Beijing college student Zhou Ji is counting the days before he
goes back home to his family in southwest China's Chongqing.
But the 22-year-old finance major can't think of any particular
Spring Festival celebration he enjoys: Firecrackers are dangerous
and temple fairs are crowded.
"A big dinner? No, my mother is too tired to prepare one. Too
much meat or fish is bad for your health," he said. The family has
reserved a table in a restaurant.
"I just want to have a good rest after a year of hard work,"
said Zhou, who is more excited about Christmas and Valentine's Day
than the Spring Festival.
More joy overseas
But the traditional Spring Festival is enjoying great popularity
overseas. Christian Perlingiere, a Brazilian studying Chinese
language, culture and tradition at Georgetown University in the
United States, said last year's Chinese New Year celebration was
highly publicized and attracted hundreds of people in Sao Paulo,
Brazil.
He vividly remembers a parade with a dragon dance, a concert
with traditional instruments and delicious niangao -- New Year
cakes made of sticky rice.
Large cities in the United States such as New York, San
Francisco and Washington DC also hold Spring Festival events, which
are sponsored by China-focused trade organizations or Chinese
cultural groups. People enjoy the parades and fireworks, even if
they don't really understand the traditions very deeply, said Ryan
Paul, an American living in Beijing.
"There is some confusion about what the holiday means and why
the date changes every year, but overall, people are intrigued by
it," said Paul.
A San Francisco-based website published a list of 2007 Chinese
New Year events, sponsored by Southwest Airlines. It includes a
Chinese New Year flower market fair, a carnival, a Chinese New Year
concert to be staged by the San Francisco Symphony and an "Imperial
Dinner" in the San Francisco City Hall.
The annual Miss Chinatown USA Pageant will be held in San
Francisco, where Chinese-American women from across the US will
compete for the title and an opportunity to win scholarships and
become goodwill ambassadors for the Chinese community. The event
has been held annually since 1958.
A Chinese New Year Parade, said to be the largest celebration of
its kind outside Asia, will also be held in San Francisco.
Li Jialin, who works for an American company in Beijing, saw
Lion Dancing for the first time in 1999 in Perth, western
Australia, when he was a high school student there.
"I had never seen real, live Lion Dancing before that except on
TV, not even in Beijing where I was born," said the young man. He
has studied overseas for more than 10 years.
Li said traditional Chinese culture receives special attention
during the Spring Festival outside of China. Last year, an
Australian telephone company gave every Chinese student in the
country a few free minutes to call home from their mobile phones on
Spring Festival.
"More foreigners are interested in China because of the
country's economic and political rise," said Perlingiere.
A rich tradition
"China is fortunate to have its own rich and unique traditions
that have endured millennia. It's a shame that many Chinese today
don't take the time to truly admire the magnificence of their
culture," said Perlingiere.
As a first-generation Chinese American, Edwin Young, in San
Francisco, said his parents still go through all of the rituals of
cleaning and decorating the home, preparing delicious food,
visiting relatives and worshiping ancestors. But he and his
siblings only visit their parents for the Chinese New Year Eve
dinner.
"No longer do I get new clothes, new pajamas and new slippers
for New Year's day. We also rarely visit other relatives now," said
Young.
Last year, the Chinese government proclaimed the Spring Festival
an intangible cultural heritage, along with Peking Opera,
acupuncture and Shaolin kung fu.
Feng Jicai, an expert on folklore, said old people think the
Spring Festival means new clothes, firecrackers and delicious food,
but the young take it as an opportunity to relax or travel.
"Life is getting better but also more stressful. People need the
psychological comfort of a family reunion during traditional
festivals," said Feng.
"Maybe some people don't celebrate with as many colorful
decorations as before, but that's not the best way to measure how
important a holiday is to its people," said Ryan Paul.
(Xinhua News Agency February 20, 2007)