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To: H James Morris who wrote (27104)	12/26/1997 2:32:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Christmas is becoming the second most celebrated holiday, among the young, in China............................................... FridayÿÿDecember 26ÿÿ1997 Curious crowds flock to churches before discos AGENCIES A mixture of believers and curious onlookers flocked to one of Beijing's oldest government-approved Catholic churches for midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Catholic sentries sporting yellow armbands ushered in the 2,000 or so people with tickets for the service, while keeping at bay a crowd of about 100 ticketless hangers-on outside. "Science and nature are my religion," said an engineering student from Beijing's Polytechnic University. "I have come to hear the sacred songs and to see what is done on Christmas." Crowds of colourfully dressed young people shuffled into one of Beijing's 17 Protestant and eight Catholic churches on Wednesday evening at the start of a night on the town. "We will get some food, then we'll go to a disco," said 17-year-old Wang Jie, who was rushing out in the middle of an early evening Mass at St Joseph's in central Wangfujing shopping district. "We'll be back for midnight Mass," he said, having seen the inside of a church for the first time. On the other side of town, China's best known rocker, Cui Jian , thrilled hundreds of fans who paid 150 yuan (HK$140.40) to hear his seven-man band. "I'm playing on Christmas Eve because there is an opportunity to perform. There is no other significance," he said. Several people said they had attended Mass earlier in the evening. "Going to Mass was part of the evening's entertainment," said a 26-year-old man. "But what Cui Jian says makes more sense to me than the Bible." In Shanghai, the main Xujiahui Catholic Cathedral celebrated a Christmas Eve Mass, with several masses scheduled for yesterday. Some 1,500 worshippers packed the pews while hundreds of curious non-believers milled around them. Meanwhile, restaurants and department stores in Shanghai did brisk business as more Chinese celebrated the festival. Rudolf the Reindeer, blow-up Santas, Snow White and her dwarfs, and Christmas trees of all sizes adorned hotel lobbies, shop windows and even private homes as the city's largely atheist population embraced the season. "Christmas has become a very important festival for young people after the Lunar New Year," said Yang Ming, who works in the marketing department of Shanghai Orient Shopping Centre. "They exchange gifts and cards and go out to parties at night," she said, adding the store had stocked more gifts and cards this year to capitalise on the rising trend of celebrating Christmas.