Customs follow the trend of the times
Our reporter Zhou Jie/Wen Tangjun/Photo
2003-12-18
Shenzhen Metropolis Daily
Customs follow the trend of the times
The original meaning of foreign festivals has been blurred. Traditional festivals need to be injected with fresh breath. In terms of being considerate of the individuality of urban people, further " Package".
Our reporter Zhou Jie/Wen Tangjun/Photo
Keyword famous sayings
National festivals are the birthday of culture
Writer Feng Jicai: The reason for the "invasion" of Western festivals is, on the one hand, related to the strong economic and cultural background of the West. This kind of sweetness was also experienced in China during the Tang Dynasty. On the other hand, the market regards these external and fresh festivals as business opportunities, vigorously hypes them, and praises them as fashion.
From a historical perspective, there is another reason. This is because in the past few decades, the political content of life has been overemphasized, political festivals have been one-sidedly strengthened, and national and folk festivals have been downplayed. Now that social life has returned to normal, people's pockets and time have become richer, and festivals are needed to bring the interest and climax of life. Only then did we realize that our festivals have become poor and limited, and it is difficult to cope with people's needs. Blank.
I think we shouldn’t say no to Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. Don’t those foreign Women’s Day, Children’s Day and New Year’s concerts greatly enrich our life and culture? However, we cannot abandon our own festivals, because a nation's festival is the birthday of its own culture.
Foreign festivals are inevitable in social changes
Wang Zhongwu, professor of sociology at Shandong University: Chinese festivals follow natural solar terms and form a closed space based on the family; Western festivals are The things of the larger society extend beyond the scope of the family. Comparing the two festivals: the former is necessary for family reunion, and it adapts to Chinese society. The large-scale festivals currently retained (Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival) have a strong significance for family reunion, while festivals such as "February Two Dragon Raises Its Head" have less The atmosphere of reunion gradually fades away; the latter is the product of interpersonal communication, which pays more attention to contact with non-blood people. The Chinese people's increasing preference for foreign festivals is the inevitable change of China's social structure.
With the urbanization of Chinese society, this kind of communication using "foreign festivals" as a way of gathering people should become more and more popular.
The original meaning of foreign festivals has been blurred
Sina Observer commentator Du Li: The "National Day" and "May Day" Spring Festival holidays are long but not like holidays, Christmas and Valentine's Day There is no rest but it is very lively. Every Christmas and Valentine's Day, the bars, discos, Western restaurants and cafes are full. I often drive around the city for a long time and can't find an empty table. Why? After thinking about it, I realized that the Spring Festival is a time when everyone is used to reliving family ties and is about reunion. "National Day" and "May Day" are luxurious breaks. Everyone only thinks about going on a family trip, or simply recuperating and sleeping in to refresh themselves, so seven days is not too long. Those foreign festivals have long been blurred by Chinese young people from their original meaning, and turned into a feast of crazy parties and fun.
Keyword influence
Western festival influence
Christmas CHRISTMAS influence: ★★★★★
Originally "Christ Abbreviation for "Christmass". Legend records that December 25 is the birth day of Jesus. On this day, Catholic churches around the world will hold masses to commemorate the birthday of Jesus. Today, Christmas has transformed from a religious holiday into a worldwide popular holiday. People wish each other well during the festival and look forward to a happy new year. Valentine's Day - Saint Valentine's Day
Influence: ★★★★
February 14th every year is the traditional Western Saint Valentine's Day, and Called "Valentine's Day". It has a long history. Lupercalia in ancient Roman times was a festival for lovers. By the 7th century AD, Christian church leaders wanted to associate this holiday with Christianity, so they renamed the holiday after the Christian martyr Valentine and changed the date from February 15th to February 14th. day.
April Fools’ day
Influence: ★★★★
April Fools’ day is April 1st every year, a traditional Western festival - April Fools’ Day. April Fool's Day originated in France. In 1564, France first adopted the newly reformed calendar method-the Gregorian calendar (the current Gregorian calendar), with January 1st as the beginning of the year. However, some conservative people are opposed to this reform and still stubbornly send gifts on April 1 to celebrate the New Year according to the old calendar. Those who advocated reform made a mockery of the practices of these conservatives. On this day, they gave them fake gifts, invited them to fake receptions, and called the deceived conservatives "April fools" or "bait fishes". ". From then on, people fooled each other on April 1st, which became a popular custom in France. At the beginning of the 18th century, the custom of April Fool's Day was spread to Britain, and then brought to the United States by early immigrants from Britain. MotheringSunday
Influence: ★★★★
Mothering Sunday in the United States began in May 1907. The initiative to establish Mother's Day was initiated by Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia. She personally arranged ceremonies and organized activities in the classroom, and required all participants to wear white dianthus flowers on their chests. The next year, more churches organized similar activities one after another, and everyone unanimously decided to designate the second Sunday in May each year as Mother's Day. Since then, Mother's Day has become a recognized official holiday in the United States. Later, many countries followed suit. Halloween AllHallow's Day
Influence: ★★★★
On October 31st, when night falls, children can’t wait to put on colorful and weird costumes and all kinds of strange things. Mask, put on the "jack o'lantern"-pumpkin lantern...the ghost festival has begun.
