Christmas is not widely celebrated in China except by the small Christian minority.  In Kunming one does see the occasional plastic Santa Claus on display in shops, artificial trees are readily available, and on Christmas Eve crowds throng the pedestrian streets of the city’s nightlife district to spray one another with cans of artificial snow.

　　Many of the bars and restaurants popular with westerners organize some sort of celebration and offer Christmas menus. For those wanting to cook a Christmas dinner at home, turkeys and hams can be ordered online and international supermarket chains Wal-Mart and Carrefour carry a few seasonal products. Kunming’s handful of Catholic and Protestant congregations all hold Christmas services - the Overseas Patient Services Department will help you find one if you wish to attend.

　　Staff make a big effort to bring the spirit of Christmas to the Centre and, as on all big holidays, programme members, friends and staff come together to celebrate. Christmas 2012 was a great success, thanks notably to the father of one of our overseas patients who came with suitcases full of German stollen, French foie gras, Belgian chocolates and Scottish shortbread.

　　We’re looking forward to Christmas 2013 already!