Chinesewestern Cultural Difference of Chinese New Year and Christmas 从节和圣诞节看中西方文化差异.doc

Chinese-westernCultural Difference of Chinese New Year and Christmas从春节和圣诞节看中西方文化差异ContentsAbstract (in Chinese) .IAbstract (in English).III. Introduction .1 1.1. The history of the Spring Festival .11.2. The history of Christmas .3II.The comparison of the Spring Festival and Christmas.52.1. The similarities of the Spring Festival and Christmas.5 2.1.1. Joyous atmosphere .5 2.1.2. Family reunion 5 2.1.3. Commercialization .5 2.2. The differences of the Spring Festival and Christmas.5 2.2.1. Time .6 2.2.2. Celebration and decoration.6 2.2.3. Food .12 2.2.4. Connotations of gifts .132.2.5. Taboos and superstitions .15III. The cultural connotation of Chinese-western festival .16 3.1. The spirit of the Spring Festival and Christmas .17 3.2. The aim of the traditional festival .18IV. The reasons for differences of the Spring Festival and Christmas .19 4.1. Religion and belief .19 4.2. Ethical culture .20V. The interaction of the Spring Festival and Christmas.21VI.Conclusion .21Notes .22Bibliography .23摘要中国和西方国家的文化存在着各个方面的差异，传统节日文化是其中重要的一项。节日文化博大精深，各国的节日风俗是约定俗成的，有着各自鲜明的民族特色和丰富多彩的表现形式和内涵。本论文从中国的春节和西方的圣诞节比较的角度，分别介绍了春节和圣诞节的历史起源，节日时间，庆祝活动，节日聚餐，赠送礼物，伦理道德，节日禁忌等方面的差异，较为全面的论述了中西方文化间存在的文化差异，并分析了存在各种差异的原因及中西方节日的互相影响和交融。 为了更好的支撑这一主题，该论文分为六大部分：第一部分深入介绍了春节和圣诞节的历史起源；第二部分详细分析了春节和圣诞节的相同点和不同点; 第三部分主要分析了中国春节西方圣诞节的文化内涵；第四部分分析了春节和圣诞节文化差异的原因；第五部分介绍了和春节和圣诞节的互相影响；第六部分为结论，重申主题。 关键词：春节;圣诞节；文化内涵；文化差异Abstract There are aspects of differences between Chinese and western cultures. Traditional festivals are one of the important differences. Festival culture is very profound. The festival customs in dissimilar countries are established by usage, with the own distinct nation feature and rich presentation forms and connotation. This paper provides a comparative discussion of cultural aspects through Chinese Spring Festival and western Christmas. It gives a detailed comparisons of the festival customs from the perspective of origin time, celebration, food, gift, ethic, and taboos etc., and also discusses the cultural differences exist in Chinese and western culture overall, as well as the kinds of causes behind it and the interaction of Chinese and western culture. To support the thesis, the paper is divided into six parts. The first part gives a in-depth introduction to the history of the Spring Festival and Christmas. The second part analyzes Chinese New Year and Christmas in detail of the similarities and differentia; The third part mainly analyzes the cultural connotation of Chinese New Year western Christmas; The four-part analyzes the reason for Chinese New Year and Christmas cultural difference; The fifth part introduces with the mutual impact in Chinese New Year and Christmas; The sixth part is a conclusion, reiterating the thesis of the paper.Key words: spring festival; Christmas; cultural connotation; cultural differences I. Introduction 1.1. The history of the Spring FestivalSpring Festival, the Lunar first day of the first lunar month, known as the Moon, commonly known as the "New Year." This is the most impressive people, the most popular traditional festival. The long history of the Spring Festival, which originated in the Shang period the year draws to a close servicemen and the memorial activities.Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the New Year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade. The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors. The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united the living members with those who had passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with at respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family. The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one at community. The communal feast called "surrounding the stove" or weilu. It symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations. One old legend is that the beast Nian had a very big mouth that would swallow many people with one bite. People were very scared. One day, an old man came to their rescue, offering to subdue Nian. To Nian he said, "I hear that you are very capable, but can you swallow the other beasts of prey on earth instead of people who are by no means of your worthy opponents?" So, it did swallow many of the beasts of prey on earth that also harried people and their domestic animals from time to time. After that, the old man disappeared riding the beast Nian. He turned out to be an immortal god. After Nian is gone and other beasts of prey are also scared into forests, people begin to enjoy their peaceful life. Before the old man left, he had told people to put up red paper decorations on their windows and doors at each year's end to scare away Nian in case it sneaked back again, because red is the color the beast feared the most. From then on, the tradition of observing the conquest of Nian is carried on from generation to generation. The term "Guo Nian", which may mean "Survive the Nian", today "Celebrate the (New) Year" as the word "guo" in Chinese having both the meaning of "pass-over" and "observe". The custom of putting up red paper and firing fire-crackers to scare away Nian is reserved. However, people today have long forgotten why they are doing all this, except that they feel the color and the sound add to the excitement of the celebration. 1.2. The history of ChristmasIn the Western world, the birthday of Jesus Christ has been celebrated on December 25th since AD 354, replacing an earlier date of January 6th. The Christians had by then appropriated many pagan festivals and traditions of the season, that were practiced in many parts of the Middle East and Europe, as a means of stamping them out. There were mid-winter festivals in ancient Babylon and Egypt, and Germanic fertility festivals also took place at this time. The birth of the ancient sun-god Helios in Phrygia was celebrated on December 25th, as was the birth of the Persian sun-god, Mithras. