Spring Festival is China’s biggest celebration, but foreign holidays such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day are making inroads
　　
　　Although the upcoming Spring Festival is generally regarded as the most important celebration of the year, the fall and winter have a number of non-native holidays that are gaining popularity among the Chinese.
　　These include Halloween, Christmas and Valentine’s Day. In the past, these foreign holidays were observed only by those who worked for foreign companies or those who had studied or lived abroad. But today, many Chinese are devoted to the holidays and celebrate them in some manner, such as sending short messages to friends or having a large dinner in a restaurant. Valentine’s Day is mainly for young couples, while Halloween is most celebrated by children.
　　Christmas is becoming increasingly popular among the Chinese, although originally it was heavily promoted by businesses. For the holiday last month, in the bustling Xidan commercial district in downtown Beijing, a large shopping mall put up Christmas trees, welcoming visitors to write down their Christmas wishes and hang the notes on the trees. In just one or two days, the trees were filled with all kinds of Christmas messages, such as, “I wish those who love me and whom I love happiness in the next year,” “May God bless my parents’ health and happiness,” or “I hope my girlfriend will be accepted at renowned universities.”
　　Sociologists say the rising popularity of Christmas is due to the cheerful and bright colors associated with the holiday. Red is the most favored holiday color in China, representing harmony and indicating a happy event. On Christmas Day, people may find that Santa Claus and traditional red Chinese lanterns go well together.
　　The popularity of Christmas also caters to the emerging consumerism. On Christmas Day, shopping malls and restaurants are decorated with Santa Clauses and Christmas trees. The service staff is dressed up, promoting their products in the name of the foreign holiday.
　　The holiday also makes manufacturers smile, as several months before Christmas many gift enterprises in China receive orders from all over the world, even the White House. About 70 percent of Christmas products are made in China, and for those enterprises Christmas is a golden time to make money.
　　For people like Zhu Fang, who works for a public service institution in Beijing, Christmas provides a good excuse to hang out with friends and have fun. On Christmas Eve last year, Zhu and a group of friends had dinner at the Great Wall Sheraton Hotel, where a Christmas buffet and dance were held. At about 10 p.m., Zhu left her friends, who were still waiting for the lucky draw, and went to the Xishiku Cathedral.
　　That was part of her plans for the night, as she had missed the choir performance in 2004 and was determined not to miss it in 2005. Zhu, who graduated from the Beijing International Studies University in 2001 and once briefly studied in Britain, said she was deeply attracted by the evensong in the church.
　　
　　MIDNIGHT MASS: Beijing’s Xishiku Cathedral accepts the most visitors in the city on Christmas Eve
　　Like many Chinese, Zhu does not believe in Catholicism, but she said she likes the pure and harmonious atmosphere of the church. But Christmas Eve disappointed her once again, as admission to the cathedral was by ticket only, and she did not have one.
　　Xishiku Cathedral, with a history of more than 130 years, is one of the four well-known Catholic churches in Beijing. It is also known as the Beitang (northern) Church. The Christmas Eve Mass was held at midnight, but from 7 p.m. on, Catholics and non-Catholics alike visited the church in an endless stream. Admission tickets, however, were sold out a week before the holiday.
　　China has a considerable number of Christians. According to official statistics, currently there are 4 million Catholics and 10 million other Christians in China, and the number continues to grow. This shows that the popularity of Christmas has a huge supporting population.
　　
　　Spring Festival tradition
　　
　　Despite the growing popularity of foreign holidays, the Spring Festival, which this year falls at the end of January, is still the most significant festival in the country. At that time, family members gather together and have reunion dinners, as well as setting off fireworks and visiting friends. Yet, particularly among younger people, the holiday is not without its stresses.
　　As more people leave their hometowns and work in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the Spring Festival is a time when they can go back home and meet with their parents after a long separation. The national broadcaster reported that commuters made 1.9 billion trips during the 2005 Spring Festival period, and it is estimated that the number will increase to 2 billion this year.
　　Although the transportation capacity has improved each year, it still does not meet the demand, and as a result, the transportation situation remains tight. Many people choose to travel by train, which is less expensive than flying, and that causes big headaches since it is extremely difficult to buy a train ticket at this time of year.
　　Ma Liqiang, Deputy Secretary General of the National Development and Reform Commission, contended, “The shortage of transportation capability will not be fully made up for even in five to 10 years, and the tight situation during the Spring Festival frenzy may last longer than in the past,” as more people travel and extend the holiday period.
