Siying Huang (Chongqing University).
Valentine's Day is one of the traditional holidays in Western countries, and now, February 14 of the Gregorian calendar every year, it has become a romantic moment for couples around the world to share. Legend has it that the birthday of the God of Wealth is on the fifth day of the first lunar month, on this day, the Chinese celebrate the birthday of the God of Wealth according to local customs, praying for good fortune in the coming year. And when February 14 of the Gregorian calendar coincides with the fifth day of the first lunar month, when the romantic Valentine's Day meets the lively God of Wealth, the Chinese people show a cross-cultural festival feast in their own way.
Once upon a time, the pursuit of Western aesthetics and the celebration of Western festivals became a trend, and traditional Chinese customs were gradually forgotten by young people. Valentine's Day, Christmas and other festivals are bustling, while traditional Chinese folk customs are declining, and only the older generation is holding on. However, with the continuous improvement of national strength and the gradual establishment of cultural self-confidence, a new generation of young people has begun to see, understand and actively inherit and develop traditional Chinese culture. From the revival of Hanfu, to the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage technology, to the national tide and the popularity of new Chinese style, young people combine tradition and modernity in their own way, exploring the development path of traditional Chinese culture in the new era.
Communication can develop better. We encourage young people to pass on traditional cultures, which does not mean that we exclude other cultures. On the contrary, it is the exchange and collision of cultures that can produce new sparks. When Valentine's Day in the West meets the Chinese God of Wealth, young people combine the two through entertainment, opening a festive feast, so that the two cultures burst out with new vitality in the process of exchange. "Falling in love with the God of Wealth" and "Money, please associate with me" and other Internet hot stalks, while bringing fun to people, have narrowed the distance between traditional culture and young people. In this cross-cultural festival exchange, Valentine's Day has become a bridge between the folklore of the God of Wealth and young people, and more young people can accept and understand the traditional folk customs that were still somewhat unfamiliar in the familiar festival atmosphere, and build new holiday memories.
Initiative leads to a story. In this cross-cultural festival feast, young people assume the role of creators, disseminators and receivers of Internet memes, and indirectly complete the learning, inheritance and development of traditional culture through active participation and interaction. Facts have proved that active participation in cultural practice can drive young people's enthusiasm for inheritance and enhance their cultural self-confidence more than passive learning and learning. This cross-cultural festival collision has become an important opportunity for young people to take the initiative to join cultural practice. Under the trend of diversified social development, the new generation of young people can come into contact with and understand a variety of cultures, and have a more open and inclusive mentality, so the collision between cultures can stimulate their interest and enthusiasm for their own traditional culture, stimulate their transformation from the role of spectators to the role of participants, and create new cultural connotations in the process of active participation.
When Valentine's Day meets the God of Wealth, we see the great potential of contemporary young people to inherit and develop traditional Chinese culture. In this cross-cultural festival exchange, we also saw new ways to promote the spread of traditional Chinese culture. Innovation and development in cultural exchanges, dissemination and learning through active participation, may become one of the main ways for the new generation of young people to carry forward Chinese culture and inherit the national spirit.