Comparisons Between Chinese and Western Festivals,“A holiday of a nation represents a glorious culture and concentrated customs of a nation.”,Contents,1.Origin of festivals; 2 . The contrastive analysis of three groups of famous holidays;,按当地著名地产,Oktoberfest 啤酒节 Tomatina - Tomato Fight （德国慕尼黑) （西班牙布诺镇）,按浓厚的民族习俗,Water-Sprinkling Double Ninth Festival Festival 泼水节 重阳节,纪念英雄人物,Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 Good Friday 耶稣受难日,Now, lets see some specific examples,VS,Spring Festival Christmas,Christmas,Christmas: source,To memorise the birth of Jesus. The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years. Many of our Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ child was born. The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the Yule log, the giving of gifts, carnivals (parades) with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians.,Santa Claus,The concept of the American Santa Claus originated with St. Nicholas, who was born in Asia Minor in 280 A.D. He was known as a kind, benevolent man; indeed made a saint because of his generosity. Dutch immigrants to the United States brought with them their version of the gift-giving St. Nicholas, known as Sinter Klass. Americans, unaccustomed to the Dutch pronunciation, turned this into Santa Claus, who is beloved as a symbol of Christmas by children of all ages.,Spring Festival,Spring Festival: source,The most important feast in China. The origin of the Chinese New Year is too old to actually be traced. It is popularly recognized as the Spring Festival and celebrations last 15 days. Preparations tend to begin a month from the date of the Chinese New Year (similar to Christmas), when people start buying presents, decorative materials, food and clothing.,Different Consuetude Between Spring Festival and Christmas,Spring Festival A huge clean-up gets underway days before the New Year, when Chinese houses are cleaned from top to bottom, to sweep away any traces of bad luck, and doors and windowpanes are given a new coat of paint, usually red. The doors and windows are then decorated with paper cuts and couplets with themes such as happiness, wealth on them. The eve of the New Year is perhaps the most exciting part of the event, as anticipation creeps in. Here, traditions and rituals are very carefully observed in everything from food to clothing. Dinner is usually a feast of dumplings, signifying different good wishes.,And dumplings boiled in water signifying a long-lost good wish for a family. Its usual to wear something red to ward off evil spirits. After dinner, the family sit up for the night playing cards, board games or watching TV programmers dedicated to the occasion. At midnight, the sky is lit up by fireworks. Chinese kids can get “lucky money” in red envelopes from their parents and relatives. Then the family begins to say greetings from door to door, first to their relatives and then their neighbors, saying some congratulations to each other,Blessing words,For example, May you be happy and prosperous.-恭喜发财。 May all your wishes come true.-心想事成。 Good luck and happiness to you.-吉祥如意。 Safe trip wherever you go. -出入平安。,The end of the New Year is marked by the Festival of Lanterns, which is a celebration with singing, dancing and lantern shows. At that day, people in China usually eat a kind of food which is called “Yuan Xiao”.,Different Consuetude Between Spring Festival and Christmas,Christmas From early November until January, American homes and stores are decorated with Christmas trees and colorful lights. American children can get Christmas presents from Santa Claus. People in the West send cards which write with blessing words to their relatives and friends. But sending cards is less common than before since computers and mobile phones have become so popular.,Double Seventh Festival V S Western Valentines Day,Double Seventh Festival,Double Seventh festival becomes the Chinese Valentines Day, which originated in the legend of the Niulang meeting Zhinv on the magpie bridge.,Western Valentines Day,It is not only the best time to express love, but also the most romantic moment to propose. It is originated from Rome.,Halloween Day VS ZhongYuan festival,ZhongYuan festival,On Lunar Jul.15th is the ZhongYuan festival, in that day every family will prepare many offerings and sacrifice these good to their relatives or friends who come from the nether world.,Halloween Day,On this day, people can disguise themselves freely and make trouble to their hearts content. On many public occasions and home compound, people lay out different kinds of decorations in the windows and doors, such as pumpkin lights, a scarecrow and even the skeleton. Every family will hold a dressing ball, and put on fruit and other crops on the table.,Summary,Although people with different culture celebrat