　　Referring to the Spring Festival, Lin Xi, who works for the Ministry of Construction, said, “I believe many people have mixed feelings toward it.” It is exciting for people to get together with their parents, but the process of buying a train ticket takes up too much energy and is a headache, he added.
　　For many young people, the Spring Festival can be a difficult experience. Lin said for those who have a good career, the holiday could be a platform for showing off their accomplishments. But those who have just started out in their careers might feel an intangible pressure: Their “worth” could be materialized in the value of the presents they send to others. Therefore, those people may feel embarrassed by both the excitement of coming home and their inability to give more expensive gifts.
　　Like Lin, many young people in cities are growing tired of the rituals of eating, drinking and sending gifts at the Spring Festival. As a result, some experts are concerned that the holiday may lose some of its significance.
　　
　　Protecting heritage
　　
　　Early this month, Gao Youpeng, an expert on folklore, wrote a Protecting Spring Festival Declaration, noting that the holiday, as a symbol of Chinese traditional culture, should be preserved in a world where globalization is gaining the upper hand.
　　Compared with the increasing popularity of foreign holidays, traditional Chinese festivals seem less attractive to the younger generation, and this worries many people. Although the majority of Chinese will have yuanxiao (glutinous rice ball) in the Lantern Festival and zongzi (dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves) in the Duanwu Festival, the cultural content of the holidays has been declining and people are less passionate about celebrating the festivals than before.
　　Sociologist Wu Ming also warns that traditional festivals are facing a predicament, which is closely related to changes in society. Urbanization has altered the social structure, people’s way of life and human relations. Thus, many of these festivals, which are closely linked to agriculture and village life, can be easily ignored by people living in urban areas.
　　At the same time, the cultural content of festivals is changing slightly. For instance, the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is supposed to be a day full of idyllic charm, has become a showcase for manufacturers’ ability to make ever-more-luxurious moon cakes, a snack typical of the day. Those expensive moon cakes serve not only as food, but also as networking presents for business people and individuals.
　　In November 2005, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization accepted South Korea’s application to list the Gangneung Dragon Boat Festival as a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity, bringing closure to a yearlong dispute between Korean and Chinese academic communities over the festival.
　　The Duanwu Festival (Dragon Boat Festival) was originally celebrated in China, and has a 2,500-year history there. That tradition was transmitted to neighboring countries and became localized in following years. The successful bid of South Korea’s dragon boat festival for intangible cultural heritage status led the Chinese to ponder how to protect their traditional culture and festivals. Many experts and scholars restated their view that some traditional Chinese festivals should receive legal protection.
　　The government has already taken action. On December 31, 2005, the Ministry of Culture presented to the public its first list of nominees for intangible cultural heritage status, including the Spring Festival, the Qingming Festival (day for paying homage to the dead), the Duanwu Festival, the Qiqiao Festival (dubbed as China’s Valentine’s Day), the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Chongyang Festival (also known as Senior Citizens’ Festival).
　　Some media reports have suggested that the government is determined to protect China’s cultural heritage in a complete way.
　　But others have a different view of government intervention in the matter. An article in Modern Express, a Chinese newspaper, said the Spring Festival should not be protected heavily. It explained that first, the Spring Festival should be a totally folk event, and thus the government should not organize any major activities but rather allow people to observe it in their own way. Second, the Chinese should learn from the celebration of foreign holidays, and, according to the author, people should not spend the whole festival at home, playing cards and mahjong.
　　The article also contended that many traditional festivals have lost their original meaning for many Chinese. What people should protect, it said, is the original charm of the festivals instead of customs that have lost their characteristics. In a sense, traditional festivals should again become pure folk festivals.
　　
　　Major Traditional Festivals
　　
　　Spring Festival is the most important and most celebrated Chinese traditional festival, and it is the only indigenous celebration with legal holidays. People have different opinions on the origin of the event. Many say it can be dated back to 4,000 years ago, when people sacrificed to their ancestors at the beginning of a new year. According to China’s lunar calendar, the Spring Festival starts with the first new moon of a year, usually in January or February, and ends on the full moon 15 days later. During this period, the Han people and the majority of ethnic minorities will hold different rituals to celebrate.
