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1、On the comparison of Chinese and American traditional festivalsIntroductionA. The background and the purposeWith the era developing, society is progressing. This is a multicultural era. Ancient and profound Chinese culture has a long history and is in the same strain. In this society, the western cu
2、lture penetrated into our country quickly, and there is no doubt that during this time, cultural elements of China are colorful and various kinds of cultures are integration of the development through communication. This passage is aimed at discussing the comparative study between Chinese and Americ
3、an major festivals in order to hit the target that promoting the communication between Chinese and American cultures and the two parties nations are more impressed and clear to the mutual culture.B. The research situation in domestic and abroadIn China, studying the festivals culture is still at ele
4、mentary developing stage. Scholars often focus on the description of the festivals customs, whose key points are participation, observation and description of the festivals. And on the abroad, for the study of Chinese and Western festivals cultures, scholars just analyze from the differences between
5、 Chinese and western festivals customs.C. The research solutionThis passage mainly use comparison and examples, which compares from some aspects, such as the origin of two countries, the way of celebration, the way of diet and so on.The origin and the general features between Chinese and American fe
6、stivalsA. The origin of Chinese and American festivals With the continuous development of the human society, festivals are produced. Festivals are mainly traditional events or activities that are held periodically by groups, for example, Chinese spring festival, the mid-autumn festival and American
7、Christmas day etc. festivals are also called “time out of time” by the folk experts.Festival is a complex folk image and has very rich cultural connotations. So-called festival culture is the cultural deposits possessed in the festivals and the cultural connotations reflected in the festivals. On th
8、e globalization today, China is jointing increasingly with America, festivals are without exception.a. The origin of Chinese festivalsChina is a country with ancient oriental civilization. Its long history and excellent traditions offer fertile soil to the growth of traditional festivals. Chinese tr
9、aditional festivals are the culture products that are made by the folk convention and created by the broad masses of the people. Agricultural culture accounts for a large portion of Chinese culture, and Chinese traditional festivals take the 24 sola terms as clue and reflect the rhythm of agricultur
10、al production and the regular pattern of climatic change.In general, Chinese festivals experienced five development periods:Pre-qin occurring stageFor festivals customs, many festivals elements have sprouted since the ancient times. Spring festival, Dragon Boat festival; Mid-autumn festival and Midw
11、inter, these festivals elements that have spread today almost have already formed on pre-qin. But at that time, there are no more festivals, whose contents are not abundant and time is not fixed.Han Dynasty finalizing the design stageHan Dynasty, Chinese main festivals have basically finalized the d
12、esign, such as New Years Eve, Lantern festival, Cold Food festival, Double-Seventh festival, Double ninth festival and so on. On the one hand, some historical persons who become the memorial characters of some festivals take the place of the original worship and superstition, which strengthens human
13、 touch and sense of reality of festivals customs; on the other hand, with the festivals customs developing, some customs become etiquettes, some etiquettes become customs, customs and etiquettes fused into one, which is accepted and followed by people convention.Wei-Jin and Southern and Northern Dyn
14、asties integration stageThe Wei-Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties are the period that the nationality migrates greatly, merges greatly in China history, which pushed forward the communication of national cultures and propelled the integration and development of festivals cultures.Tang and Song
15、 Dynasty rush timeIn Tang and Song Dynasty, society economic and culture prosperity geared up the development of festivals cultures, whose main features are that folk festivals developed in the direction of ceremonial and recreational performance and became authentic special festivals.All in all, fr
16、om Chinese traditional festivals, we can know that Chinese cultures have deep effects on the agriculture. As the most important festival, the origin of spring festival can derive from a series of colorful legends and traditions.b. The origin of American festivalsAmerican traditional festivals are ve
