Christmas might not be a public holiday in China – the country has virtually no cultural ties to the festival, which has its roots in Western Christianity.

But in recent years, the holiday has become more popular on the mainland, especially among young Chinese people. That has given rise to the adoption of seasonal traditions, some of which are classically Western and others which are distinctly Chinese.

A Christmas gift with a big apple is a tradition in Minglai Group. Enter the tradition of giving apples. Ever wonder why you may have been receiving them from Chinese friends and coworkers this Christmas? Over the past decade, gifting apples on Christmas Eve has become so popular in China that the price of the fruit has actually risen every December 24.

ut why apples? According to The World of Chinese, the tradition is rooted in homophones. In Mandarin, ‘Christmas Eve’ translates to Ping’anye (平安夜, the evening of peace), which also happens to sound a bit like the Chinese word for ‘apple’ or pingguo (苹果). Chinese people have taken the cleverness one step further and given a special name to these Christmas apples: ping’anguo (平安果), or ‘peace apples.’

Usually wrapped in boxes or colorful paper and decorated with cartoons, ribbons, or even Christmas messages printed on their skin, peace apples tend to be more expensive because they’re more like a present than produce on this day of the year.

This year we got a very big apple for everyone in minglai packaging. As we are all affected with COVID. Health is the biggest greetings for everyone in China now. We hope the bigger apple that wrapped in the colorful gift boxes bring us and our loved ones the biggest blessing with health.