Christmas Gift Traditions in Asia
The Christmas traditions of Asia are a collection of religious practices by different religions occurring during the holiday period. Only a small part of the population of most countries in Asia belongs to Christian faith, so Christmas is not so widely celebrated there. Places where Christmas is observed people mostly follow Western customs and traditions such as attending the midnight Mass, religious services, exchanging of Christmas gifts, singing carols, decorating houses and Christmas trees with ornaments, gold paper fans, lanterns and flowers.
In Japan there is no official celebration of Christmas as less than 1% of the population is Christian. Though there is an unofficial widespread secular observance of the holiday due to the influence of the American culture. Christmas in Japan as well as Christmas in South Korea is in the first place a commercial event, celebrated mostly by the young generation and lovers. Christmas in China is also a private holiday, since the vast majority of the Chinese people are not Christian. The main winter festival in China is the Chinese New Year called the “Spring Festival,” which takes place in the end of January. In Hong Kong, on the contrary, Christmas is a big holiday, because there are Christians of most denominations. Christmas in Malaysia is both a public and a religious festival. The local Christian community here making up to 7 % of the population, observes the Advent which is a four week period before Christmas. It’s the time for prayers, Bible reading and fasting. Christmas in Thailand is hardly observed since 92% of Thai are Buddhists. There is little knowledge about the true meaning of Christmas among this nation except some well-known European Christmas customs and love for Christmas shopping.
No matter how widespread Christmas celebrations in Asia are, they are considered incomplete without beautiful Christmas gifts. Christmas gifts to Asia is the ideal way to express love and care to your friends and loved ones, and people eagerly await the arrival of Christmas gifts.
Gift giving in Asia is an intricate and important practice. Before sending a Christmas gift to Asia of any kind, you must first establish a personal relationship with the recipient. Otherwise, the gift may very well be perceived as a bribe. It’s a good idea to select a modest, inexpensive gift so that the recipient won’t feel obligated to you. The mostly appreciated Christmas gifts are Items from your home country, foreign, prestigious name-brand items, imported high-quality Spirits Baskets and Chocolate Christmas Baskets or something that reflects the interests and tastes of the recipient, e.g. Flower Basket (avoid lilies, lotus blossoms, and camellias –flowers used for funerals in Japan), Fruit Basket, Spa Basket, Tea/Coffe Basket, Gourmet Basket and others. Keep in mind, that the Christmas gift should be beautifully wrapped. Do not wrap gifts in colors such as white, blue or black as they are associated with funerals. Red, yellow, pink and green are seen as joyful colors, and are perfectly acceptable for Christmas gift wrap.
Take some time to choose a proper Christmas gift to Asia and you are sure to produce a wonderful impression on the recipient and show yourself to good advantage!