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1、 Differences between Chinese and American Culture as Embodied in Traditional Festivals Abstract Traditional festivals are the historical products of a nations development. Whether in China which has a long history of more than five thousand years or in the newborn America, the origination of traditi
2、onal festivals in the two countries is similar. Most traditional festivals originated from peoples expectation for harvest in the agricultural production, the worship towards the gods and the nature, sacrifices to the historical characters and etc. After the long-term evolution, traditional festival
3、s have become an indispensable part of the national culture. Through traditional festivals, the distinct cultural characteristics of a people and the national spirits can be observed. Since the ancient time, China has been a large agricultural country, the small-scale economic mode known as “The men
4、 plough and the women weave” initiated the agricultural civilization of Chinese characteristics. Chinese traditional festivals are deeply rooted in the agricultural civilization and greatly influenced by Confucianism. To some extent, Chinese traditional festivals have relieved from the primitive tab
5、oos and tended to be happy festivals which reflect the concept of harmony and integration in Confucianism. In America, religion plays a very important role in peoples life. With various branches, the religious system of America is quite complicated, among which Christianity is of the greatest import
6、ance. Some American traditional festivals are the direct products of Christianity and most festivals have evolved into the religious festivals later. This paper is designed to discuss the differences in customs, origins and other aspects of traditional festivals with the similar cultural connotation
7、, then analyze the reasons lying behind the differences and finally reflect the cultural differences of the two nations.Key words: Traditional festivals; Chinese and American culture; cultural differences; causes从传统节日看中美文化的差异内 容 摘 要传统节日是一个民族发展的历史产物。无论是在有着五千多年悠长历史的中国还是在新生的美国，传统节日的起源都显示出相通之处，大多数传统节日都源
8、自于人们在农业生产生活中对丰收的期盼、对天地神灵和自然的崇拜、以及对历史人物的祭奠等等。传统节日在长期的演变和发展中，已经成为民族文化不可或缺的一部分，透过传统节日可以反映一个民族的文化特色和民族精神。中国自古以来就是一个农业大国，“男耕女织”的小农经济模式开创了具有中国特色的农耕文化。中国传统节日深深植根于农耕文化之中，在演变过程中深受儒家思想的影响。从某种程度而言，中国传统节日已经渐渐摆脱原始禁忌和崇拜，演化成为体现儒家和合思想的欢庆祥和的节日。在美国，宗教的影响和地位是不言而喻的，美国的宗教体系错综复杂，其中最有影响力的宗教派别是基督教。美国的传统节日大都衍化成为基督教的产物，大多数的美
9、国节日在日后的发展中都成为宗教性的节日。本文从两国传统节日中有着相似文化内涵的节日出发，探讨这些传统节日在起源、节日习俗等方面的差异，并分析产生这些差异的原因，从而折射出两国传统节日文化的差异。关键词：传统节日；中美文化；差异；根源Contents1. Introduction12. Differences in Traditional Festivals in the Two Cultures22.1 The Spring Festival vs. Thanksgiving Day22.2 The Zhongyuan Festival vs. Halloween42.3 The Chines
10、e Valentines Day vs. Valentines Day62.4 Summary63. Major Factors Causing Differences between Chinese and American TraditionalFestivals83.1 Factors influencing Chinese traditional festivals83.1.1 Agricultural civilization83.1.2 Confucianism93.1.2.1 Reunion and filial piety93.1.2.2 Blessings and benev
11、olence103.2 Major Factors influencing American traditional festivals113.2.1 Industrialization113.2.2 Christianity114. Conclusion13References15Differences between Chinese and American Culture as Embodied in Traditional Festivals1. IntroductionChina is a multi-ethnic nation, with the Han nationality a
12、ccounting for the majority of the total population and various ethnic minorities in the minority (Zhao, 2002). According to Zhao (2002) and Tan (2003), people in different nationalities or regions celebrate some traditional festivals of their own, while among all the festivals the most typical ones
13、celebrated by Chinese people in common consist of these ones: the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, the Dragon-Boat Festival, the Chinese Valentines Day, the Zhongyuan Festival, Mid-Autumn Day, the Double-Ninth Festival, the Winter Solstice, the Laba Festival, and the Kitchen
14、 God Festival, etc.Different from China, America is a multi-cultural nation with the immigrants taking a large proportion of its population and people from different countries live together and the cultures brought with them melt into the distinct American culture (Wu, 2003; Hu, 2004; William, 2007)
15、. In the system of American traditional festivals, there are festivals originating in the homeland and festivals brought from the foreign lands. The festivals in America can be divided into the legal holidays and traditional ones; besides, some states also celebrate a few festivals of their own (Ell
16、inwood, 2005). In general, according to Samovar et al. (2008), the most popular traditional festivals celebrated by American people include the following ones: New Years Day, Valentines Day, St. Patricks Day, All Fools Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Halloween, Easter, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas
