Cultural differences between Chinese and Western festivals
Cultural differences between Chinese and Western festivals, China is a country with a long history, China's culture is y rooted, while the traditional Western festivals are related to religious culture, which is not the same as our humanistic culture, the following I have organized cultural differences between Chinese and Western festivals, welcome you to learn and reference.
Chinese and Western festivals cultural differences1
1, the origins of traditional Chinese and Western festivals are different
Chinese traditional festivals are mainly related to humanistic culture, and Western traditional festivals are mainly related to religious culture. The first prototype of Chinese traditional festivals was some sacrificial days; people recognized the natural law of change in the process of spring planting, summer
growing, autumn harvest, winter storage, and summed up the seasons.
2, the difference in value orientation between Chinese and Western festival culture
The difference between Chinese and Western festival culture also stems from the different value orientation of the Chinese and Western: etiquette and legal system. The "ritual" in traditional Chinese culture is the core culture that reflects the main cultural characteristics of China. This idea of rituals starts from a collective orientation, emphasizes the obligation of the individual, and advocates individual obedience to the collective, so Chinese festivals focus on the collective participation in the festivities.
In the Western festival system, it is not absolutely nothing to do with their folk life and traditional way of life, but these festivals are the reason that Christianity has become the main faith, and in their social life, in the way of life of the ordinary people, played a leading role, so in their festival system there is a very strong situation. It's a very powerful situation.
Traditional Chinese festivals, firstly, the relationship with nature is very clear in the festivals, and also with the progress of time, that is, the change of seasons in a year is also very obvious in our case. The other is interpersonal relationships, which create a social harmony. And then there is the regulation of oneself.
Cultural Differences between Chinese and Western Festivals2 I. Different Origins 1, the origins of traditional Chinese festivals China is a country with an ancient oriental civilization. Its long history and fine traditions provide fertile soil for the growth of traditional festivals. As an agricultural country, Chinese culture is y rooted in agriculture. Therefore, agricultural activities make festivals more localized. The Spring Festival is closely related to some agricultural activities, such as planting and harvesting. As China's most important festival, the origins of the Spring Festival can be traced back to a series of colorful legends and traditions that have evolved over thousands of years. 2. The Origins of Traditional Western Festivals In Western countries, religion is the center of culture and society. People's thoughts can be reacted through religion. At the same time, religion controls human beings through their belief in God or spirituality. It is no exaggeration to say that religion exists in all walks of life. Therefore, festivals are closely associated with Christianity and apart from Christmas, Easter is also associated with religion. 2. Different ways of celebrating 1. Ways of celebrating Chinese festivals The Spring Festival is the most important festival for every Chinese as well as overseas Chinese. It is celebrated with rich and grand activities. The festivals are colorful. Lin Yutang, a famous Chinese scholar, once described the Spring Festival very well, saying that the ancient Chinese New Year is the biggest festival of the year for the Chinese people, and that other festivals seem to pale in comparison. 2. Ways to Celebrate Western Festivals On Christmas Eve, the vast majority of people who celebrate Christmas do so with a special holiday ceremony in their own homes. Families usually decorate the tree and put colorfully wrapped gifts underneath. On Christmas Day, there are just as many celebrations. Exchanging gifts and giving Christmas cards to friends and family on Christmas Day is a custom that is celebrated all over the world. Three different meals 1, the Oriental meals Chinese cuisine is "eating flavor", so Chinese cooking in the material also shows a great deal of arbitrariness: many Westerners regarded as abandoned things, in China, the Chinese are also a lot of things. Many things that westerners regard as castoffs are excellent raw materials in China, and things that foreign chefs can't handle can be transformed into magic in the hands of Chinese chefs. 2, Western-style dining The difference between the Chinese way of eating is more obvious is the popular Western buffet. This method is: all the food is displayed one by one, we all take what you need, do not have to be fixed in the seat to eat, walk around freely, this way to facilitate the exchange of emotions between individuals, do not have to put all the words on the desktop, but also shows the Westerners on the individuality, respect for the self. Westerners believe that the dishes are hungry, so specialize in eating large pieces of meat, whole chicken and other "hard dishes". 1 Comparison of the Main Traditional Festivals in China and the West 1.1 The Spring Festival in China and Christmas in the West 1) The Spring Festival (the Spring Festival). The Spring Festival is the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar, also known as the lunar year, commonly known as "New Year". It is one of the grandest and most lively traditional festivals in China. The Spring Festival has a long history, and its original meaning comes from agriculture, people in ancient times called the growth cycle of the grain "year". The arrival of the Spring Festival means that spring will come, everything will be revitalized, grass and trees will be renewed, and a new round of sowing and harvesting season will begin. People have just passed through a long winter of ice and snow, grass and trees withered, and have long been looking forward to the days of spring, when the new spring is coming, naturally, we must be full of joy singing and dancing to meet this festival. (2) Christmas (Christmas Day). Christmas Day Christmas Day Christmas Day, also known as the Nativity, is a time for Christians to commemorate the birth of Christ. On Christmas Day, most Christian churches hold services on Christmas Eve, December 24th, and then celebrate Christmas Day on December 25th. Originally a religious holiday, Christmas has evolved into a national holiday with a national flavor. In Western countries, Christmas is also a festival of family reunion and celebration, and they usually display a Christmas tree in the house to increase the joyful atmosphere of the festival. From the Spring Festival in China and Christmas in the West, we can see that our country has a long history of being agrarian-oriented, and attaches great importance to the impact of climate on crops. Spring is coming, to start a new round of sowing and harvesting; and Christmas with a strong religious color. 1.2 Chinese Ghost Festival
(1) Ghost Festival (Chinese Ghost Festival). The fifteenth day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar is the Bon Festival, also known as the Festival of the Middle Ages, commonly known as the Ghost Festival, Shi lone. It is a Buddhist ritual in India, where Buddhists hold bon festivals to memorialize their ancestors. The Buddhist scripture "Obon Sutra", with the purpose of cultivating filial piety and inspiring the Buddha, is in line with the Chinese folk belief of memorializing ancestors, so it has become more and more popular. Every lunar calendar, China's Chinese people will certainly be held in a grand "celebration of Zhanzhongyuan", all over the country, you can see the celebration of Zhanzhongyuan red paper, lights and colors, set up an altar, pay God.
