Easter Bunny meets (Calos Casteneda's) Don Juan

Western holidays such as Christmas and Valentines Day are increasingly popular in China but the holidays lose something in translation. Some holidays, as we shall see, pick up new traditions altogether. Christmas is simply a shopping season featuring Santa Claus. Valentines is the chocolate candy industry's big sales promotion. Now, along comes Easter. Apparently, to the Chinese, Easter is a holiday celebrating the arrival of spring, bunny rabbits and mushrooms. Mushrooms?

Shanghai has put together a grand Easter celebration and has invited all the little children downtown for a traditional mushroom party. Kids will have a chance to associate with and paint charming artificial mushrooms and "parents are encouraged to sing and dance with "rabbit dolls." Sounds to me like the parents may be eating some of the painted mushrooms.