Streettalk

“This morning as I was coming out of church, a Chinese guy in his 30s was standing outside and looking at the church respectfully, then he touched his chest and forehead like Christians do and said ‘oppa Gangnam style’. I was amazed at what he said. He then left, and my friend and I laughed. Maybe he wasn’t Christian and didn’t know what to say.” KAMAL RAMCHANDANI, Indian, 28, in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province “I am not a Christian, but I think Christmas is the perfect opportunity to enjoy ourselves. As long as a holiday, be it Chinese or Western, brings us happiness, I am for it.” LIN NA, 22, a salesperson at a clothing shop in Beijing “Don’t expect any Christmas gifts this year because Santa lost his way in the heavy smog.” A popular post on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter-like service, on Tuesday “There will be a big Christmas gala at my 3-yearold granddaughter’s kindergarten on Wednesday. She’ll also receive candy, clothes, toys and books. When she grows up, Christmas might be a holiday as important to her as the traditional Chinese Spring Festival.” DU SHUFEN, 60, in Beijing “Sale of Christmas cards fell 40 to 50 percent this year compared with last year. I have seen no orders at all from the government.” HU QINJIAN, a wholesaler of cards, calendars and notebooks in Beijing “Business this year is the worst I can remember. Many companies put up decorations in the past, but they did a lot less this year. To make sure all goods are sold before Christmas, we have had to cut prices drastically.” DONG PENGFEI, a wholesaler who has been selling Christmas products for more than seven years in Beijing