中西节日文化差异

1、The comparison between Chinese and Western festivals中西方节日文化的差异比较Abstract: the process of compari ng the Chin ese and Wester n festivals and study ingWestern histories and cultures can help people promote the com muni cati on and understanding of different cultures. With the further development of so

2、ciety and inter-cultures, globalization will affect many aspects of life in all countries. And western festivals are beco ming more and more popular in Chi na. We should respect them and select the esse nee. Chi na boasts a brillia nt history and sple ndid traditi ons. In moder n times, Chin ese tra

3、diti on should be preserved and promoted. But it seems that young people no Ion ger treasurethe traditi on. On the con trary, they tur n to pursue en thusiastically a seem in gly more moder n culture. If this trend is allowed to con ti nue, the priceless heritage of our an cestors will be replaced b

4、y wester n traditi ons. Nobody expects such a consequenee. So let s join hand in hand to protect and carry forward Chi nese traditi on.Key words： Traditional festivals; Chinese and Western cultures; differenee; globalizati onIntroduction：“Aholiday of a nation representsa glorious culture and concent

5、rated customs of a nation. ” To understand a nations cultural implicationdOts cultural characteristics, we must start with its traditional festivals. There exists great differenee between Chin ese and Western festivals due to their differe nt Ian guages, educati on, life styles and customs. Rece ntl

6、y, western festivals are beco ming more and more popular among Chin ese. On one han d, it can in deed bring some ben efits to our country to some exte nt. On the other hand, we should pay atte nti on to this phe nomenon. The differe nces in their origi n and shap ing, celebrati on, food, banq uet ma

7、nn ers, color of festive dress ing and the attitudes of accepti ng prese nts con tribute to the great differe nces of Chin ese and Western festive cultures. On the background of globalization, we should pay respect to western festivals, and carry forward our excelle nt traditi onal festivals at the

8、same time.“ A holiday of a n ati on represe nts a glorious culture and concen trated customs of a nation. ” To understand a nations cultural implications and its cultural characteristics, we must start with its traditi onal festivals. There exists great differe nee betwee n the Chin ese and Western

9、festivals due to their differe nt Ian guages, educati on, life styles and customs.Rece ntly, western festivals are beco ming more and more popular among Chin ese people, especially among the young. Accord ing to an internet survey, more than half of the thirties prefer foreign festivals.With the fur

10、ther development of society and in ter-culture, though we should not reject the adva need tech no logy, culture, and foreig n Ian guage, there is a touch of mela ncholy whe n coming to think that our traditi onal festivals was n eglected.There are several possible reas ons for this phenomenon. First

11、, western nations, such as the United States and Britain, are powerful and dominant in many aspects. Everyth ing in these coun tries is assumed to be superior and adored by some moder n young people. Second, the prevale nee of English as a world Ianguage and the development of globalization enable w

12、estern culture to flood in China. Overwhelmed by such a trend, Chin ese uncon sciously get invo Ived in wester n culture. Last but not least, some Chin ese people have bli nd faith in foreig n things while dismiss our own possessi on swith con tempt. Un doubtedly, enjoying wester n festivals can en

13、rich our life, bring us more happ in ess, promote com muni cati on and enhance our frie ndship. Whether be the foreig n festivals or traditi onal festivals, they all imply the meaning of union, safety and bless ing. From the perspective of consumption and entertainment, festivals can not only stimul

14、ate domestic dema nd, but also provide access to exotic cultures. And foreig n festival, to some exte nt, means peer-gatheri ng.Besides, more people should make careful an alysis of the differe nces betwee n Chin ese and foreig n festival cultures.1. the differe nee of where they origi nated and how

15、 they took shapeThe orig inal meaning of Chin ese traditi onal festivals is from agriculture, because our country had bee n in feudal self-sufficie nt agricultural society and n atural economy for a long time. As the old saying goes Rain in spring is as precious as oil The peasantsare busy with grow

16、ing wheat during the Qingming festival. The Spring Festival and Qingming have bee n importa nt agricultural festivals since an cie nt times. Western traditi onal festivals origi nated from Christia nity, such as St. Vale nti nes Day is in commemorati on of Christia nity martyr n amed Vale nti ne, an

17、d the Easter of the revival of Jesus, Hallowee n is All Saints Day, and the Christmas is the birth of Jesus.2. the differe nee in celebrati onWestern traditi onal festivals emphasize on in teractivity, collectivity and extreme carnival, focusing on self and advocating free expressing of personality.

18、 While in Chi na, we focus on family reunion and enjoy happy family relatio ns. Here we set two examples as follows.*Spri ng Festival Vs New YearIn western nations, the New Year s Day falls on January 1st in Gregorian calendar. Onthe night of December 31, particularly close to the late zero o clock,

19、 tens of thousof people gather in to pray sincerely and silently for the coming year countdown. Whe n the bell sounds 12, sudde nly, the beautiful music sound, people are singing happily and talking cheerfully, playing all night long. In China, the Spring Festival falls on January 1st in lunar cale

20、ndar since Qin Dyn asty. On the eve of Spring Festival, we get together to enjoy delicious food and cuis ine, stayi ng up for the coming NewYear to bid farewell to the old year. The whole family will spe nd a beautiful ni ght in the sound of firecrackers. The Spring Festival lasts until Lantern Fest

