic Santa Claus from FinlandРІР‚Сњ to visit the city of Jinan. Some news outlets described this as a cost-cutting move, with business owners fearing the governmentРІР‚в„ўs recent austerity campaign against officialsРІР‚в„ў extravagant gift-giving and banqueting would reduce Christmas spending and therefore their profits.

This year, some venues were opting for Chinese Kris Kringles rather than shelling out for foreign Father Christmases as in past years. Management at the Chaoyang Joy City arranged for live penguins to go on display in a refrigerated box for four days and a number of Santas could be found lending their laps to local children. ItРІР‚в„ўs nigh impossible to go into a Beijing mall this time of year without hearing РІР‚СљJingle BellsРІР‚Сњ or РІР‚СљDeck the HallsРІР‚Сњ playing at the U-Town shopping center, even clerks at the Chinese sausage stand donned Santa hats. But with the holiday becoming a bigger and bigger event here, millions were finding ways - some a bit offbeat, others downright traditional - to share in the seasonal spirit. BEIJING - Christmas may not be an official day off in China - banks, offices and schools are open as normal.

Chinese word on apple