"We wish you a merry Christmas" with pictures of Elvis Tsui seems to be the latest trend among Chinese netizens during this year's Christmas.

 

今年的圣诞节对中国网民来说，配图徐锦江的“圣诞快乐”似乎成为最新潮流。
 

 

Born in 1961, Hong Kong veteran actor Elvis Tsui has become the latest internet icon¹ thanks to the classic character he played in the 1992 comedy movie Royal Tramp, where he looked a bit similar to Santa Claus, with a red hat and white beard.

 

The movie Tsui starred in was adapted from The Deer and the Cauldron, a novel by late Hong Kong novelist Louis Cha. Tsui played the role of Oboi, a malicious² and greedy military officer who conspires³ to fight for the throne.

 

Also, the character's name Oboi is pronounced similar to "all buy" in English, which encourages people to buy some gifts for loved ones during the Christmas season. And the coincidence further increases the popularity of Tsui.

 

Reputed as China's Santa Claus, Elvis Tsui has been frequently searched on Dec 24 on Sina Weibo, China's answer to Twitter, and his images have been adapted into micro videos, gifs and emojis at very short notice. Some clever business minds have produced tailor-made products on China's e-commerce platform Taobao.

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