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Newly-built church marks Beijing's Xmas eve
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-12-25 09:15 More than 2,000 Christians and ordinary people
attended a sacred ritual in a newly-established church in northeastern Beijing
Saturday to mark the Christmas eve.
The rite was the first grand ceremony held in the Chaoyang Christian Church,
the first of its kinds built in the capital city since 1949, when the People's
Republic of China was founded, according to Yu Lixin, a senior priest with the
Christian Association of China.
The church, located in the Chaoyang District, began to receive Christians on
Dec. 16 after a 21-month construction, which involves an investment up to
millions of yuan from the Beijing Municipal Government.
Constriction of another three churches is expected to finish next year in the
districts of Fengtai, Haidian and Yanqing, according to Yu.
Statistics from the municipal bureau of religion show that there are more
than 50,000 Christians and some 80 priests in this capital city of China, where
about 20 officially registered churches are offering Christian services.
The municipal government has been working hard to provide a better
environment for religious believers. A large amount of fund has been injected to
the renovation of some key churches in the downtown regions.
However, going to churches is not the only choice for ordinary Chinese to
spend the Christmas eve.
Christmas, traditionally a Western holiday, is becoming more and more popular
in the oriental country and its people, especially the youth, are taking various
ways to experience the exotic festival.
Numerous young people thronged to bars, KTVs, night clubs and other
entertainment facilities Saturday night. Many shopping centers postponed their
service time by several hours to meeting the purchase boom.
Christmas is not only a purely religious festival for many Chinese, as more
consider it a nice opportunity to add some color to the life.
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