(2) Halloween. Halloween is a traditional festival in Western countries, and the night before Halloween originated as a traditional festival of the Celtic people of Britain, on the last day of October, which they believed was the end of summer and the beginning of winter. On this day, people extinguish fires and candles so that the dead souls cannot find the living, and dress up as demons and ghosts to scare away the spirits of the dead.
As time passed, the meaning of Halloween gradually changed, becoming more positive and happy, and the idea of dead souls finding their way back to the world was gradually discarded and forgotten. Today, most people around the world celebrate the origin of Halloween with quirky costumes. The fifteenth day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar is also considered to be the opening of the gates of ghosts, the ghosts of the underworld return to the sun to visit their loved ones in the saying, in this day there will be a lot of people burning paper money, candles in memory of the ancestors.
1.3 Chinese Tanabata Festival and Western Valentine's Day
(1) Tanabata Festival (the Double-Seventh Day).
The Double-Seventh Day, also known as the Beggar's Day, is the most romantic of all traditional Chinese festivals. According to legend, the night of the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar is the time when the Weaving Maiden and the Cowherd meet in the sky. The "Weaving Maiden" is a beautiful, clever, dexterous nymph, the mortal women will be begging her wisdom and skill on this night, but also to her to ask for the gift of a beautiful marriage.
(2) Valentines Day. There are different stories about the origin of Valentine's Day. One theory is that it honors a Christian martyr named Valentine. In the 3rd century A.D., Valentine, a Christian of the Roman Empire, was arrested and imprisoned for leading a campaign against the persecution of Roman rule. The warden's daughter took good care of him, and a deep bond developed between them. However, Valentine was not released and was executed on February 14, 270 AD. Before his execution, he wrote a bloody letter to the warden's daughter, confessing his true feelings. In honor of Valentine, Christians designated February 14 as "Valentine's Day".
Both holidays are festivals of love, but the Chinese Tanabata is secular and pantheistic. In the West, Valentine's Day is a holiday with strong religious overtones.
2 Cultural Background Differences between Chinese and Western Festivals
2.1 Agricultural and Religious Colors
China has long been in a self-sustaining feudal agricultural society and a natural economy, which attaches great importance to the influence of climate on crops. In the process of spring planting, summer growth, autumn harvest, winter storage to recognize the complex laws of natural timing, summed up the four seasons, twenty-four seasons, the formation of traditional festivals based on the seasons. In ancient times, because of the low productivity, often disturbed by the winter cold wave, and worried about the lack of food, so looking forward to the arrival of spring for farming. Of course, there is no lack of agriculture-related festivals in the West, but due to the rise of Western Christianity and the industrialized society, the commodity economy has replaced the agricultural economy, and people's reliance on the weather has gradually weakened, but a variety of religious awareness of the birth of traditional festivals.
2.2 Deity Worship and God Beliefs
The social structure of early China was based on the customary power of combining nature worship with humanism, and the basic philosophical concept was to advocate the coordination and balance between the deities and human beings. Most of the traditional Chinese deities are nature worship when people make appeals, rather than an ultimate worship that seeks spiritual purification and spiritual sublimation.
In the West, most people believe in the Christian religion, which holds that God is the creator of everything in the world. The idea that God is the creator of all things in the world, that human beings are destined to be blessed by God, not to be rich or poor, is not something that can be achieved later. The concepts of God and Jesus are so embedded in their minds that Christmas, for example, is a holiday that Christians celebrate as the birthday of Jesus.
2.3 Collectivism and Individualism
As we all know, traditional Chinese festivals are the result of a long period of cultural accumulation. Influenced by Confucianism, they are conservative, delicate and subtle in expressing their feelings. It is the integration of the individual into the group, emphasizing the importance of the group and the big picture. In the traditional festivals, the performance is to focus on the blood of all members of the family can *** enjoy the reunion. Such as the "Spring Festival", "Mid-Autumn Festival" and so on, there are some "reunion", "reunion" and other rules and etiquette.
Traditional festivals in Western countries are keen to tap into the value of the individual, the pursuit of liberalism and individualism. People can express themselves and their emotions during the festivals. For example, on Valentine's Day, people can express their love to their loved ones without reservation. As a result, Western Valentine's Day has become more and more popular among Chinese young people.
3 Conclusion and Significance
In the long river of human social development, festivals play an important role in the shaping of national character, the cohesion of national sentiment, and are the cultural symbols of a nation's people's participation in the broadest sense. It carries culture and conveys feelings. Although there are differences between Chinese and Western festivals in agricultural and religious colors, worship and beliefs, and the pursuit of values, people's desire to pray for a better life is the same. Understanding the western festival culture, can be more effective to achieve communication, enhance understanding, promote friendship, in today's world full of competition and opportunity to better strengthen communication and exchange.
Forced by the various pressures of today's society, people's daily life is often a monotonous repetition of the lack of life, festivals will be monotonous social life of people to add color, improve people's mental outlook, renewed people's enthusiasm for work.