'Tis the season where everyone gets grumpy, the Christmas music blares insidiously day and night, and scuffles about religion in the public realm flare up. I must admit that I assumed, incorrectly as it turned out, that moving 9,000 miles to an atheist country with a Christian population between 2 and 4% would allow me to escape Christmas. Wrong, wrong, wrong. As I write this, Jingle Bells works its way through the ventilation system from the mall 15 stories below.

Recently Su Fei from SexyBeijing made a video where she went around the streets of Beijing asking Chinese people what they knew about Christmas and whether they were aware of that ‘ol festival of lights – Hanukkah. Not surprisingly no one knew much about it. Of course, it wouldn’t be a good video if it didn’t spark up a firestorm of comments on the internet. “Why is it surprising that Chinese and Japanese know Christmas, yet don’t know Hanukah?” was one response, “it’s that way everywhere in the world with the exception of two countries: the United States and Israel.”

 

 

One can certainly forgive the Chinese for not being up on Hanukkah. First of all, in Judaism it’s not a significant religious holiday at all and some suspect that it’s gained momentum in recent years as a way to keep children from leaving the flock during Christmas season for a religion where they got presents and cookies. Secondly, there are only 13.3 million Jews in the world. Accurate population numbers are hard to get in China but if you look at the Wikipedia list of the most populous cities in the PRC by administrative areas you’ll find that if all 13.3 million Jews had their own city in China it would only be the fifth largest city in the country. My point is any demographic under a couple of hundred million is small in Chinese terms.

Archaeological finds indicate that there have been Jews in China since the 8th century. Stelae dating back to the 15th century mention the loyalty of the Jews to the Emperor. The Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci writes of a visit around the turn of the 16th  century to Kaifeng where he met 10 or 12 Jewish families. Apparently these families had been there for five or six hundred years but they were the only ones left. By the time the Cultural Revolution rolled around it’s not clear if any Chinese Jews remained at all; however, Jews flowed in from other parts of the world, particularly to Shanghai.

 

 

There are academic arguments over the current state of the Kaifeng Jews and some scholars even postulate they’re a western invention and never really existed in the first place. Certainly none of them show up in the SexyBeijing video walking the streets of Beijing brimming with knowledge about latkes and menorahs. The netizen's eager responses to the video range from support to criticism, and even to debates over the attractiveness and/or annoyingness of the host.

One of the most valid responses is that it is presumptuous for foreigners to criticize the Chinese knowledge of our traditions and customs – and to be fair I’m not sure that was the video’s intent – when we may lack knowledge of Chinese holidays. The world is changing in many ways: Islam may now be the world’s biggest religion, China is no longer a backwards nation, and the American economy appears to be dissolving; what were long universal truths are evolving into new ones.

 

 

Surviving and prospering in this new world will require us all to learn what expats in China have been discovering since they first stepped off the plane – tolerance and flexibility are essential tools in an unfamiliar world. Expats learn, often the hard way, patience and the recognition that there are many things we don’t know and don’t yet understand.

If you’re interested in celebrating Hanukkah in China (unfortunately, I’m late writing this, the festival lasts this year from Dec 22 to Dec 29) you have several options. There won’t be a service at the Great Wall (as there was in 2005) but there are other events. Afterwards, you can share your experience with your friends, Chinese and otherwise, and learn about their customs in return. Or just bring them with you!

Beijing
Every night during Beijing there will be a candle lighting at Dini’s Kosher Restaurant (http://www.kosherbeijing.com) and Chabad Beijing (http://www.chabadbeijing.com) will be holding events throughout Hanukkah including a Women’s Latke Party on the 25th. More events can be found here.

Dalian
Sunday the 28th, Hanukkah party in KaiFaQu. Contact batshevamanes@hotmail.com for more details.

Click here to find information on Hanukkah activities in Yiwu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, and elsewhere

Plus

Click over to This Ridiculous World to see a group of Chinese students do a great job with “I Have a Little Dreidel”

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