(Liuzhou, Guangxi Province) On December 20, 2021, the Education Bureau of Rong’an County in Liuzhou issued a directive to “disseminate traditional Chinese culture and prohibit the celebration of western festivals.” All primary, secondary, and Kindergarten schools, teachers, and students are banned from participating in Christmas activities.
The notice said:
“Christmas Eve”, a western festival with a strong religious color. With the coming of Christmas, some western developed countries have disseminated western values and lifestyles in our country through advanced technology and highly developed cultural communication methods; which have been sought after by some young people in China. Businesses have also seized the opportunity to create a festive atmosphere to attract consumers. The social impact of the western festival is increasing, and it has also caused a serious impact on our country’s traditional culture! In accordance with the ideas relayed in the documents of Chinese higher-ups, the county’s education bureau decided to prohibit teachers and students from organizing any “foreign festivals” celebrations on and off school grounds. In hopes that all teachers and students in the schools, especially the party members and comrades, will earnestly
follow the implementation, actively respond to the call of the Party Central Committee, and be a model for inheriting and carrying forward the excellent Chinese traditional culture! If anyone has knowledge of any unit or individual that organizes “Christmas Eve ” and “Christmas” celebrations, please promptly contact officer Li Xinyuan of the Rong’an County Public Security Bureau’s State
Security Brigade. The contact number is 17772028488.
On Christmas Eve, all regions of China prohibit school teachers and students from celebrating “western festivals.” It is common in recent years for authorities to enact various bans regarding Christmas in the name of protecting Chinese traditional culture. Every year before December 25th, similar notices issued by different city government departments will be released on social media. These directives showcase the Chinese officials’ tightening ideological atmosphere in the past few years, and the influence of western values and western religions on the Chinese people’s ideology has made the CCP full of vigilance and
wariness. This seems to be very different from the “cultural self-confidence” they have always emphasized in public and to the outside. In particular, the Christian faith constitutes a fundamental conflict with the atheistic beliefs and nationalist ideology, advocated by the CCP. When an individual regards God as the supreme authority, the Communist Party not only fails to become the supreme authority, but may even become the enemy of God, this individual will naturally become a direct or potential hostile force of the CCP. This is why the CCP continues to frantically suppress the Christian Church in China, and why the CCP fears the celebration of “western festivals.”
~ Yu Bing, Special Correspondent of ChinaAid