Mao's birthday in Beijing: Christmas, 2013

Just got back from a frigid ride around north Chaoyang, looking for any gas station I could find that would take my plates and registration. Even my go-to location in Wangjing failed; I even took the step of attaching the plates to the rear fender, but to no avail.

I get home and Bill Bishop's now-weekly Sinocism newsletter (apparently going out to more than 14,500 subscribers) mentions that December 26th is Mao's birthday--and 2013 marks the 120th anniversary. (Quick math: Mao was born in 1893.) I hope Mao is happy that well-meaning foreigners can't gas up for Christmas shopping. I mean, c'mon...