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of peace and plenty, that ran from the 17th to 24th of December. Public gathering places were decorated with flowers, gifts and candles were exchanged and the population, slaves and masters alike, celebrated the occasion with great enthusiasm.The Celtic culture of the British Isles revered all green plants, but particularly mistletoe and holly. These were important symbols of fertility and were used for decorating their homes and altars.New Christmas customs appeared in the Middle Ages. The most prominent contribution was the carol, which by the 14th century had become associated with the religious observance of the birth of Christ.In Italy, a tradition developed for re-enacting the birth of Christ and the construction of scenes of the nativity. This is said to have been introduced by Saint Francis as part of his efforts to bring spiritual knowledge to the laity. Saints Days have also contributed to our Christmas celebrations. A prominent figure in today's Christmas is Saint Nicholas who for centuries has been honored on December 6th. He was one of the forerunners of Santa Claus.Another popular ritual was the burning of the Yule Log, which is strongly embedded in the pagan worship of vegetation and fire, as well as being associated with magical and spiritual powers.Celebrating Christmas has been controversial since its inception. Since numerous festivities found their roots in pagan practices, they were greatly frowned upon by conservatives within the Church. The feasting, gift-giving and frequent excesses presented a drastic contrast with the simplicity of the Nativity, and many people throughout the centuries and into the present, condemn such practices as being contrary to the true spirit of Christmas.The earliest English reference to December 25th as Christmas Day did not come until 1043.II.The comparison of the Spring Festival and Christmas2.1. The similarities of the Spring Festival and Christmas.2.1.1. Joyous atmosphere: 2.1.2. Family reunion: celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. 2.1.3. Commercializationshopping: buy many things for festival, food, clothes, gifts and so on. 2.2. The differences of the Spring Festival and ChristmasThe difference between Spring Festival and Christmas is so obvious that we can find easily. First the background is different. One is the eastern festival, and the other is western festival. Then the people celebrate them in different ways, such as China does not have Santa Claus, and America does not have any couplets. At last, east and west eat different food to celebrate the festival.2.2.1. TimeTime of Spring Festival, the Lunar first day of the first lunar month Time of Christmas, December 25th since AD 3542.2.2. Celebration and decorationtraditional celebration activities of the Spring FestivalThe half-moon days Celebration of Chinese New Year Chinese New Year falls on a different date every year. Chinese calendar is a combination of solar and lunar calendar. Chinese New Year falls on second new moon after the winter solstice. Chinese calendar has a 12 year cycle and each year is named after animal. Chinese believe that every person resembles an animal and this reflects their traits. Year 2012 was the Year of the Dragon. Lots of excitement can be seen in the last half-moon days of New Year celebrations . Every day has a special importance to it. Chinese ritualize and celebrate each day in a customary manner. Given below are the line celebrations of the New Year in China:Reunion dinnerThe night before the Lunar New Year is known as the Lunar New Year's Eve. The whole family will gather and enjoy the reunion dinner together.Staying up lateThe custom of staying up all night on the eve of the Lunar New Year to usher in the new year is called “shou sui”. Red packetDuring the New Year period, the elders will give the children red packets as a gift with money in it.Day 1: People began their day by offering prayers andwelcoming the gods of heaven and earth. Most of the people stay away from meat to ensure healthy living. Day 2: Successively, prayers are offer to their ancestors and other gods. Chinese are strict care-taker of dogs and feed them well. This is day is considered to be the birthday of all dogs. Day 3 and 4: These are very important days for the families to keep up their relations. It calls for every son-in-law to pay respect to their parents-in-law. Day 5: According to the traditions, nobody visits friends and relatives houses as it would bring bad omen. They stay back home to worship the God of wealth. The day is called Po Wu. Day 6: On this day, people freely meet their near and dear ones and even visit nearby temples to pray for their well being and high spirits. Day 7: This is Chinese farmers' day. They display their backbreaking produce. They also prepare a drink from seven different types of vegetables. On this day, everybody eats noodles which is a symbol of long life.Day 8: It's other day to be celebrated with the family and friends. They also offer midnight prayers to Tian Gong, the God of Heaven. Day 9: Prayers are offered to Jade Emperor. Days 10-13: From 10 to 12, people celebrate the days by having sumptuous dinner with the loved ones and the 13th day is left for a very light dinner to cleanse the system. Day 14: People start preparing for the celebration of Lantern Festival to be held on next day. Day 15: Since it is the first night to see full moon, people hang out colorful lanterns, eat glutinous rice balls (tang yuan) and enjoy the day with their families.Other traditional celebration activities of the Spring FestivalSpring-cleaningBefore the Spring Festival, every household will undergo a major clean-up where every corner of the house is cleaned to usher in the new year.Dragon dance and lion danceLegend has it that dragons are in charge of rain. The dragon dance takes place during the Lunar New Year celebrations to wish for a year of good rain. On the other hand, the lion dance is believed to toward off evil and carry with it all things auspicious.FirecrackersLighting firecrackers was carried out to ward off evil ghosts. Also the loud cracking of firecrackers served to liven up the atmosphere of celebration.traditional decorations of the Spring FestivalSpring Festival couplets: pasted on gateposts or door panels.Spring Festival pictures: pasted on the walls or windows.lantern: traditional celebration and decoration activities of Christmas Red, green and write are the Christmas color. Before the Christmas every family will prepare a Christmas tree in the drawing-room. They decorate it very beautiful. On Christmas Eve, the family will have a big dinner, and the children hung up the stock and wait for Santa Claus. On Christmas morning, the first thing for many people is gathering around the Christmas tree to exchange gifts and Merry Christmas greeting with each other. Then the Christmas Dinner is coming.Santa Claus: Santa Claus is the American name for ST. Nicholas. It was his custom to go out at night and bring gifts to the needy. He is a fat jolly man who wears a red suit, a red hat and has a long white beard.Christmas tree: made of mistletoe and holy. It is said that th