节日culture

EAST-WESTJournalofECONOMICSANDBUSINESS67JournalofEconomicsandBusinessVol.
XX–2017,No1CULTUREDIFFERENCESOFCHINESEANDAMERICANTRADITIONALFESTIVALJingnanGaoHEBEIUNIVERSITYOFECONOMICEANDBUSINESSXiaoliWuHEBEIUNIVERSITYOFECONOMICEANDBUSINESSABSTRACTThecultureoftraditionalfestivalsaredifferentbetweenChinaandAmerica.
Thisarticleisdesignedtodiscussthedifferencesincustoms,originsandotheraspectsoftraditionalfestivalswiththesimilarculturalconnotation,analyzesthereasonslyingbehindthedifferencesandreflectstheculturaldifferencesbetweenthetwonations.
ThearticlealsoanalyzesthemutualfusionintraditionalholidaysbetweenChinaandAmerica.
Keywords:Traditionalfestivals,ChineseandAmericanculture,culturaldifferences,mutualfusion.
JELClassification:Q3,Q41.
IntroductionChinaisamulti-ethnicnation,peopleindifferentnationalitiesorregionscelebratedifferenttraditionalfestivalsoftheirown,whileamongallthefestivalsthemosttypicalonescelebratedbyChinesepeopleincommonconsistoftheseones:theSpringFestival,Tomb-SweepingDay,theDragon-BoatFestival,theChineseValentine'sDay,Mid-AutumnDay,andtheDouble-NinthFestival,etc.
EAST-WESTJournalofECONOMICSANDBUSINESS68DifferentfromChina,Americaisamulti-culturenation,peoplefromdifferentcountrieslivetogetherandtheculturesbroughtbythemmeltintothedistinctAmericanculture.
ThefestivalsinAmericacanbedividedintothelegalholidaysandtraditionalones;besides,somestatesalsocelebrateafewfestivalsoftheirown.
Ingeneral,themostpopulartraditionalfestivalscelebratedbyAmericanpeopleincludethefollowingones:NewYear'sDay,Valentine'sDay,AllFools'Day,Mother'sDay,Father'sDay,Halloween,Easter,ThanksgivingDay,andChristmas,etc.
Traditionalfestivalsarethehistoricalproductsofanation'sdevelopment.
WhetherinChinawhichhasalonghistoryofmorethanfivethousandyearsorinthenewbornAmerica,theoriginationoftraditionalfestivalsinthetwocountriesissimilar.
Mosttraditionalfestivalsoriginatedfrompeople'sexpectationforharvestintheagriculturalproduction,theworshiptowardsthegodsandthenature,sacrificestothehistoricalcharactersetc.
Afterthelong-termevolution,traditionalfestivalshavebecomeanindispensablepartofthenationalculture.
Throughtraditionalfestivals,thedistinctculturalcharacteristicsofapeopleandthenationalspiritscanbeobserved.
2.
DifferencesbetweenChineseandAmericanTraditionalFestivalsTraditionalfestivals,asanintegralpartofthenationalculture,possessrichculturalconnotations.
Itisnowonderthattherearetraditionalfestivalsinthetwocultureswiththesimilarculturalconnotations,suchas"TheSpringFestivalvs.
ThanksgivingDay,TheZhongyuanFestivalvs.
Halloween.
However,TheChineseValentine'sDayvs.
Valentine'sDay".
Behindthesimilarculturalconnotationsoftraditionalfestivals,originsandcustomsofthesefestivalsaregreatlydifferentiated,whichillustratetheculturaldifferencesofthetwonations.
Inviewoforigins,theSpringFestivalhascloserelationtoagriculture.
Actually,mostChinesetraditionalfestivalsarederivedfrompeople'sconductingtheagriculturalproduction.
Comparativelyspeaking,originsofAmericantraditionalfestivalsreflecttheinfluenceofreligion,mainlyChristianity.
ThanksgivingDayisrelatedtoreligiontosomeextent,althoughitisoriginatedinthecelebrationofharvest,theinfluenceofagricultureonthisfestivalhasfadedaway,andittendstobeafestivalforfamilyreunionandshowingthankstotheGod.
