Apples are a popular gift in China on Christmas Eve. Do you know why?
Translation and word pronounciation are why! In Mandarin Chinese, “apple” (written: 苹果, pronounced: píngguǒ) and “Christmas Eve” (written: 平安夜, pronounced: Píng‘ān Yè, literally silent/peaceful night) share a similar component. The first character: 平 (pronounced “píng”), which means “peace”, sounds the same in both words, hence this recent tradition that makes the price of apples skyrocket in China each December.
Two curious facts I’d like to share:
Some say that “Christmas Eve” was originally translated into Mandarin from the lovely Christmas carol “Silent night”.
The first word I ever said, wrote and learned in Chinese was “píng” (平， peace!)
Wishing you a peaceful Christmas from Xiamen, China!
从厦门祝大家圣诞节快乐！
