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Christmas in China:

Christmas's Commercial Side
Makes Yuletide a Hit in China

By DAVID MURPHY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

BEIJING -- Lu Wei is a businessman. He sells Christmas. Sitting at his market stall in downtown Beijing, where he stocks framed pictures of Jesus and Mary with electric cords dangling from them, he says business is good.

Then the wiry young vendor makes a confession. "I have no idea who they are," he says while plugging in Jesus and Mary. Their pictures start to spin psychedelically in their frames. "Do you know who they are? They're $25 each."
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Thus, while China's authorities continue to launch police campaigns against religious groups that are not officially approved and keep a close eye on those that are, Santa is no longer on their black list. "Religion? No, that's got nothing to do with Christmas. It's about having a good time with your friends," says Wang Xiaolin, a 40-year-old employee of a state-owned company, while standing in a Beijing department store as her friend waited in line to buy a battery-powered Santa Claus.
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