嚯, 嚯, 嚯! How Santa Claus Came to China Dec 25, 2020 8:30 am | Add a comment | 5340 reads
You’d better not shout, you’d better not cry, you’d better not pout, I’m telling you why…
Chinese Fortune Grandpa is coming to town!
Wait – who?
In 2012, concerns about the encroachment of western traditions prompted a competition to design a truly Chinese gift bringer, as a rival to Santa Claus. The winner was unveiled at the Imperial Ancestral Temple in Beijing on Dec 26. “Chinese Fortune Grandpa” is a smiling, white-bearded man in traditional Hanfu clothing, carrying a fortune bag.
Sadly, Chinese Fortune Grandpa stood no chance against the global juggernaut of consumer Christmas, and the kindly old chap seems to have vanished without a trace. But Santa Claus’s presence in China is only the latest stage of a journey that’s already crossed continents, cultures, and centuries. We dug into the history books to find out t