8 Catholic churchgoers rehearse a "fan dance" program for the Christmas celebration at a church in Linxi county, administrated by Xingtai, North China's Hebei Province on Monday. Photo: screenshot of a video sent to the Global Times by a local Catholic

As Christians around the world greet Christmas with midnight masses and other traditions, many Chinese believers are infusing their celebrations with local cultural traditions and customs such as Chinese folk-art forms and traditional operas.

Li Yurong, a Catholic in Linxi county, Xingtai, North China's Hebei Province, said a local church is rehearsing a "fan dance" with the song "Today is your birthday, Jesus Christ" for the Christmas Eve performance on Monday.

The song's melody accompanies new lyrics based on the patriotic-themed song "Today is your birthday" produced in 1989 to mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Video of the rehearsal sent to the Global Times by another Catholic surnamed Guo shows dancers changing the dance formation in accordance with the background music and some believers sitting beside the stage to watch the performance.

Li said churches design such performances every year. "It's all about our belief and life," she noted.

Besides the dancing program, Li said that believers had also planned to perform kuaiban, a traditional Chinese folk-art form whereby stories are recited to the rhythm of bamboo clappers, but instead, they picked stories from the Bible as the content.

Users on Sina Weibo, also posted videos and photos showing Christians performing worship songs with local operas in Henan and Shandong Province.

To ensure a sound environment for Christmas, local authorities such as those in Beijing and Ningbo, Zhejiang Province also rolled out measures to eliminate safety hazards.