- Title: CHINA: Hundreds spend Christmas Eve in pillow fight
- Date: 25th December 2010
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 21-YEAR-OLD WEI ZHONGZHENG SAYING: "Today is the Christmas Eve, I think it's meaningful to take part in such a crazy activity. My friend organize us together. I come here with my friends to enjoy ourselves and celebrate this festival."
- Embargoed: 9th January 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China, China
- Country: China
- Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVA4SHFV69H2JCQQQT85AAVHHHHZ
- Story Text: While tranquillity is usually the order of the day on Christmas Eve, hundreds of partygoers in China celebrated the big day in another way.
An epic pillow fight to rock n' roll music absorbed more than 600 fun-seeking young people in the Mao Livehouse club in Shanghai on Friday (December 24).
Clutching a pillow in their hands and keeping an ear open for the accompanying live music, locals and tourists went crazy and created a whirlwind while shedding cotton fillings throughout the whole room.
The event was organized via a party website which has more than 150,000 members, and the entrance fee ranged from 180 to 380 yuan (27 to 58 U.S. Dollars).
The organizer of the event, Cai Jun, said pillow fighting was becoming more popular in China as a way to set people free from pressure.
"In China, a pillow fight is a novelty. It is a softly-violent way to release pressure after a whole year's work. So it's welcomed by white collar and young people," he said.
According to him, more than 800, mostly young people between 20-30 years old, registered online for the pillow fight night. However, the police restricted the number of participants to around 600 for security concerns.
For some who took part, pillow fight was a special way to say goodbye to a year's hardship.
"I am a university student and it's impossible that I have no pressure from the intense academic study. This kind of soft violence can help release my stress. It can also help office workers release some pressure too. I think the event is quite cool," said 20-year-old Sun Jun.
For some others like 21-year-old Wei Zhongzheng, this was to celebrate Christmas with fun and joy.
"Today is the Christmas Eve, I think it's meaningful to take part in such a crazy activity. My friend organize us together. I come here with my friends to enjoy ourselves and celebrate this festival," he said.
One thousand pillows were employed as weapons in the war of spreading Christmas joy, allowing the fight to last 25 minutes and leave a messy aftermath. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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