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You may be surprised to know that Hong Kong goes all out for Christmas...however, if you know the Chinese propensity for festivities, bright lights, commercialism, capitalism and shopping, and in general anything exciting, you'd understand why every mall and open space is decorated for Christmas. The Chinese love to pose in photos of things so selfie photo taking reaches a new level this time of year.
Since there's no Thanksgiving to celebrate, Christmas music starts playing around mid-November in every mall and grocery store. I've heard Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime over 100 times...seriously the AEON supermarket where I shop plays this single song over and over. |
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Beyond the supermarket, most restaurants, shops, and hotels decorate for Christmas. A few apartment complexes do as well - I saw a place an apartment unit a half mile from the Chai Wan MTR station, at the end of the island line, that was decorated with Christmas tinsel.
Every mall has varying Christmas and winter decorations but Pacific Place mall was the only one with a permanent Santa presence. A few other malls had Santa visits limited to a weekend hours. It costs $80HKD to see Santa with the proceeds being donated to a local charity. I went to Pacific Place on a Monday afternoon and there was hardly any line to see Santa.
Every mall has varying Christmas and winter decorations but Pacific Place mall was the only one with a permanent Santa presence. A few other malls had Santa visits limited to a weekend hours. It costs $80HKD to see Santa with the proceeds being donated to a local charity. I went to Pacific Place on a Monday afternoon and there was hardly any line to see Santa.
