If Christmas at Rochefeller Center Is the Greatest?
Wait Till You See
Hong Kong Christmas
During Hong Kong Christmas the nickname "Pearl of Orient" seems especially appropriate. And this pearl shines even brighter at night, especially during HK Christmas and Chinese New Year time.
Does Hong Kong Celebrate Christmas?
Perry's American family always ask me if we celebrate Christmas. Yes, we do. We celebrate it in a very nontraditional way. There was never a white Christmas in Hong Kong, it never snows in Hong Kong.
If you want to have a white Christmas here, check out Ocean Park, Disneyland Hong Kong or advertisements in the newspaper where there will be information that some places may have a fair where you can experience a warm and white Christmas.
People love to have Christmas buffet. My mom always makes our favorite dishes, like wings, spaghetti and fish balls (coming soon link to Hong Kong Local Domestic Food page) (yeah, some Chinese fusion) and so forth and celebrate at home.
Most shopping malls are open until midnight. Christmas trees are several stories high. Kids can take pictures with Santa Clause.
Hong Kong Christmas Traditions and History
Since Hong Kong was under the British Colonial rule for over
100 years,
we still carry some British traditions. Like Dec. 26th is always a
public holiday. It's called Boxing Day. Some people save their gifts
to open on this day. Some said that the postmen start working on the
26th after Christmas. (I know how could you hold excitement and wait until the day after Christmas, right?)
My youngest sister was born on this day that she was so proud of.
1941's Hong Kong Christmas was the worst day in
Hong Kong history.
When we were at school, there was always a Christmas party. We
did not have to wear our school uniforms. Everyone would bring in a
dish of food. My mom always cooked something for us to bring back to
school, it was a hit all the time. Everybody dived in for it and always
requested seconds.
Unlike in the States, there is never BIG sales
after Christmas. It's always before Christmas in Hong Kong. The
closer it gets to the Christmas, the cheaper the prices. If you want to go crazy on Hong Kong shopping, always do it before the big festivals.
Of course, make sure you take advantage of it while you are traveling in Hong Kong Christmas time.
The Christmas Lights
Although it has never snowed in Hong Kong before, Christmas is one of the best times to travel to this city. And if you happen to be there, you MUST check out the Hong Kong Christmas lights.
Most big companies and/or buildings have Christmas decorations and/or lights. But it is mainly concentrated in Tsim Sha Tsui (a.k.a. TST), Kowloon Peninsula and Central, Hong Kong Island.
To most people,
including myself, TST is much nicer than in Central during this time.
In Central, the Christmas lights are concentrated in Queensway,
Connaught Road Central and
Des Voeux Road Central.
When Perry and I went back to Hong Kong in 2007, we did spend
some time in appreciating the Hong Kong Christmas lights and taking
pictures. Interesting, huh?
When I lived there, I took it for granted. I could see the lights from our apartment (Back then, it had a very nice Hong Kong Victoria Harbour view. Not anymore with all the urban redevelopment. There are too many taller buildings in front of it. What a shame.) There were not many times that I would bother to get into the BIG crowd, rubbing shoulder to shoulder to appreciate the lights.
In TST, it is mainly along Salisbury Road, which is from the
Star Ferry
TST station all the way to
Harbour Tunnel
close to the
Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
To stop, watch and take pictures, it will take at least 30 minutes if the crowd is not too big.
You can see the lights up around the beginning of December to early January. But my latest visit in Oct 2012, I saw a building in Central put up the Christmas lighting already.
This picture was taken on Oct 24, 2012. My sister was driving on the highway. Look at the bottom of the picture. Can you see the building with the Hong Kong Christmas lighting? There are Christmas trees and a Santa Clause. It was so early to have it on. It could be just a testing. But, men....didn't it feel good to see that? I miss it so m.u.c.h....
Times Square is usually the place where people do the New Year's countdown. Another place for the countdown is Soho in Lan Kwai Fong, Central. My sister, a couple of our friends and I were there one year when an accident happened. We were so lucky that we didn't get hurt. Since then, we stay away from that place during the big festivals. If you are there during the big festivals, you definitely will see a lot of cops just for security reasons.
If you feel the crowd is too big (like Perry whom hates to be in a big crowd), you can take the Star Ferry to check out the Hong Kong Christmas lights on both sides of Victoria Harbour.
In 1988-1993, we lived in an apartment where we had an awesome Victoria Harbour view. We could see the TST skyline. Man...oh man...we loved to go out to the balcony to appreciate the Christmas and New Year lights. You can imagine how gorgeous Hong Kong Christmas and New Year time is. It's like many, many sparkling diamonds.
Click here to check out our photo album.
Have you ever wondered what festivals or holidays Hong Kong does NOT celebrate? Also, share with us those festivals not on the list:
View Hong Kong Christmas and Chinese New Year Tour in a larger map
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