By: Stephen Chen
The year of the rabbit will begin on January 22nd, 2023. As an old and tradition festival in Asia, especially in China, New Year (or Spring Festival) is considered to be the most important festival to celebrate. During the 2 weeks of Spring Festival, almost everyone returns to their hometown, ad visits their families and friends. Although there are New Years celebrations in many Western countries, they differ greatly from this ancient festivity without a kind of passion and festive air. We will talk about it next.
The biggest difference is the date. If you show the date of US new year to a Chinese person, he or she will be surprised that it could be as short as a single 1 day. He or she might think about using the time effectively. I would respond by saying that American do their celebrations in a different holiday, Christmas. All Chinese students get a Spring Festival break which is like the Christmas break in Western countries.
Due to the different cultures, Lunar new year has always been seeing as a grand, lucky festival in the East, while it isn’t taken seriously in the west. Western people may do some activities like setting of fireworks, having a dinner and etc. that are similar to Christmas activities because they are still in their winter holiday. In contrast, in China, New year is an entirely unique holiday, and the Chinese have to obey their traditions. As a Chinese kid, I know this well. All of the traditional Spring Festival foods are tempting and delicious. Jiaozi, as known as dumplings, are necessary in a big meal of new year. It means a good change in the coming year. In America, people usually have a big dinner with family. The dishes are often turkey, cakes, or pizza. Although these things are all tasty, there are still some big differences between them, the most important one is the meanings of foods. Foods that represent health, wealth, a long life, and etc. are several necessary parts of Chinese new year.
Do you know that Chinese people give their kids money? They will give red packets to children to make the best wish for children to grow up healthily. That said, I would like to tell you a truth about my red packets. All of them are confiscated by my mother. She promised that she will return them when I get into a university. Maybe, but I don’t feel hopeful.
It’s a wonderful idea to experience two different new years that represent various cultures. Wish all of you already got into an amazing new year!