17、, etc.According to the folklorists research, traditional festivals in different societies derive from such originations as peoples expectation for a bountiful harvest in the agricultural production, the primitive worship towards the gods and the nature, sacrifices to ancestors and historical charact
18、ers and so on, and it is unable to deny that traditional festivals display the cultural differences on several aspects (Davis, 2001; Ni and Qiao, 2003). In the modern world with globalization taking such a fast pace, communication among people of different nationalities is more common in the fields
19、of politics, economy, cultural and technological exchange and others. In a context of different cultures, misunderstandings and conflicts are likely to arise in the process of communication when there is little awareness of diverse cultural values and beliefs. Therefore, the recognition and understa
20、nding of the cultural differences is of great importance to promote the cross-cultural communication. This paper is designed to investigate the cultural differences embodied in traditional festivals in China and America based on the analysis of traditional festivals in the two cultures with similar
21、cultural connotation. His birth is believed by Christians to be the fulfillment of prophecies in the Jewish Old Testament which claimed that a Messiah would deliver the Jewish people from captivity (Ibid.). After the story of his birth, little is known about Jesus until he began his ministry at the
22、age of about 30. He then spent three years teaching, healing and working miracles. He taught in parables - everyday stories which had divine messages for those who would hear it. He had twelve disciples whom he called to follow him and help him in his work. Jesus stated publicly that he spoke with t
23、he authority of God. This claim angered the religious authorities in Palestine and they handed Jesus over to the Roman authorities as a revolutionary.2. Differences in Traditional Festivals in the Two Cultures Traditional festivals, as an integral part of the national culture, possess rich cultural
24、connotations. To some extent, traditional festivals are the manifestation and sublimation of human beings cognition and emotions toward the world and in the light of the universal cognition and emotions of human beings, it is no wonder that there are traditional festivals in the two cultures with th
25、e similar cultural connotations (Zhang, 2001). However, behind the similar cultural connotations of traditional festivals, origins and customs of these festivals are greatly differentiated, which illustrate the cultural differences of the two nations. According to the folklorists research, tradition
26、al festivals in different societies derive from such originations as peoples expectation for a bountiful harvest in the agricultural production, the primitive worship towards the gods and the nature, sacrifices to ancestors and historical characters and so on, and it is unable to deny that tradition
27、al festivals display the cultural differences on several aspects (Davis, 2001; Ni and Qiao, 2003). In the modern world with globalization taking such a fast pace, communication among people of different nationalities is more common in the fields of politics, economy, cultural and technological excha
28、nge and others. In a context of different cultures, misunderstandings and conflicts are likely to arise in the process of communication when there is little awareness of diverse cultural values and beliefs. Therefore, the recognition and understanding of the cultural differences is of great importan
29、ce to promote the cross-cultural communication. This paper is designed to investigate the cultural differences embodied in traditional festivals in China and America based on the analysis of traditional festivals in the two cultures with similar cultural connotation. His birth is believed by Christi
30、ans to be the fulfillment of prophecies in the Jewish Old Testament which claimed that a Messiah would deliver the Jewish people from captivity (Ibid.). After the story of his birth, little is known about Jesus until he began his ministry at the age of about 30. He then spent three years teaching, h
31、ealing and working miracles. He taught in parables - everyday stories which had divine messages for those who would hear it. He had twelve disciples whom he called to follow him and help him in his work. Jesus stated publicly that he spoke with the authority of God. This claim angered the religious
32、authorities in Palestine and they handed Jesus over to the Roman authorities as a revolutionary.2.1 The Spring Festival vs. Thanksgiving DayThe Spring Festival in China and Thanksgiving Day in America are both festivals for family members to reunite and to strengthen the family bonds. The Spring Fes
33、tival is the biggest festival observed by Chinese people. However, in the beginning, the “spring festival” was not held to farewell to the past year and welcome the Chinese Lunar New Year, but to celebrate the coming of “Spring Commence”(the 1st solar term) (Chen and Lu, 1989). For when “Spring Comm