Infact,amongalltheAmericantraditionalfestivalsmanyareoriginatedfromChristianity.
ThebiggestfestivalChristmasisheldtoobservethebirthofJesus;EasteristocelebratetheresurrectionofJesus;HalloweenisalsobrandedbyChristianityasadaytomemorializeallthesaints.
ChristianityiscloselyrelatedtoAmericantraditionalfestivals.
IncontrasttotheuniqueplaceofChristianityinAmericanEAST-WESTJournalofECONOMICSANDBUSINESS69traditionalfestivals,pantheismhasgreatimpactonChinesetraditionalfestivals.
TherearemanygodsinChina'slegends.
TheQixiFestivalisrootedinthestoryofCowherdandWeaverGirlwhowastheseventhdaughteroftheJadeEmperorandQueenMotherintheHeaven.
AndtheKitchenGodFestivalisobviouslyrelatedtotheKitchenGod,etc.
Inviewofcustoms,etiquettehasbeengreatlyemphasizedincelebrationofChinesetraditionalfestivals.
TaketheSpringFestivalforexample,etiquettecanbeseeneverywhere:theseatingarrangementatthefamilyreuniondinner,theeldergiving"redenvelops"totheyounger,theyoungergivinggiftstotheirparents,thedescendantsofferingsacrificestotheirancestors,peoplesayinggreetingstoeachother,payingNewYearcallstorelativesandfriendswithgifts.
Etiquettehasbeenregardedasacriteriontojudgeanindividual'spersonalitytosomedegree.
Besides,mostChinesetraditionalfestivalsattachmoreimportancetoharmonyandhappinessamongpeople.
WhileinAmericacelebrationsfortraditionalfestivalsaremoretendingtobeforfunandrecreation.
Atthesametime,thecustomsoftraditionalfestivalsaresomewhatreligious,forexample,theprayerbeforetheThanksgivingdinner,peoplegoingtothechurchattheEastermorning.
AllthedifferencesanalyzedabovebetweenChineseandAmericantraditionalfestivalsareformedundertheparticularhistoricalbackgroundandspecificculturalfeatures.
Thefollowingpartisdevotedtotheunderlyingfactorsthathavecausedsuchdifferences.
3.
MainFactorsofDifferencesbetweenChineseandAmericanTraditionalFestivals3.
1InfluentialFactorsofChinesetraditionalfestivalsChinaisacountrythatbearswisdomofgenerationsandanationalhistoryofcenturies;therefore,itisinevitablefortraditionalfestivalstogothroughdramaticchangesfor"itisagenerallawinhumanhistorythatthevariouscivilizationspolarized,synchronized,andaffectedeachother".
Inhistory,suchfactorsasreligion,literatureandarts,Confucianism,Taoism,BuddhismfromtheforeignlandandpoliticsandothershaveexertedasignificantandpositiveinfluenceonthecultureloadedbyChinesetraditionalfestivals.
AgriculturalcivilizationandConfucianismaretheprimaryonesamongallthefactorsthathavecontributedtodistinctcharacteristicsofChinesetraditionalfestivals.
TheagriculturalcivilizationisthefoundationofmostChinesetraditionalfestivals.
ThetimesystemofChinesetraditionalfestivalsisbornfromthesystemof"solarEAST-WESTJournalofECONOMICSANDBUSINESS70terms"because"solarterms"providetheprerequisitefordecidingthetimeforfestivals.
Mostfestivalsarecelebratedaroundoronsomesolarterm.
Confucianism,withfocusesonhumanmoralityandrightactions,isaChineseethicalandphilosophicalsystemdevelopedfromtheteachingsoftheChinesephilosopherConfucius.
Confucianismisacomplexsystemofmoral,social,political,philosophical,andquasi-religiousthoughtthathashadtremendousinfluenceonthecultureandhistoryofChina.
3.
2MajorFactorsinfluencingAmericantraditionalfestivalsDifferentfromChina,Americaisahighlyindustrializedcountry.
