So many elements go into a successful Christmas. From holiday traditions traced back to my earliest childhood memories to newer ones picked up over the past seven years with the international set of friends I've met in this crazy city, Hong Kong Christmas is made up of tons of different components. In fact, I realized there's at least one for every letter of the alphabet!
A is for the chocolate Advent calendar I got from Saint John's Cathedral's book shop on the first of December.
B is for Boxing Day, the day that follows Christmas. Owing to its British heritage, Hong Kong officially extends the Christmas holiday to include Boxing Day as well. That means, on a normal year, we don't have to go back to work until the 27th of December. However, this year, it's even better! Because we are supposed to get a combined two days off of work, we don't have to be in either Monday or Tuesday. I love Hong Kong!
C is for candy canes. They are very easy to find here at this time of the year, and you can buy them in most of the supermarkets. I got two boxes to hang on my artificial tree.
D is for
decorations, for which Hong Kong goes wild! I'm talking full on Christmas greetings scrawled across entire façades of skyscrapers, enormous snowmen taking over the forecourt of shopping malls and LED lighting displays across one of the tallest buildings in the world.
D
E is for egg nog, my favorite Christmas drink. I still remember how overjoyed I felt in 2009 when I found the stuff in ThreeSixty, an upscale international supermarket formerly in Central. It's so nice that something that's such an integral part of my American Christmas past is easy to share with first timers when I crack open a carton during our festive rooftop celebrations in Happy Valley. To boot, the most popular brand sold in Hong Kong just so happens to be called Paul's Egg Nog. Who could ask for anything more?
E
F is for friends. With my family thousands of miles away when I spend a Christmas season in Asia, I turn to my friends to lend me true Christmas cheer. While it's a fact that many expats return home to their roots for the holiday, a solid group never fails to stick around and make for a memorable celebration.
G is for gingerbread, yet again an aspect of my childhood I try to keep going here come December. city'super—another upscale international grocery store—has a solid selection for all your holiday needs.
G
H is for holly. I searched high and low for mistletoe this year because I wanted to hang some in my apartment for the Christmas party. (I even found out the name in Cantonese—huk gei sang, in case you were wondering.) Sadly, it was nowhere to be found. Holly, on the other hand, is seemingly everywhere. All the florists have it in stock, and, as they say, the prettiest sight you'll see is the holly that will be on your own front door.
I is for
International Race Day! Each December, the Hong Kong Jockey Club puts on the single most exciting race meeting on its calendar. Held on a Sunday, the races take place the day after SantaCon. And, as a whole, that weekend is one of the highlights of the Hong Kong social calendar. This year, the six horse came in first place in the sixth race, and you can bet yours truly had some money on that outcome! The event is capped off with a raucous fireworks display, and, of course, a visit to the always-spectacular Shatin Inn for an al fresco Indonesian dinner.
I
J is for Jesus, one of the hardest elements of Christmas to spot in Hong Kong, and yet also the most integral. A couple of Sundays ago, wandering around crowded Prince Edward, I stumbled upon a little second-hand shop with a gorgeous copper nativity scene, comprised of nine figures. Of course, I quickly snapped it up and look forward to treasuring it for years to come.
J
K is for Kris Kringle, the man with the bag. Of course, Santa Claus factors into Hong Kong's Christmas celebrations, big-time. He's set up in the malls to take photos with the kids, his face is hanging on many windows and everybody seems to be wearing a version of his hat! Even my little Fredric got in on the game with his doggie Santa suit!
K
L is for
lights! As soon as it gets dark out, I plug in my tree and the string of lights I hung over our doorway. In fact, for the past couple of days, they've been on constantly, day and night!
L
M is for marrons glacés. Perhaps you're unfamiliar with these, but they are a French winter delicacy I simply adore. I had my first marron glacé in 2007, when I studied abroad in Paris. My good friend Nancy was bent on finding some, and she enlisted my help as we ran all around Ile-Saint-Louis one chilly afternoon until we finally tracked them down. Of course, I bought a few, too, and ever since, they've been something I seek out each holiday season. This year, city'super again came through! They had some boxes marked down from HKD 180 to HKD 70, but when I got to the cash register, it turned out they were further reduced to HKD 25! Merry Christmas to me! I still have a few left, but when I finish the box, I might even go back and pick up another. 'Tis the season.
N is for the Nutcracker! It seems no Christmas is complete without it. Of course, the Hong Kong Ballet puts on annual performances of Tchaikovsky's immortal classic. The last time I actually went to see the Nutcracker here was in 2011, but even in years when I don't, listening to the mesmerizing musical score never fails to put me in the Christmas mood. This year, I made it a point to buy a ticket and see the show one more time.
O is for ornaments. Back in New Jersey, a Yuletide highlight every year is hanging our family's collection of hundreds of Christmas ornaments upon the tree. It seems like each one has its own story, and they only get more meaningful with time. There are the first ornaments my parents bought together when they became a couple, and the additions we collected on each family vacation, and the ceramic figures my mom painted and even the handmade elementary school crafts my sister and I put together, all carefully preserved. However, in Hong Kong, I just have some simple red and silver balls and hearts. Perhaps one day, a few of these will be added to the immense American collection and become a part of our family's Christmas story.
