The Contrast of Main Traditional Festivals in China and in America1.doc

The Contrast of Main Traditional Festival in China and in America中美主要传统节日对比The Contrast of Main Traditional Festivals in China and in AmericaAbstract: Every nation has its own culture. On the soil of culture, there grows its traditional festival. Traditional festivals are a very important part of culture. Different culture has different traditional festivals. This article analyses the origin and the meaning of traditional festivals in China and in the United States. When we are celebrating Chinese and western festivals, we can find out some differences between them, such as Tanabata Festival and Valentine’s Day，Spring Festival and Christmas. First of all, they are distinctly different in their origins. Second, they are apparently different in their customs. Third, they are different in their symbols. This paper focuses on the differences of some important festivals in China and in America.Key words: traditional festivals; background; customs; symbols摘 要：每个国家都有他自己的文化。

传统节日是在文化中孕育出来的传统节日是文化的重要一部分不同的文化有着不同的传统节日这篇文章分析中美传统节日起源意义等当 我们庆祝中美节日的时候，我们可以找出他们的不同,像七夕和情人节,春节和圣诞节首先，由传统节日起源看中美文化差异其次，从节日习俗看中美文化差异最后，从节日象征看中美文化差异所以这篇文章将从以上几方面比较与分析中美主要传统节日文化的不同关键词：传统节日；背景；习俗；象征ContentsI. Introduction…………………………………………………….....1II. Background of Traditional Festivals in China and in AmericaA. Tanabata Festival and Valentine’s Day……………………………….....1B. The contrast between Tanabata Festival and Valentine’s Day................3C. Spring Festival and Christmas……………………………………….…..4D. The contrast between Spring Festival and Christmas……………….….5III. Customs of Traditional Festivals in China and in AmericaA. Tanabata Festival and Valentine’s Day…………………………………..5B. Spring Festival and Christmas…………………………………………...6C. The contrast between Spring Festival and Christmas………………….8IV. Symbols of Traditional Festivals in China and in AmericaA. Tanabata Festival……………………………………………………….....8B. Valentine’s Day…………………………………………………………….8C. Spring Festival …………………………………………………………......9D. Christmas…………………………………………………………..……...10V. Conclusion…………………………………………………..……..10Works Cited……………………………………………….………….11I. IntroductionWith a long period of accumulation, traditional festivals imply a profound cultural background. Most of the festivals are closely related to people’s lives, expressed the nation’s history and culture. Traditional festivals are the very important part of culture. Different cultures have different traditional festival. With the development of the economy, we know lots of western festivals. China and United States have their own traditional festivals. As we know, the traditional festivals in China and in United States are growing in their own cultural systems. They have different characters and abundant contents. The first difference between China and Western is the way of naming the festivals. By observing the names of the festivals, we can easily find out differences. Chinese festivals were mostly named after the season, while most of western festivals were mostly named after the religious figures or events. As we know, China is a traditional agricultural country. Since weather and season play an important role in agriculture. Chinese festivals Spring Festival named after seasons, it was easy and helpful for the farmer to remember. Another difference is that western festivals are based on solar calendar, which is world-wide-used; but Chinese traditional festivals are based on lunar calendar, which is used only in China. For this reason, it is hard for people from other countries to follow us. Besides, western culture shows great respect to human rights and pays special attention to individual development. II. Background of Traditional Festivals in China and in AmericaA. Tanabata Festival: Tanabata Festival is a glorious, colorful, and romantic festival. It is also called Chinese Valentine’s Day. It is said that Tanabata Festival is originated from the cowherd and the weaving maid (Liu 27). The weaving maid went against the rules of her parents. She got married with the cowherd. The Queen brought the weaving maid back to middle of the forehead by force. The Queen used a golden hairpin to row the Milky Way to separate them. From then on the cowherd and the weaving maid were broken up; they could only look attentively at each other and cry. Their loyal and steadfast love moves the magpie; thousands of magpies fly there in July 7th every year to build a bridge to help them meet. Afterwards, people always look at the sky, look for the cowherd and the weaving maid and pray for their love. According to Chinese and Foreign Festivals Grand View record, Tanabata Festival is a Chinese traditional festival for the Han nationality. It is in early July on 7th on lunar calendar. It is also called ‘Qiqiao Festival’, ‘Double Star Festival’, ‘Women’s Festival’. The custom rises in the Han Dynasty and it 。