21、ival. Spring clea ning. New Year gatheri ng, firecrackers, li on dance are the popular customs duri ng Spring Festival. Each of the two festivals has its stro ng poi nts: The western New Year embodies fashion trend and modern life. While Chinese people attach great importa nee to dense n ati onal cu

22、lture and traditi onal atmosphere to the Spring Festival; it has the glorious history and the unique beauty.* Qin gmi ng Festival Vs Hallowee n DayIn China, April in the lunar year is an importa nt month for ghosts. In this mon th, the souls will be released from the Hades, and people will be orga n

23、i zed to hold activities to en terta in them with their hospitality for this rare holidays. Particularly on April 4th, Qin gmi ng festival, every family will prepare for rich offeri ngs to sacrifice these good brothers who come from the nether world. There re many other activities duringthe Qingming

24、 Festival, such as visiting their ancestors tombs, spring hiking and pla nti ng osier. Osier mea ns in domitable vitality and can ward off bad luck at the same time. Visit ing an cestors tombs in Qin gmi ng Festival can not on ly show their respect,what s more, it shows people s enthusiasm for life.

25、In the west, the similar festival is called Halloween day(Oct.11-Nov.7th). It is the third importa nt festival n ext to Christmas and Than ksgi ving Day. It is said that people should let the ghost see their satisfactory harvest and prese nt abundant sacrifice to them. Both the bon fires and lights

26、are not only to scare the ghosts away, but also to illumi nate them back to the place where they come from. On this day, people can disguise themselves freely and make trouble to their heart s content. On many publicoccasi ons and home compo und, people lay out differe nt kinds of decorati ons on th

27、e win dows and doors, such as pumpk in lights, a scarecrow and eve n the skelet on. Every family will hold a dress ing ball, and put on fruit and other crops on the table.3. the differe nee on foodChin ese traditi onal food put emphasis on color, smell and taste. Nearly en dless variety of n atural

28、in gredie nts and methods of preparati ons are employed in Chin ese cuis ine. The careful coordi nati on of such a series of delicate activities as select ing in gredie nts, mixi ng flavors, timi ng the cook ing, con troll ing the heat and fin ally layi ng out the food on the plate for the table are

29、 the typical characteristics of Chin ese food, especially the festive cuisine. Each Chinese festival is characterized by their distinguished food. People in northern China eat jiaozi on the eve of Spring Festival. The Chinese character jiao in jiaozi sound like jiao which implies union. Besides, jia

30、ozi resemblesa gold in got meaning the gaining of wealth. Throughout souther n China, nian gao(literally meaning the year cake, a thick steamed pudd ing of glut inous rice flour) is made in a great variety of shapesand flavors. The character gao in the word nian gao is homonym ous with the word high

31、, suggest ing growi ng up and prosperi ng in the new year. We have yua nxiao on Lantern Festival, gluti nous rice dumpli ngs on Drag on Boat Festival, moon-cake on Mid-autu mn Festival. By con trast, the wester n food tends to be simplified due to their adva need food tech no logy, such as the canne

32、d food, fast food, etc. KFC, McDo nald is time-sav ing but lack nu tritio n.4. the differe nee of banq uet mannersIn Chi na, people will sit around in the festive banq uet. We ofte n take round table for the banq uet which create frie ndly and un ited atmosphere. The food at the cen ter of the table

33、 is not only what people eat but also the medium of exchange. People toast to each other, show ing respect and courtesy of Chin a. It reflects the in flue nee of he in Chinese classic philosophy on off-springs, round table is good for group com muni cati on.In western festive banquet, food and drink

34、s just serve as dressing while com muni cati on is the core of the banq uet. If compared to dan ce, Chin ese banq uet is group dancing, wester ns is social dancing. The purpose of com muni cati on on Chin ese and western festive banquet is obvious. Chinese festive banquet focus on the com muni cati

35、on among all the people prese nted. While the wester n banq uet emphasizes on pers onal com muni catio n.5. the differe nee in color of festive dress ingThe implications of colors The same color symbolizes different meanings inChin ese and wester n festive cultures.RedRed is a typical color in China

36、. Red lanterns are lit, red couplets and fu are put up duri ng festivals. It symbolizes beauty and luck, so red is the first choice of festivals. But in western culture, red is a derogatory term which reminds flood and viole nee. WhiteWhite is taboo in Chin ese festivals which is ofte n used in fun

37、erals while in the west, white is a typical festive color. It symbolizes purity and elega nee, such as the weddi ng dress, white can dles duri ng the festivals.YellowYellow means dignity in China. In ancient times, only the royal members can be allowed to yellow dress. It has bee n the color for the

38、 an cie nt Chi na.While in western culture, the color yellow has some negative meanings, it mainly means despicable, timid (for example, yellow dogdespicable people, yellow-livered, yellow streak).6. the differe nee in the habit of accept ing prese ntsChin ese veil their real thoughts while Westerne

39、rs always reveal their mi nds freely and directly. The way of accepting gifts and the attitudes are different. During festivals, the Chin ese and the Wester n eoun tries have show n very differe nt attitudes about a gift for some on e. I n western eoun try, people ofte n ask for a gift, and they will usually open it in front of people s face and express their thank