More than two thousand years ago, the Catholic Church in Europe designated November 1 as “All Hallows Day”. "Hallow" means saint. According to Western legends, the souls of dead friends will return to their former homes on this day to look for souls in living people so that they can be reborn. This is the only hope for rebirth after death, and the living are afraid of the souls of the dead coming to seize their lives. . In 500 BC, the Celts moved this festival forward by one day, namely October 31. After thousands of years of evolution, Halloween has become a happy and mysterious festival today.
It doesn’t matter if we celebrate holidays every day
Wang Fangmei, Master of Sociology
When my friend and I were going shopping, we once said disdainfully: “What do we celebrate other people’s holidays? How cool? Kitsch!" Despite this, she decided to have dinner and watch a movie with her boyfriend on Christmas Eve. Her words and actions made me laugh and cry.
I don’t know how many people are like her who can’t help but be involved in the holiday trend, and I don’t know if they have ever thought about the reason why they can’t help themselves. Personally, I am happy to celebrate various festivals, because I like the lively, reunited atmosphere and the feeling of relaxation. The pace of modern life is so tense. People wake up every morning like clockwork and dare not slack off at all. However, festivals provide us with sufficient reasons to enjoy life without feeling guilty for wasting time. During the festival, you can invite a few friends who have lost touch with you due to work on weekdays to go shopping and reminisce about the past. You can also have a warm dinner with your family, or you can quietly enjoy the world of two with your lover...
In fact, now, Western festivals and our traditional festivals have a composite function. The festival has become a "hybrid", but the functions are different. The Spring Festival is a day for reunion, and Christmas is a day for carnival. , various festivals are an important link in maintaining emotions. In this sense, as long as various festivals can make people happy physically and mentally, refreshed mentally, and full of hope for life, then what's the harm in celebrating festivals every day?
Popularized to "part of the public"
Cai Lei, Department of Ethnology, Wuhan University Law School
People who celebrate foreign festivals enjoy themselves, and those who don't take it seriously are regarded as It is called "Chongyang", and it would be superficial and simple to use the word "Chongyang" to summarize it.
It is not only a fashion for young people to celebrate foreign festivals, but also a cultural phenomenon. It reflects the cultural choices and value pursuits under the blend of Chinese and Western cultures.
The popularity of foreign festivals is also related to the decline of the function of traditional Chinese festivals. The reunion of relatives during the Spring Festival and the family affection during the Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival still create the atmosphere of some traditional festivals for us. As for the Dragon Boat Festival, Chinese Valentine's Day, etc., they are at most accompanied by legends and have little relevance to ordinary people's lives. In recent years, there has been a saying that "the taste of the new year has become weak". Modern people living in a fast-paced world most need the entertainment and leisure functions of festivals, but traditional festivals often cannot meet this need. Therefore, foreign festivals "take advantage of the opportunity" and become a necessary reason for modern people to seek happiness and pleasure. The popular "foreign festival" obscures the core of the festival in the minds of modern people.
In this era that attaches great importance to publicity and packaging, the popularity of foreign festivals also benefits from the clever work of merchants. Merchants prefer festivals to foreign festivals. As long as it is a festival, whether it is a "local festival" or a "foreign festival", it can be turned into business opportunities. Various festival promotions are launched in a variety of ways, making customers dizzying. It is in this way that knowledge and information about Western festivals are spread to "part of the public" intentionally or unintentionally.
Although foreign festivals are popular, they have not reached the stage of popularization among the people, nor have they completely overwhelmed the local festivals. Christmas is a carnival, but the new year has faded and we will still have to celebrate it, but I’m afraid we have to change the format and absorb more of the relaxed and fashionable elements of the Western festival.
Absorb "fashion" elements
Huang Jie, graduate student of folk culture
An important feature of Chinese festival culture is that festivals are extremely closely related to solar terms. Many Festivals develop from solar terms. Of course, there is another category of traditional festivals, such as the Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Chinese Valentine's Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, etc., which have a strong humanistic color. Their origins are either sacrifices to ghosts and gods, commemoration of heroes, or social interaction. Demand etc. However, Western festival customs are less related to agricultural activities and more to commemorate some religious figures.
The entry of Western festivals into China will definitely have a certain "impact" on traditional Chinese festivals. Some even say it is an "invasion." However, this kind of "intrusion" can make everyone accept that when Chinese people celebrate foreign festivals, they don't necessarily understand the meaning and culture contained in it. They just want to find a reason to be happy. Moreover, Western Valentine's Day, Father's Day, Mother's Day, etc. are also beneficial to our national traditions. It is a good opportunity to express our feelings for our lovers and parents. This should be a good idea for Chinese people who are always shy to express their inner world. is a good thing.
Some people worry that foreign festivals will weaken the importance of traditional festivals, but this is not necessary. Every festival custom has a deep cultural heritage behind it. Unless a culture dies, some of its customs may die. Of course, some changes in customs are certain.