Lost in Celebration

by Su Yuan

The 2012 winter solstice fell onDecember 21. An old Chinese saying stresses that “winter solstice is as important as Spring Festival.” In ancient times， Chinese emperors organized grand ceremonies to worship heaven on that day. For a week surrounding winter solstice， monarchs suspended court and instead listened to music， while ordinary people stopped working to celebrate the festival at home. Perhaps todays socalled “Golden Week” holiday isnt exactly a modern invention.

Still， winter solstice celebrations have completely disappeared. Todays younger generation knows little about the formerly rich cultural connotations of many traditional Chinese festivals， and instead focuses on Western holidays such as Valentines Day and Christmas. However， its not just a testament to their blind faith in Western culture. Indeed， the diverse celebration customs of Western festivals are an exotic attraction for Chinese youngsters. I spent a decade in Europe， during which I joined celebrations for countless Christian holidays such as Good Friday， Easter， Christmas， Epiphany， Ascension Day， Whit Monday， Corpus Christi， Assumption Day， Reformation Day and Shrove Tuesday， as well as secular holidays such as New Years Day， May Day， and Halloween. Some sort of celebration could be found on almost any given day.

Although most Western holidays are rooted in religion， they have merged with secular life as religious connotations faded， and are now celebrated by people from all walks of life. Not only have the original celebration rituals of these holidays been preserved， but new， fashionable elements are also added. Every Christmas Eve at midnight， the Pope leads a solemn mass at the Vatican. Through teary eyes， pilgrims from around the world watch a white cloth symbolically covering infant Jesus fall slowly while singing “Silent Night” in several different languages. Throughout the Western world people decorate Christmas trees with colored lights， candles， and other ornaments， a Christmas ritual actually imported from pagan Roman tradition. Children fall asleep dreaming of sugarplums， and wake early the next morning to find gifts that Santa left.

Contrasting Western holidays， many traditional Chinese festivals have become nothing more than footnotes on the lunar calendar. Their cultural connotations have been lost in the river of time， and can now only be found in history books or the memories of the elderly. For instance， Lantern Festival， Dragon Boat Festival， Tomb Sweeping Day， Mid-Autumn Festival， Double Seventh Festival， Double Ninth Festival， and Laba Rice Porridge Festival are all facing a dire situation. Not only do the customs disappear， but also the beautiful legends and tales related to the festivals. As one illustrated， “European history lives in reality， but Chinese history can only be found in books.”

Spring Festival is relatively lucky because most of its traditional celebration rituals are still widely practiced. Today， people still stay up late to wait for the new year to arrive， paste paper cuttings in windows， exchange New Years greetings， light firecrackers， give children money in red envelopes， and eat dumplings and cakes. Even so， not all is well. The annual Spring Festival Gala on China Central Television （CCTV） has become staler with each passing year. The bang of firecrackers is less booming than before， which was once one of the most important rituals onthe eve of Chinese New Year. Some argue that the psychological and cultural losses from fireworks bans are greater than any possible losses from fires.

The situation is even worse for the Lantern Festival， an extension of Spring Festival. In ancient times， celebrations continued from the eve of Chinese New Year through Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month. Many Chinese literary classics characterized Lantern Festival as “Chinese Valentines Day” due to its romantic ambiance. However， these days， most young lovers save their celebrations for the Western counterpart， which falls around the same period.

A German friend of mine asserted that China will become a great power as it was during the Tang Dynasty （618-907）. His confidence was cultivated by what he saw and heard on a trip in China： Almost everyone he met talked business， which impressed him deeply. Compared to Chinese people， Germans and other Europeans celebrate so many holidays that their lives become so relaxed that forward progress seems less desirable.

But in my opinion， the easygoing spirit is just what Chinese people need. Due to their heavy burdens in work and life， traditional morality that once guided behavior has been replaced by greed and profit margins. If Chinese people had more opportunities to escape the pressures of work， socialize， and travel， it would not only relieve holiday traffic problems on highways and around tourist attractions， but also foster the inheritance and development of traditional culture and customs. In fact， foreigners as well as Chinese people are anticipating the resurrection of traditional Chinese culture.