February 18 is
the New Year's Day in Chinese lunar calendar, or Spring Festival. However, the
biggest celebrative occasion seems to be losing its feel and appeal. The largest
festival in Chinese culture is becoming more and more flavorless in many
people's eyes.
Improved living standard, various TV shows, tours to the warmer part of the
country or even in Southeast Asia, get-togethers of friends and family - all of
those things should have made the Spring Festival more enjoyable - except not.
"When we were younger, the Spring Festival means new clothes, better food,
and fireworks. I always look forward to that long before the festival," said
Huyan Bo, a 26-year-old white collar working with a major multinational in
Beijing, "Clothes and foods are not concerns anymore, and fireworks are
forbidden in a lot of regions. We don't have many things to expect for the
approach of the New Year."
However, affluence is not the reason why the festival is losing its appeal.
"Definitely it's not because of lack of material comfort, but rather the
spiritual needs were not fully satisfied," said Professor Tao Li, a famous
folklorist from Central University for Nationalities.
"As the most important and popular festival, Spring Festival is a combination
of various cultural phenomena which include astrology, calendar, folk beliefs,
marriage ceremony, and etc. Now the festival has lost its original cultural
denotations, hence people feel the festival is less enjoyable, and there is a
kind of psychological dissatisfaction," said Tao.
What's your take on the Spring Festival? Tell us in our forum.