34、ence” arrived, which was seemed as the coming of spring, farmers had to sow seeds in the farmland. Just as the old saying goes that “The whole years work depends on a good start in spring” (Xiao, 2002). Concerning the origin of Thanksgiving Day, it should be related to the pilgrims. In history, the
35、first thanksgiving had to date back to 1621. In 1620, a group of pilgrims who wanted to escape religious persecution reached Plymouth by the May Flower (Julian, 2004). As soon as they settled down, they found they had to face a terrible wintertough weather and lack of food and shelter. It was those
36、native Indians that helped the pilgrims to survive. Later, the Indians taught the new settlers how to grow corn and other crops and also how to fish and hunt. In the autumn of 1621, the pilgrims enjoyed a bountiful harvest. In order to celebrate the harvest and show gratitude to the Indians help, th
37、ey held a feast together with the native Indians, which was recorded as the origin of thanksgiving (Geng, 2006). Based on different origins, the two festivals developed with their own national culture and formed the unique customs of their own.According to the folklorists research, traditional festi
38、vals in different societies derive from such originations as peoples expectation for a bountiful harvest in the agricultural production, the primitive worship towards the gods and the nature, sacrifices to ancestors and historical characters and so on, and it is unable to deny that traditional festi
39、vals display the cultural differences on several aspects (Davis, 2001; Ni and Qiao, 2003). In the modern world with globalization taking such a fast pace, communication among people of different nationalities is more common in the fields of politics, economy, cultural and technological exchange and
40、others. In a context of different cultures, misunderstandings and conflicts are likely to arise in the process of communication when there is little awareness of diverse cultural values and beliefs. Therefore, the recognition and understanding of the cultural differences is of great importance to pr
41、omote the cross-cultural communication. This paper is designed to investigate the cultural differences embodied in traditional festivals in China and America based on the analysis of traditional festivals in the two cultures with similar cultural connotation. His birth is believed by Christians to b
42、e the fulfillment of prophecies in the Jewish Old Testament which claimed that a Messiah would deliver the Jewish people from captivity (Ibid.). After the story of his birth, little is known about Jesus until he began his ministry at the age of about 30. He then spent three years teaching, healing a
43、nd working miracles. He taught in parables - everyday stories which had divine messages for those who would hear it. He had twelve disciples whom he called to follow him and help him in his work. Jesus stated publicly that he spoke with the authority of God. This claim angered the religious authorit
44、ies in Palestine and they handed Jesus over to the Roman authorities as a revolutionary.Among all the customs, food at the festival is the most remarkable, just as the Chinese saying goes, “Food is the first necessity of the people.” No matter at the Spring Festival or on Thanksgiving Day, a reunion
45、 dinner will be set for celebration. In China, the reunion dinner is held on the New Years Eve, that is, the day before the first day of the first lunar month. The menu for the reunion dinner traditionally includes fish, chicken and other delicious food. In Chinese characters the pronunciation of “f
46、ish” (“鱼”; in Chinese pinying “y”) makes it a homophone for “surpluses”( “余”; in Chinese pinying “y”), in this sense, the fish at the reunion dinner is to express peoples good wishes for the coming year which are implied in the Chinese phrase “may there be surpluses every year”(“年年有余”; pinying “nin
47、nin yu y”). There are also other typical food for this festival, such as dumplings and nian gao known as the Chinese New Year pudding. The shape of the dumpling is like gold ingot from ancient China, so people eat them and wish for money and treasure (Tan, 2003). “nian gao”, as a homophone, means “h
48、igher and higher, one year after another.” At the reunion dinner, the family members sit together according to a particular order in respect to the elder in the family. While the traditional American Thanksgiving dinner consists of roast turkey served with mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, sw
49、eet potatoes, vegetables, fresh corn bread and ends with pumpkin pie. Family members sit together at the dinner table to enjoy the joyful time of reunion. (Hu, 2004) In celebrations at home, it is a holiday tradition in many families to begin the Thanksgiving dinner by saying grace. Grace is a prayer before or after a meal to express appreciation to God, to ask for Gods blessing.Among all the customs, food at the festival is the most re