Christmas pushed out as China’s leaders emphasise tradition

Even the giant teddy bear at the entrance was not spared, said Ma Jun, who works at a tutoring company in the building.

“Everything is gone and cleaned,” she said.

Christmas continues to be a shopping festival across most of China, with huge trees adorning shopping centres in Shanghai and Beijing.

But a growing emphasis on traditional culture by the ruling Communist Party, and the systematic suppression of religion under President Xi Jinping are imperilling Father Christmas’s position.

At least four Chinese cities and one county have banned Christmas decorations this year, according to official notices and interviews.

Students, teachers and parents from schools around China told The Associated Press that Christmas celebrations have been curtailed.

“The ongoing local reaction against Christmas is part of the wider sentiment since Xi took power,” said Zi Yang, from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

Xi is trying to broaden the appeal of the Communist Party by casting it as a crusader for Chinese tradition in a fast-changing world, he said.

“Therefore, foreign cultural elements such as Christmas are placed on the chopping block.”

It appears not to be centrally organised, but rather a spreading resistance to foreign festivals by local authorities seeking to align themselves with the growing tide of cultural nationalism.

The squeeze on Christmas…