On December 22, the United Nations adopted a resolution to make the Spring Festival a United Nations holiday.
"Being alone in a foreign land as a stranger, thinking of relatives every festive season. "The Spring Festival is an important traditional folk culture in China, symbolizing the beautiful meaning of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, and family reunion. Not only in China, but also in many countries around the world and local overseas Chinese will celebrate the Spring Festival together.
Chen Yiping
On December 25, Professor Chen Yiping, chief expert and deputy director of the Research Base for the Consciousness of the Chinese Nation at Jinan University and a professor at the School of International Relations/Institute of Overseas Chinese and Chinese Studies, told Nanfang + reporters that the Spring Festival folk activities of overseas Chinese are very rich, and the Spring Festival has long become an indelible cultural memory and cultural symbol in their hearts. While holding the Spring Festival activities, China's traditional Xi can be spread overseas, which is conducive to the spread of Chinese culture in the world.
The UAE hosts Chinese New Year events
The reality of the cultural inheritance and dissemination of the Spring Festival has been affirmed
South+: On 22 December, the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution by consensus designating the Chinese New Year (Chinese New Year) as a UN holiday. What do you think is the significance of China's promotion of the Spring Festival as a UN holiday?
Chen Yiping: According to the UN Staff Regulations, all UN locations have about 10 official holidays each year, which are divided into two categories: one is the official holidays stipulated by the UN General Assembly, such as New Year's Day, Christmas, Eid al-Fitr and other global holidays, or non-global but influential religious holidays, and the other is decided by the UN Secretary-General (Headquarters) or the heads of UN agencies (other locations) in consultation with the staff. Although about one-fifth of the world's population celebrates the Chinese New Year in one form or another, it is a great pity that it has not been designated as a United Nations holiday for various reasons. I believe that China's promotion of the Spring Festival as a United Nations holiday is, first, an affirmation and recognition of the reality of the cultural inheritance and dissemination of the Spring Festival, and second, as pointed out by Ambassador Dai Bing, Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations, "it is a pragmatic action to practice the Global Civilization Initiative and advocate respect for the diversity of world civilizations", and "will effectively promote exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations in the world, and actively embody the cultural values of pluralism and inclusiveness advocated by the United Nations".
The UAE hosts Chinese New Year events
Overseas Chinese and Chinese Spring Festival folk activities are abundant
South+: How is the spread of Chinese New Year folklore among overseas Chinese?
Chen Yiping: Overseas Chinese and Chinese Spring Festival folk activities are very rich, at the family level, there are relatives and friends reunions, Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, giving money for the New Year, keeping the New Year around the fireplace, worshipping ancestors and praying for blessings, etc.; at the community level, Chinatowns and Chinatowns in various countries will light up New Year lanterns, hang red lanterns, and celebrate dragon and lion dances, New Year temple fairs, Spring Festival parades and other celebrations; at the national level, as more and more countries set the Spring Festival as a legal holiday in the whole country or some cities, there will be congratulatory speeches by dignitaries during the Spring Festival. The postal department issues zodiac stamps and local communities organize large celebrations.
Overseas Chinese who were unable to go home for the New Year during the Spring Festival will also send blessings to their relatives in their hometowns and convey their full thoughts.
The UAE hosts Chinese New Year events
South+: Are there any cultural traits that are incorporated into the local folklore?
Chen Yiping: Regarding the combination of Chinese New Year folk customs and local culture, overseas Chinese around the world inherit and spread Chinese culture, while also innovating in combination with local cultural Xi, and even constructing new cultural forms. After the development and evolution of the traditional culture of overseas Chinese, it has gradually shown regional characteristics.
For example, before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, overseas Chinese in the United States, Australia, France, Belgium, the United Kingdom and other countries would hold a grand parade celebration every Spring Festival, which included mass parades, float parades, dragon and lion dances, folk songs and dances, kung fu demonstrations and other elements, which integrated the model of Western festival celebrations.
Chinese New Year food is also integrated with local specialties, such as Malaysian Chinese fusion Nanyang flavors to make a rich variety of "New Year cakes", these charcoal-baked cookies are an indispensable "New Year's flavor" for every Chinese family.
As a matter of fact, different civilizations and cultures have been exchanging with each other, learning Xi from each other, learning from each other, and learning from each other, and this is the trend of the development of world civilization. Overseas Chinese carry the genes of Chinese civilization and have always served as practitioners of exchanges between Chinese and foreign civilizations and boosters of mutual learning between Chinese and foreign civilizations.
Shantou Chenghai Spring Festival folk activities (Chen Nan/photo)
Overseas Chinese associations should be brought into play to promote the inheritance of Spring Festival folk customs
South+: Spring Festival folk customs have also been widely inherited among overseas Chinese, what do you think is the reason for this?
Chen Yiping: The Spring Festival folk customs have been widely inherited among overseas Chinese and Chinese nationals of Chinese nationality for two reasons: first, the repeated New Year's festivals and New Year customs are the marks of national culture, have a strong memory point, and become an indelible cultural memory and cultural symbol in the hearts of Chinese people, even if they live overseas all the year round, this memory is still profound and vivid, and has a natural appeal; 。
Shantou Chenghai Spring Festival folk activities (Chen Nan/photo)
South+: How do you think the Chinese New Year folk customs should be passed on to the new generation of overseas Chinese?
Chen Yiping: The new generation of overseas Chinese grew up in a foreign cultural environment, and they lack the memory of growing up in the motherland, so in terms of emotion, there will be a lack of awareness of traditional Chinese culture. The folk customs of the Spring Festival are likely to be relatively unfamiliar to them, which requires a lot of work from all walks of life to pass them on.
I think that the first thing to do is to give play to the role of overseas Chinese associations, including organizing overseas Chinese to carry out Spring Festival folk activities, adding a sense of atmosphere to Chinatown with New Year's Festival decorations, etc.; Chinese families need to regain traditional New Year's rituals, such as eating Chinese New Year's Eve dinner at home as much as possible, paying attention to sacrifices and blessings and inheriting family culture; on the one hand, China's overseas Chinese-related departments organize more Chinese youths to come to China to participate in cultural activities and other activities, and on the other hand, they can also send "cultural" New Year goods to overseas Chinese, such as brand cultural activities such as "Four Seas and Spring in the Four Seas" in the past two yearsHeld "in the cloud", many overseas Chinese held "cloud" Spring Festival gatherings, which is the result of actively seeking change in the face of the epidemic, and has positive significance for protecting the cultural memory of the Spring Festival.
Part of the content refers to "Chen Yiping: Why is the Spring Festival folk custom a cultural memory that Chinese people can't erase?"
Southern + reporter Shen Congsheng
Photo courtesy of the interviewee and Shantou Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese
【Author】 Shen Congsheng
Southern Probe