17、ry different from Chinese traditional festivals, and it is usually largely influenced by religion. Religion is the centre of culture and society, through which peoples thinking can be reacted, hence, these festivals are the dates that solemnly commemorate the most meaningful and the most respected p
18、eople. Festivals represent neither agricultural spirit of human and nature nor family ethics of persons. What is more? Religion takes up a large part of American cultures; consequently, most of festivals are still somewhat religious.In the view of the western countries, individual is the base of the
19、 combination between human and nature, so it lays stress on value of individual existence. And in western society, there is no doubt that religion has played a strong and important role, which is showed through traditional festivals related to religion.However, no matter which national tradition fes
20、tivals, it is also formed through long history and is evolved and enriched constantly with the society developing. Festivals express intensively peoples rich emotional world and enthusiasm for life. There is a saying that every festival of every nation reflects the truest side of this national cultu
21、re.B. The general features of Chinese and American festivalsa. The general features of Chinese festivalsBecause Chinese traditional festivals come into being basically during The Feudal Times, It leaves feudal society mark inevitably: hierarchy, family, holidays are all within a family activity cent
22、er. During the festivals, young people must worship the old people, and family will have reunion dinner together, besides, family altogether celebrates the festivals. Even in the spring festival, people just make a ceremonial call between the relatives. It is impossible and unimaginable that a group
23、 of strangers rejoice with wild excitement together. Even the YangKo outdoor activity participated with many people is also just a kind of performance activity, without national carnival nature. Chinese festivals possess heritability and variability. Once the festivals are formed, it has relative in
24、dependence and stability and is handed down through the generations. Sometimes, although social conditions have changed, it still kept ancient customs, which is important expression of festivals heritability. Secondly, festivals cultures show vivid nationalism and regionalism. This interracial and c
25、ross-regional feature of Chinese festivals is the result of communicating mutually and integrating of national festivals customs, which actually is also the cause of exchanging of various districts economic and civilization. In the course of communicating broadly and integrating, Chinese traditional
26、 festivals also have extensive inclusiveness. In addition, another outstanding feature of Chinese festivals is that it can represent Chinese eating culture. Each festival has different specialty foods demand, which differs from other festivals.b. The general feature of American festivalsAmerican fes
27、tivals demonstrate more of peoples interactivity, collectivity and revelry characteristics, self-centeredness and respect for individuation, which is contrary to the family feature of Chinese festivals and show western cultures groupment. It also reflects peoples hope that we can communicate each ot
28、her and participate in groups, which shows that everyone is equal and expressing yourself freely. But for the foods, there is no some strict request.But comparatively speaking, American festivals reflect the ideas that men and women are equal and feminism, for example, the traditional festival, “wom
29、en rights day,” in northern of Greece. On the day, women take over the leader rights and men will do the housework instead of women. Other festivals also show this feature, such as Mothers Day, Comingofage Day and so on. China ancient society has always worshiped the Confucian thoughts and ideas tha
30、t men is superior , women is inferior and the principle of feudal moral conduct, so it is inconceivable in China ancient.The comparative study between Chinese and American major festivalsA. The same points among two countries major festivalsAs in China, so in America, festivals are very important, s
31、omething worth celebrating and memorial days. The culture reflected in the festivals can find their performance place in local area, which gives expression to one countrys values, aesthetics and outlook on life. Although there are many differences among Chinese and American festivals culture, it sti
32、ll has similarity. For example, Chinese festivals pay great attention to family reunion; however, American festivals also require that relatives and friends have meal together, such as the dinner on Christmas day, it is also a kind of worship that some of Chinese festivals are aimed at praying for h
33、eaven or ancestors to bless, whose objects are different from the western god. In our Chinese festivals, there are also some festivals that can express traditional religious customs, such as a variety of pleasing god, giving homage to god, worshipping god and so on. Here, taking the Chinese Double-F