　　Preparations for the Spring Festival begin during the last few days of the last lunar month of a year, when houses are thoroughly cleaned, debts repaid, hair cut and new clothes purchased. People will also prepare gifts for family members and friends. Houses are festooned with paper scrolls bearing auspicious antithetical couplets. People also burn incense at home or in temples to pay respects to ancestors and pray for good health in coming months.
　　All family members will get together to feast on the eve of the Spring Festival. Jiaozi (dumplings) is popular in the north, while southerners favor a sticky sweet glutinous rice pudding called niangao. After the dinner, people will let off firecrackers that allegedly serve to drive away evil spirits and to greet the arrival of the New Year.
　　On the first day of the Spring Festival, people will dress up in festive attire and first pay a New Year call to senior members of the family, wishing them long and healthy lives. The elders will give money to youngsters as a New Year gift. On the second and third day of the New Year, people will visit other relatives and friends, according their blessings to each other and saying things like “Wish you good fortune in the New Year,” or “Wish you prosperity!”
　　In some places, there are customs of playing dragon lantern, lion dance, and visiting temple fairs and flower markets. The Spring Festival ends with the Lantern Festival.
　　Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month, which is also called Yuanxiao Festival. People eat yuanxiao (glutinous rice ball) on the day and get all their family members united in the joyful atmosphere. Thousands of colorful lanterns will be hung out in the night for people to appreciate, and everyone will also be invited to solve puzzles written on the lanterns.
　　Duanwu Festival (Dragon Boat Festival), with a history of over 2,000 years, occurs on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, approximately in June. Boat races during the festival are traditional customs in attempts to rescue the patriotic poet Qu Yuan (340-277 B.C.), who drowned himself after the king turned down his quest to build a better country many times. Local citizens threw zongzi (bamboo leaves filled with cooked rice) into the water so that the fish would eat the rice rather than the hero poet. This custom later turned into the custom of eating zongzi and rice dumplings.
　　Qingming Festival is the day when people give sacrifice to ancestors and sweep ancestors’ tombs. The Qingming Festival is one of the few traditional Chinese holidays that follows the solar calendar, typically falling on April 4, 5 or 6. Its Chinese name “qingming” literally means “clear brightness,” hinting its importance as a celebration of spring and marking the beginning of the planting season and other outdoor activities.
　　Mid-Autumn Festival (Moon Festival) is on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar with full moon. To a Chinese the round shape of the moon means family union.
　　On that day, sons and daughters will bring family members back to their parents’ house for a reunion. Sometimes people who have already settled overseas will come back to visit their parents on that day.
　　As every Chinese holiday is accompanied by some sort of special food, on the Mid-Autumn Festival, people eat moon cakes, a kind of cookie with fillings of sugar, fat, sesame, walnut, the yoke of preserved eggs, ham or other ingredients. In Chinese fairy tales, there lived on the moon the fairy Chang E, a wood cutter named Wu Gang and a white rabbit that is Chang E’s pet. In old days, people paid respect to Chang E and her pet.
　　The custom of paying homage to the fairy and the rabbit is gone, but moon cakes are showing improvement every year. There are hundreds of varieties of moon cakes on sale before the arrival of the Mid-Autumn Festival nowadays. Some moon cakes are of very high quality and very delicious. An overseas tourist is advised not to miss it if he or she happens to be in China during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
　　Chongyang Festival (Double Ninth Festival) is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month.
　　The festival began as early as 2,500 years ago. According to the yin/yang dichotomy that constitutes a basis of the Chinese world view, yin represents the element of darkness and yang represents life and brightness. The number nine is regarded as yang. The ninth day of the ninth month is a double yang day, hence the name “Chongyang Festival.” Chong means “twin” in Chinese. The ninth month also heralds the approach of winter. It is a time when the living need warm clothing, and filial Chinese people extend this to make the festival a time for providing winter clothes to ancestors. The Chongyang Festival, therefore, also becomes an occasion to visit graves of dead family members. Clothes made of paper are burnt as offerings.
　　On the Chongyang Festival, people customarily climb mountains, appreciate chrysanthemum flowers, drink chrysanthemum wine and eat Chongyang cakes.
　　The Chongyang Festival is also the “Senior Citizens’ Festival.” Senior citizens are especially meant to improve their health by taking part in activities around the festival.
　　The Chongyang Festival is also a time for family get-togethers. It is an occasion to remember one’s ancestors, the sacrifices they made and the hardships they underwent. Often family outings are organized during which people search to renew their appreciation of nature and to reaffirm their love and concern for family members and close friends.
　　

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