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The Cultural Frontline: Festive Traditions and Magical Places

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A shopkeeper at a stall selling Christmas decorations in Beijing

26/12/2015 GMT

Festive Traditions and Magical Places

BBC World Service - The Cultural Frontline, Festive Traditions and Magical Places

Discovering festive traditions in China and Italy

With Tina Daheley.

Buying apples as festive gifts has become big business in China at this time of year, the artist Aowen Jin investigates what this trend has to do with the Chinese fondness for wordplay. From Italy, author Simona Vinci explains how the bird shaped flute, the ocarina became the soundtrack to Christmas in Bologna. Beatboxer Ben Mirin explains why he began to incorporate bird sounds into his act. And in Madrid, the writer Laia Jufresa explores a library with an enchanting collection of books.

(Photo: Shopkeeper in Beijing Credit: Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images)

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