Author: Cable promising Cheng Han Tong Wangjia
The difficult 2020 has finally come to an end. The fourth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong has not subsided. The gathering restrictions and the ban on dinner and dine-in in restaurants have both been added. The large-scale Christmas celebration plan for Hong Kong people has only been stranded, and Xiaoxin visited many people. , I saw the group portraits of them blessing the New Year and having fun in hardship in their own ways.
Looking out from a tall building near the West Kowloon High Speed Rail Station, the colorful Hong Kong-style lanterns on the glass curtain wall of Harbour City facing the sea make up Santa Claus, spaceships, and of course the phrase "Merry Christmas", which is quite chronological The light of the colorful lights reflected on the sea surface, together with the city lights behind, illuminating Hong Kong on the night of December 24, 2020.
The Christmas decorations of the "Ocean View" in Tsim Sha Tsui Harbour City and the night view of Victoria Harbour constitute a beautiful landscape.
Photo by Zhang Wei
People often describe Hong Kong with words such as "the fusion of Chinese and Western". This combination of Chinese and Western walls is especially prominent during festivals. Hong Kong people are keen on Western festivals, such as Christmas and Easter, while Chinese New Year, Double Ninth Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival Waiting for traditional festivals is also unambiguous.
Christmas trees of various shapes can be seen everywhere in Hong Kong in December. Major shopping malls and streets all announced Christmas with different themed installations. The "Dinosaurs" Christmas party at Miramar Plaza in Tsim Sha Tsui and the circle in West Kowloon are decorated with giant "snow white" "Christmas Village", the 3-meter Christmas bear cubs in Harbour City, and the sea-view Christmas Campfire... Add a touch of warm and bright colors to the city under the shadow of the epidemic.
On the evening of December 24, people watched the "Symphony of Lights" light show at the waterfront of Tsim Sha Tsui.
Photo by Zhang Wei
Almost every housing estate and office building has Christmas decorations.
The house where Xiaoxin lives is also. In addition to a Christmas tree nearly 2 meters high in the lobby, there is also a glass ball with a diameter of more than 1 meter. There are villages, trees, and small people with different appearances. "Continuously sprayed from the center and scattered around.
The neighborhoods passing by are attracted to stop or take photos.
Under the epidemic this year, nearly zero tourists entered the country. The Hong Kong government recently announced the extension of anti-epidemic measures such as banning food at night and dine-in in restaurants and restricting gatherings of two people. Across Christmas and New Year's holidays, people will inevitably feel disappointed. Family and friends will gather to celebrate Christmas Also helpless to bathe.
Citizens take selfies before Christmas decorations at Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Photo by Zhang Wei
Xiaoxin chatted with a few Hong Kong people to see how they spent Christmas under the epidemic.
Citizen Miss Huang
This Christmas is so disappointing, because the epidemic does not have to travel, and restaurants are not allowed to eat in the evening market.
For the past two or three years, I didn’t seem to have spent Christmas in Hong Kong. Last year, I went to New York to attend a friend’s wedding. I was in London the year before.
Many Hong Kong people around me are like this. They leave Hong Kong before Christmas and come back after New Year's Day for a long holiday.
But it’s very strange. I don’t know if it’s because of the inability to leave Hong Kong. I personally feel that the Christmas atmosphere is much stronger than in previous years.
There are three large and small Christmas trees on the bare head of the housing estate I live in. The mall downstairs is cycling Christmas songs 24 hours a day. Since November, I honestly feel dizzy when I hear "We Wish You A Merry Christmas". I hummed suddenly when I took a shower recently, and I was shocked.
I was idle and bored. For the first time, I ordered a Christmas tree on the Internet, the one taller than a human, and the real tree is 1.9 meters tall.
When it arrived, I was very happy. I moved it into the house. I felt that it was fat and cute, but after an hour I couldn’t stand it anymore. It tasted acceptable, but it kept shed its leaves. I use the vacuum cleaner once, back and forth, I'm going crazy.
I went to Log-On to choose some decorations. The golden and red balls are the most classic. There are also some small lanterns. The light bulbs are scattered. I sat on the ground and stringed them for a long time. Another decoration was too heavy and I hung it up. Just crushed a small branch, and finally put a star on the top of the tree, and you're done.
The moment I lit the lights was so happy, it was a Christmas atmosphere.
I have always liked this festival. I haven't thought about why before. It may be that it is so lively, and I can meet with friends and exchange gifts. It's good.
Looking at it now but feeling the warm atmosphere, people’s expectations and sincere blessings, in short, a very beautiful thing.
The Hody-Listen band performed at the Hong Kong Youth Band Festival concert (data map).
Photo courtesy of Ding Zhengkai
Ding Zhengkai, lead singer of Hody-Listen
The epidemic has repeated. In order to avoid a greater risk of infection caused by crowds, many outdoor and indoor cultural performances that could have been performed on Christmas have been cancelled. Prior to this, the Hody-Listen band has been invited to perform since its establishment at the end of 2017. Festival music performance.
The performance is to be cancelled. Our band members can understand that the most important thing in Hong Kong now is to do a good job of epidemic prevention and eliminate the epidemic as soon as possible, because only in this way can people's livelihood and economy gradually return to normal.
In the past, we spent Christmas in performances, performing in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories.
This year, I only have a rest. I stay at home most of the time. Even the members are not together. Everyone can only use mobile phone video or voice calls to send each other a blessing message.