P could be for poinsettias, of which there seem to be millions around town, or port, which I love to drink, especially at this time of year. But, over in Kowloon, there's another P that I think steals the show: the Peninsula. Hong Kong's grande dame of posh hotels is probably the classiest Christmas display in town. And I love to drop in to the hushed lobby to admire the decorations or simply stroll along Salisbury Road to take in the impressive lights embellishing her already resplendent façade.
P
Q is for quiz, as in a pub quiz. This is a Christmas tradition that Hong Kong has given me. I got to participate in two Christmas quizzes this season, both last Wednesday at the Canny Man, a Scottish bar in Wan Chai, and also at Christmas dinner yesterday, where the garrulous host, my friend Ailee, divided her guests into teams and read out a few rounds of holiday-themed trivia questions.
R is for rooftop, my rooftop. You know, back in 2009, when I had been in Hong Kong for only a few weeks, Christmas was already upon us, and my then-roommate Julian told me his boss invited him over for a Christmas Eve barbecue on her roof. She graciously extended the invitation to Jurre—our other roommate—and me, so we all went over to Happy Valley that night. It was the first time I ever scaled the six flights of stairs in this ramshackle old building I now call home. Of course, Julian and Jurre have long since gone, but the boss, Sonia, became one of my best friends. I took over the place in 2012, after she moved to Singapore, and I try to keep up the tradition of hosting a rooftop bash each year. Rest assured, 2016 was no different.
S is for SantaCon, the annual Yuletide pub crawl that I've written about before. This year, I participated in my fourth Hong Kong iteration of the worldwide event, and it was a blast as ever. Perhaps the video my friend Amelie took in Lan Kwai Fong that Saturday night best sums up the experience.
S
T is for tree, the focal point of many a home's Christmas displays, and certainly of my apartment's. I flirted with the idea of getting a real tree this year, but remembering Fredric's fondness for knocking over my artificial one last time, I thought it safer to stick with that. (Just re-positioning the tree and re-hanging ornaments was hassle enough, without water spilt on the tiles and pine needles flying everywhere!) I'm happy to report that the little guy seems to have greatly matured over the past twelve months. The tree has stood proud this entire holiday season. So, perhaps next year will be the time to splurge and buy a noble Douglas fir to add some holiday cheer to my flat.
T
U is for ugly sweaters, or Christmas jumpers, as the British call them. We decided to wear them to our company Christmas party this year. (It was so warm, though, that I wound up being the only person to keep it on for the entire party.) It was an unforgettable night out with the colleagues who have become good friends to me over the past two plus years.
U
V is for vin chaud. O.K., I admit it... I'm cheating a bit. Most places in Hong Kong call this mulled wine. But in France, it's known as vin chaud, and in Germany, it's Gluhwein. Whatever you call it, it's delicious, and second only to egg nog for me as a holiday tipple. But while egg nog is a bit more obscure here and found mostly in the higher-end supermarkets, this stuff is literally everywhere. I've had it in no fewer than three bars over the past week, in addition to homemade varieties at some holiday parties.
W is for a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know. Sadly, for me, we don't get snow in Hong Kong, or even truly chilly weather. Until I get my next American Christmas, I'll just have to keep dreaming of one.
X is for
X'mas. You know, it's kind of funny. I used to get really annoyed by the abbreviation X'mas. And then I got to Hong Kong and I encountered it everywhere! I mean, even some of the huge, professional lighting displays don't spell out the full word here. And so I did a little research into the use of X'mas, whose roots can be traced back centuries! X is a traditional abbreviation for Christ, and while it definitely still seems informal to shorten the spelling of this important holiday, Hong Kong has taught me that there's nothing sacrilegious or secular in the word.
X
Y is for a good, old Yule log burning in the fireplace. Alas, I don't have a fireplace here in Hong Kong, and you can bet one of the things I enjoy most when I do get to go home for Christmas is building one in our family room on a cold winter's night. However, there is a substitute of sorts: many people have uploaded Yule Log-like videos to YouTube of their own fireplaces burning, with a Christmassy soundtrack to accompany the toasty images... And I've been known to hook my laptop up to the television set and fall asleep in front of my faux fireplace.
Z is for Zuzu's petals... You know, from It's a Wonderful Life! Of course, for a movie lover like me, Christmas isn't complete without screenings of all of my favorite holidays flicks, from the true classics to more modern additions. Sitting on the couch, with the lights aglow on the tree, egg nog in hand and Fredric curled up beside me, I can think of no better way to savor the glories of the Christmas season.
So before I sign off here and migrate from bedroom to living room to finish off this Boxing Day with one last viewing of
Home Alone, I wanted to wish all of my family and friends—some near, some far—a very merry Christmas! I hope your holiday season has been as full of the things you love as mine! And I hope Christmas future continues to add new memories and traditions to the Christmas alphabet!