34、ifth festival and the American Easter as examples. The Dragon Boat Festival, the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, has had a history of more than 2,000 years. It is usually in June in the Gregorian calendar. There are various versions about the origin of the Dragon Boat festival, and at least ten diff
35、erent ones are sorted out by scholars, among which the most influential version is to honor Qu Yuan. Dragon boat racing is an indispensable part of the festival, held all over the country. As the gun is fired, people will see racers in dragon-shaped canoes pulling the oars harmoniously and hurriedly
36、, accompanied by rapid drums, speeding toward their destination. Zongzi is an essential food of the Dragon Boat Festival. It is said that people ate them in the spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). In early times, it was only glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in reed or other plant leaves and tied
37、with colored thread, but now the fillings are more diversified, including jujube and bean paste, fresh meat, and ham and egg yolk. If time permits, people will soak glutinous rice, wash reed leaves and wrap up zongzi in themselves.Much like the Chinese Dragon Boat festival Easter is the date that Ch
38、ristian commemorate resurrection of Jesus, which is held on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after March 21. The typical gifts for Easter are eggs, chicken, bunnies and flowers. On the eve of Easter, the children will decorate the eggs that their friends and family give. In the
39、 Easter, the children will find there are full of chocolate eggs and bunnies in the blanket. Various color chocolate eggs and bunnies are the symbol of Easter. In the United States in the early nineteenth century, Dolly Madison, the wife of the fourth American President, organized an egg roll in Was
40、hington, D.C. She had been told that Egyptian children used to roll eggs against the pyramids so she invited the children of Washington to roll hard-boiled eggs down the hilly lawn of the new Capitol building! The custom continued, except for the years during the Civil War.B. From different aspects
41、to analyzea. The different ways of celebrationThe spring festival, also called “the Chinese new year”, has been the most significant and celebrated holiday of the year for the Chinese nationality. In ancient times, the celebrations of the spring festival included offering sacrifices to ancestors, ma
42、king an audience with the emperor in the morning, holding feasts, telling fortune, welcoming the god, paying a new year call, and attending entertainments, etc. the customs varied with the passage of time, differed between regions and ethnic groups. There would be a tight schedule of thorough cleani
43、ngs, special purchases for the spring festival, tailoring of new clothes, worshipping the kitchen god, and offering sacrifices to the ancestors. Of course, the two highlights of the spring festival are setting off firecrackers and pasting spring festival couplets.The 30th of the twelfth lunar month
44、is also known as the Chinese New Years Eve, on which people would always stay indoors to offer sacrifices to ancestors. And the family members get together to have the family reunion dinner, which is always luxurious.The first day of the first lunar month is the beginning of a Chinese New Year. Besi
45、des, setting off firecrackers, people would pay New Year visits; firstly, they extend New Year greetings to family members-all in new clothes, juniors salute and extend greetings to seniors. Then children will get money from their seniors as a New Year gift. Secondly, people pay New Year visits to f
46、riends and relatives.Sweeping floors is forbidden as it may sweep away luck and fortune. If the floor does need sweeping, people should start from the outside to the inside. An adult should not beat or curse children during the spring festival, and children are told to speak gently and not to quarre
47、l with each other. When meeting with relatives and friends, people usually greet each other by saying “wish you prosperity”.In America, a similar festival is the Christmas Day which actually begins in December 12th and ends in January 6th in the next year. Like Chinese New Year, it is also a period
48、rather than only one day, which is familiar to us all December 25th. As the birthday of Jesus Christ, the Christmas Day is with no doubt the most vitally day all over the year. And as we all know, most western people are Christian. Red, green and white are regarded as the luckiest colors in Christma
49、s Day, as they stand for the Christmas candle, Christmas tree and pure snow. People decorate a kind of evergreen tree with all kinds and colors of lights, balloons, gifts, paper flowers and so on, all filled with a festival atmosphere. Santa Claus is the most famous figure in western festival. All children believe that they will receive a brilliant gift from Santa Claus, and as they growing up, they will gradually know that their Santa Claus is a figure in humans imagination. But wh