On December 22, the United Nations adopted a resolution to make the Spring Festival a United Nations holiday.
Alone in a foreign land as a stranger, every festival is full of relatives. "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, Chen Yiping, chief expert and deputy director of the Research Base for the Consciousness of the Community of the Chinese Nation at Jinan University and Professor of the Institute of Overseas Chinese Studies of the School of International Relations, told the Southern + reporter 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. At the same time as the Spring Festival activities are held, China's traditional customs 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 statutory holidays per year, which are divided into two categories: one is the official holidays stipulated by the UN General Assembly, such as global holidays such as New Year's Day, Christmas, and Eid al-Fitr, or religious holidays that are not global but have great influence;The other type of holiday is decided by the Secretary-General of the United Nations (Headquarters) or the head of the United Nations agency (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 folk customs among overseas Chinese?
Chen Yiping: Overseas Chinese have a lot of Spring Festival folk activities, including family reunions with relatives and friends, eating Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, giving money for the New Year, keeping the New Year around the fireplace, worshipping ancestors and praying for blessingsAt the community level, Chinatowns and Chinatowns around the world will be lit up with Chinese New Year lanterns, hung up red lanterns, and there will be festivities such as dragon and lion dances, Chinese New Year temple fairs, and Spring Festival paradesAt 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, postal stamps issued by postal departments and large-scale celebrations organized by local communities.
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+: Do these folklore have some cultural characteristics that are integrated into the local area?
Chen Yiping: In terms of the combination of Chinese New Year folk customs and local culture, overseas Chinese around the world not only inherit and spread Chinese culture, but also innovate in combination with local cultural customs, and even construct 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, learning from 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 (photo by Chen Nan).
Overseas Chinese associations should be brought into play to promote the inheritance of Spring Festival folk customs.
South+: The Chinese New Year 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 for two reasons: first, the repeated New Year's festivals and customs are the marks of national culture, with 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 deep and vivid, with natural appeal;Second, most of the overseas Chinese live in a social environment with a multicultural background, and as a minority, they have a strong sense of root-seeking, a strong sense of identity with Chinese culture, an inherent need for the construction of a national cultural and spiritual home, and a conscious sense of inheritance and dissemination.
Shantou Chenghai Spring Festival folk activities (photo by Chen Nan).
Nanfang+: How do you think the folk customs of the Spring Festival should be passed on among 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 full play to the role of overseas Chinese associations, including organizing overseas Chinese to carry out Spring Festival folk activities, and adding a sense of atmosphere to Chinatown with New Year's Festival decorationsChinese families need to return to 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 the inheritance of family cultureOn the one hand, China's overseas Chinese-related departments organize more Chinese young people to come to China to participate in cultural activities and other activities, and on the other hand, they can also send "cultural" New Year's goods to overseas Chinese, such as brand cultural activities such as "Spring in the Four Seas" in the past two years.
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.
*Courtesy of the interviewee and Shantou Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese.
Author] Shen Congsheng.
Southern Probe