In fact, it is not only Christmas, but many live performances in Hong Kong have been affected throughout this year, and so are we, so we turn to online performances.
You see that the epidemic has been repeating. From the first wave to the fourth wave, we also want to use some methods to cheer up and transfer energy to the medical staff who have been sticking to their posts.
We naturally thought of writing songs, writing some songs related to the epidemic.
For example, "Xiyang", "Pandemic Walker", "Homecoming" and "Guoan Jiahe" are all original songs created during this period.
I hope to convey our thoughts.
Kwong Meiyun, representative of the National People's Congress of Hong Kong, and chairman of the Hong Kong Zhuhai Association
On December 24, Kuang Meiyun sent a selfie video to Xiaoxin.
She was dressed in white sitting at the table, with a birthday cake and Christmas cottage decorations in front of her.
The birthday hit the day before Christmas. It was indeed special, but this year, she decided to celebrate her birthday alone and called on the citizens to reduce their dinner parties.
This holiday is a very different holiday. I believe that we can all feel that health and peace are the most important.
During the severe period of the epidemic, everyone should reduce gatherings and reduce the exchanges between friends.
The most important thing is that we maintain a pure and joyful heart between each other. I wish all of us can regain the upper bound, and everyone can strengthen themselves, overcome and overcome the epidemic in adversity.
Citizen Yun
"Calm down and think about it, what does my stomach want to eat now?" The words of "The Lonely Gourmet" seemed to be particularly suitable at this time.
For the sake of safety this Christmas, we can only choose "loneliness", not to mention the "restricted gathering order" and "limited evening dine-in" regulations.
On the way to the end of work, I saw some restaurants whose lights were half turned off, probably to save electricity, and some took the opportunity to "slacken" and directly posted a holiday announcement.
There are also some Internet celebrity shops, which are still very "red". There is a long line in front of a Japanese food shop that I used to frequent, waiting to pick up the food.
But I plan to go home and be at the dinner table with my family, which seems to be the same as usual.
But as soon as the home-made Poon Choi was put on the table, there was a hot white smoke, wow, that kind of festive feeling was instantly there.
Giant Christmas decoration in Pacific Place.
Photo courtesy of Mr. Yin
Class 20 Mainland student Qiu who came to Hong Kong to study
I really didn't come in time.
I originally ordered a plane to come to Hong Kong in August, but the third wave of the epidemic broke out. It was postponed to mid-November. Seeing the third wave subsided, I thought it was the right time. As a result, the ban was finally lifted after 14 days of isolation. "When I came out, I was lucky enough to go to school. The fourth wave broke out, and I was confused.
I thought at that time, this will not be my only face-to-face lecture this year, right?
The Christmas atmosphere in Hong Kong is very strong.
I come from a northern capital city in the mainland, and there will be Christmas decorations on our side, but there will also be some shopping malls and shops. No one wants to go to the festival. It should be said that this festival is an excuse for friends to have dinner.
Hong Kong feels that the whole people are "seriously celebrating the holidays", which is really different.
Compared with the decoration of shopping malls, I especially like the patterns made by the old-fashioned lanterns outside the buildings, especially the "port", the combination of Chinese and Western feelings.
I took a lot of photos, and recently the frequency of my posting to Moments has skyrocketed.
By the way, Christmas is my birthday.
But because I can’t eat in the restaurant at night, I made an appointment with my friends to eat hot pot at noon and cut cakes. The Christmas shop does not charge "cake cutting fees."
In the afternoon, I went to see the night scene at Victoria Peak. The last time I came was ten years ago.
Christmas lights in Mody, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Hong Kong.
Photo by Zhang Wei
In the dessert shop on the corner, the music of "Jingle Bells" (jingle bells) is lively and lively.
The kitchen is in full swing, and the staff is in a hurry to make take-out packaging.
Gingerbread, Santa-style cakes, etc., just looking at it makes people feel happy.
A "hot pot group" appeared in Hong Kong this year. At that time, a hot pot owner once ridiculed Xiaoxin: "When the whole world thinks that eating hot pot will get the new crown epidemic, it will be useless." A few months later, the hot pot restaurant They changed their minds one after another, and some sold Hong Kong people’s favorite pot choi during festivals; some vigorously introduced spicy Sichuan dishes to warm up the winter.
Many hotels continue to offer Christmas-themed meals, and the prices are much cheaper than usual.
Such as the sumptuous sea and land dinner at the Courtyard by Marriott Sha Tin; the Sicilian style dishes at the Ritz-Carlton Michelin Italian restaurant; the four-course set menu full of Christmas elements at Cordis Hotel, including turkey, black forest tree top cake, etc., all for Christmas taste.
Say your Christmas and New Year wishes
At Christmas, people will dream of miracles. Friends who have left come back again. Lovers who have not heard from for a while make happy calls, as if all miracles in this world will happen, even though Christmas has never been sent. miracle.
Obviously, this does not prevent people from still being full of expectations for this festival, and full of new expectations for the upcoming 2021.
Looking back on a year in the epidemic, Hong Kong citizens have used words such as "loneliness", "helplessness" and "boring" one after another.
Many of them hope that they will be healthy and healthy in the coming year, that the epidemic will end, their lives will return to normal, and they hope that they will get good results... Xiaoxin wishes Hong Kong a better tomorrow!