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Christmas is growing in popularity in China Kang Wei/ChinaFotoPress/PA Images
China

What happens when you try celebrating Christmas in a religious way in China (video)

Christmas is getting very popular in China – but the officials are not happy with ‘outdoors events of a religious nature’.

CHRISTMAS IN CHINA has grown immensely popular over the past decade.

Around 90 per cent of people in Beijing have plans over Christmas according to CNC World. Hopefully they don’t involve celebrating in a religious way out in public.

AP reports that the small Xintan Village Church tried to host an outdoor Christmas party on Tuesday until officials came and destroyed their equipment and harassed the people celebrating.

The deputy director of religious affairs, Zeng Jianhua, told AP, “We told them that any outdoors event of a religious nature is strictly banned from being organised, and that’s what it states in the government rule on religion.”

The village of Ruian in Zhejian Province is often called “Christmas Village” because it makes Christmas products. It produced over €59.8 billion worth of Christmas ornaments this year.

The video of the village celebration begins at 1:24. It shows police first cutting off the electricity to the stage, and then entering and arresting a man trying to take pictures. Police proceed onto the stage where two small fights are quickly broken up.

- By Andrew Shen

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