Christmas is just around the corner, but the continued calls to boycott Christmas in China correspond with the resurgence of nationalism in the country over the past few years.
As Christmas approaches, Christians in China feel the impact of suspicion and persecution, particularly in the wake of recent changes to pandemic policies by the government. According to Christianity Today, Christians are unsure of what the holiday and accompanying evangelistic outreach will be like in the changing political environment.
Boycott Christmas in China
In 2018, Su Lun, a media technology researcher, felt depressed while walking on the campus of Nanjing University on Christmas Eve. He didn't see any signs of Christmas celebrations or feel any holiday atmosphere. After that, he received a notice in a college student's WeChat group telling students not to post about Christmas on social media. Several universities and schools also banned students from celebrating or talking about Christmas, and governments in cities in Hebei, Guizhou, and Guangxi banned businesses from displaying Christmas decorations. The Chinese government also implemented new regulations on religion, leading to increased persecution of house churches.
According to Christianity Today, for over a decade, intellectuals in China have called for a boycott of Christmas, seeing it as a "foreign holiday." In 2006, scholars from several universities wrote a letter advocating withholding support against Christmas and the "Christianization" of Chinese people. They argued that it is self-abasing for a Chinese person to celebrate the birth of a man they do not worship and claimed that doing so shows a "lack of faith and deviation from our own culture." However, many others disagree, arguing that young Chinese people celebrate Christmas for fun and that their observances have nothing to do with religion. They see the boycott as "ridiculous" and believe it is unnecessary to defend traditional Chinese culture and traditional faiths by boycotting Christmas.
Nationalist opposition to the adoption of foreign holidays or customs
According to Ruth Lu (a pseudonym used by CT for safety), a Christian who returned to China and a multimedia creator, the justification for a boycott, in this case, is that it is being used as a way to exploit the growing nationalism by accusing people of being overly focused on Western values and being subservient to foreign powers. In other words, the boycott is being used as a way to appeal to and mobilize nationalist sentiments by framing those who are being targeted as betraying their country or culture.
Guo Yan, a graduate theology student in the United States from Beijing, claimed that the proposed Christmas boycotts result from "an atomized and monolithic attitude." The educational system in China promotes submissive obedience and brainwashing. Therefore, she said that the rejection of diversity is the driving force behind the critique of "worshiping" Western culture and the development of cultural confidence.
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Chinese Christians Must Stand for Their Faith
There are concerns about the appropriateness of certain traditions in the current situation. Is it necessary for the Chinese church to celebrate Christmas on December 25th yearly? Hu Jixun, a Chinese historian, studying at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, points out that this date is not based on the Bible and is not a fundamental aspect of the Christian faith. Therefore, whether official or intellectual, boycotts of Christmas would not compromise the Chinese church's belief in Christ.
Even Chinese non-believers recognize the significance of Jesus' birth, according to Pastor Sean Long. He adds that the Christian faith has made universal contributions to civilization, specifically in China, through mission efforts, such as translating the Chinese Union Version of the Bible, which contributed to the modern Chinese language. Pastor Long advises Chinese Christians to continue spreading the message of "Joy to the World" with love, despite the current nationalist rejection of Christmas. He encourages them to transcend cultural conflict and persist in sharing the good news.
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