WiththefastpaceoftheindustrializationinAmerica,agriculturalcharacteristicsinthetraditionalfestivalsgraduallydisappear.
TheThanksgivingasthefestivalmostcloselyrelatedtotheagriculturalproductionisnolongerafestivaltocelebratetheharvestbutafestivalforthereunionofthefamilymembersandshowingtheirthankstotheGod.
Furthermore,withtheseveralimmigrationwavesbringingabundantlaborforcefortheindustrializationinAmerica,manyforeignfestivalshavealsobeenembeddedinthesystemoftraditionalfestivalsinAmerica.
ReligionisvitaltotheAmericanpeople'slife.
ThebeliefinChristianityisthesourceofformationofmostAmericantraditionalfestivals.
ChristmasiscelebratedinthememoryofJesus'birth;Easteriscelebratedinthememoryofhisresurrection.
OtherfestivalshavealsobeenbrandedbyChristianity,suchastheValentine'sDayandtheHalloween.
TheValentine'sDayissaidtocommemoratethesaintValentine,andHalloween,originallyasadaytomemorializethedead,hasbecomeadayinthememoryofallthesaints.
Basedontheanalysisabove,itisobviousthatChristianityhasdeeplytakenrootinAmericanculture,andexertedgreatimpactonAmericantraditionalfestivals.
4.
MutualFusionBetweenChineseandAmericanTraditionalFestivalsThedifferencesbetweentheChineseandWesterntraditionalfestivalsmaketheworldbeautifulandinteresting,richandcolorful.
However,everythinghastwosides,whenweaffirmthedifferences,payingattentiontothesimilaritiesishelpfultounderstandthingscomprehensively,thendealwithproblemsdialectically.
Today,bytheglobaleconomicintegrationandChina'smarketeconomy,peopleliberatedtheirthought,providedconditionsforwesternculturemergeintooursociety,atthattime,learningtheWestseemstobeatrend,suchaslearningEnglish,learningWesterntechnology,learningWesternlifestylesandsoon.
InEAST-WESTJournalofECONOMICSANDBUSINESS71recentyears,theChristmas,Mother'sDay,Father'sDay,Valentine'sDayandtheFool'sDayhavebecomethenewgeneration,especiallythefashionofthe"after",theyareinterestedinthefreedom,everywhere,unrestrained,personalatmosphere,sometimesarefullofswing,andnevertired.
ThisacceptanceofthewesterncultureandtraditionalfestivalsreflectthefusionoftheEasternandWesterncultures.
Nowthecurrentsituationcontinuestoevolve,thisisaactiveacceptance.
TheEuropeanacceptancestoourtraditionalfestivalsmainlyareintheChinesecommunities.
ThoughtheChinesebringdancingdragon,dancinglioninournewyearandsteppingshipstotheEurope,buttheyhavenotcreatedagreatimpact.
5.
ConclusionsTosumup,theChinesetraditionalfestivalsreflectthecharacteristicsofagriculturalcivilization.
Expectationforharvestistheoriginationofmosttraditionalfestivals.
Intheprocessofthedevelopmentoftraditionalfestivals,theyhavebeenmainlyinfluencedbyConfucianismandembodiedtheessenceofConfucianismintothecustomsandcelebrationsofthemselves.
Incontrast,thefastdevelopmentofindustrializationinAmericahascrowdedouttheinfluenceofagricultureintraditionalfestivals.
Atthesametime,Americantraditionalfestivalsarecloselyrelatedtoreligion.
ThecultureembodiedinAmericantraditionalfestivalsreflectstheimportantroleofreligion,mainlyChristianity,inthesociety.
Incross-culturalcommunication,effectivecommunicationreliesonmutualunderstanding,theavoidanceofmisinterpretation,andpositiveculturalawarenessofindividualinterlocutors.
However,limitationsexistinthatduetotheauthor'slimitedrangeofknowledge,thecoveredculturalphenomenaarenotvariousenoughandthusthedepthofouranalysisisinneedoffurtherdevelopment.
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