The high-pitch voice of a Chinese woman teacher was ringing dominantly around the classroom. “What festival is it on the 24th of December?” A dozen of timid children ages 9 to 10 years old answered in a very low voice. “Holy Night.” The teacher kept asking those poor children in a scolding tone, “What festival is it on the 25th of December?” Some children raised their voices a little bit louder, thinking that they got the question right this time for this “unexpected quiz”. “Christmas!” A few students showed some excitement, but immediately realized that their teacher was not pleased about their answer.
Then, the teacher asked, “What festival is it on the 26th of December?” Silence. This time the teacher could not control her temper; she began yelling at the scared children, “Pathetic, pathetic, you don’t know this most important festival – it is the birthday of Chairman Mao.” She continued her nasty comments, “Let me tell you – please stop celebrating those nonsense foreign festivals; the only festival you should celebrate is the 26th of December, the birthday of our great Chairman Mao!”
Chinese children do not know who Mao is. Mao died in 1976; he led an extreme Communist regime from 1949 to 1976. During his 27-year rule, millions of people died of starvation or of torture in labor farms, reeducation camps. Maoism is incompatible with Confucius’s philosophy and traditional Chinese culture. After 1980s, China began to restore the traditional Chinese culture erased during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Gradually, Mao disappeared from the life of the Chinese people. The era of worshiping Mao seems gone, forever. However, the evil spirit of Mao is haunting China again after President Xi Jinping took over.
Some people secretly filmed those anti-Christmas classrooms and posted them on social media. In one video clip, a class of fourth graders, all wearing red, gathered in their classroom, swearing that they rejected Christmas and vowed they would never celebrate the birthday of Jesus.
When many children in the world can happily sing the song “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so,” Chinese children are forced to denounce Jesus before they even get to know Jesus. The authorities have issued orders forbidding children to attend churches and Sunday schools or Christian summer camps. Party members would be subject to disciplinary consequences if they or their direct relatives were found to be involved in religious activities on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. In other words, parents are communists and their children must become atheists.
In an important speech on religion last year, President Xi Jinping said that young people must study science, believe in science and develop a ‘correct’ worldview and set of values. In this speech, President Xi also re-emphasized the need for Communist Party cadres to be strict Marxist atheists, and not find values or beliefs in religion. As a result, more cadres and government employees were punished and fired for attending religious activities.
China is in the midst of a religious revival; the Communist Party believes that education is a battlefield. Young people going to church or attending religious activities may challenge their monopoly on “truth,” and the government’s ability to instill its own historical narratives and worldview through the public education system. In the meantime, the government is concerned that religion could be a means through which “foreign” values – human rights and democracy – may penetrate into China and ultimately affect their political power/control.
In my childhood, every child was taught/forced to sing “Chairman Mao is our Savior,” in kindergarten and elementary school. But that was 1970s. In 2017, the head of the Education Bureau in Hunan province stressed the need to make a ‘decisive effort to prevent religions infiltrating into schools and to guide students to consciously resist religious cults.’ In neighboring Henan province, a government document was issued in July 2017, reinforcing the communist policy of not allowing religions to run study classes for minors.
Christmas became an odd season in China in 2017. The streets and shopping malls were decorated with Christmas trees, Christmas gifts. But young people had no idea about the relationship between Christmas and the Christian faith. A student in Jiangsu province whose university had banned celebrations on campus told a newspaper that he was disappointed in the decision.
“I am not very convinced of the school’s excuse. Nobody relates Christmas to Western ideologies. Now I may not party with my friends in the school’s dorm because we are afraid that there will be inspections,” he said.
For the Chinese government, “Ignorance is strength.” But younger generations of Chinese are missing what may be the best time of the year to get to know Jesus.
The Christmas season is over, but we should celebrate Christmas all year round, because Christmas is about peace on earth and good will to all humankind. Christmas is the best gift for Chinese children.
I encourage you to join me praying for Chinese children.
References:
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/xmas-12202017113540.html
http://www.scmp.com/comment/article/2125740/talk-christmas-being-banned-mainland-humbug