each person article.doc

The West, The East, or The World?每个人分工及详细说明：第一，张雪做introduction部分，深红色字体，约800字。第二，陶红负责Christmas部分，蓝色字体，约2600字。考虑陶红口语好，这部分就交给她了。第三，王明负责中国春节的上半部分，也就是关于春节的传说及大年三十至初三这部分，绿色字体。约2000字。这部分用词相对简单，而且也肯定是王明所熟悉的，考虑到其基础可能较弱，所以这部分由他负责。第四，魏晓静负责中国春节的其余部分，也就是从“年夜饭”直到“贴福字”，橙色字体，约2000字。第五，张雪最后负责结论部分。黑色字体，约3400字。详细说明：由于时间有限每人5分钟，所以要求大家一定要非常熟练地背下来，如果熟练背诵后发现仍然严重超时，就自行删节。千万不要拖延时间太长，否则到最后结论部分就没时间了，而我个人认为，结论部分是咱们这篇project最出彩的地方，也就是决定咱们是B还是A的地方，更是咱们小组合作的关键，一定要多留出时间给我阐述结论。王明，你本科不是英语专业，如果还有生词，你可以安装“有道屏幕取词”，帮助你在阅读、理解、背诵文章时掌握中文。大家如果有什么不明白的、看不懂的，或对分工有不同想法的，尽快与我沟通，明天12月31日最后一天，一定要彻底定下来，这样我们还有10天的时间各自负责背诵。关于PPT，有愿意负责做的吗？若没有，我来。I. IntroductionTwo main festivals in the world:ChristmasorChristmas Day is an annual festival commemoratingthe birthofJesus Christ,observed most commonly onDecember 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. Christmas Day is a publicholidayinmany of the worlds nations, is celebrated culturally by a large number of non-Christian people,and is an integral part of theChristmas and holiday season.Chinese New Yearis an importanttraditional Chinese holidaycelebrated at the turn of theChinese calendar. InChina, it is also known as theSpring Festival. Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally run from Chinese New Years Eve, the last day of the last month of the Chinese calendar, to theLantern Festivalon the 15th day of the first month, making the festival the longest in the Chinese calendar. Because the Chinese calendar islunisolar, the Chinese New Year is often referred to as the Lunar New Year.II. Bodyl Christmas(I) History1. Choice of December 25 dateOne theory to explain the choice of 25 December for the celebration of the birth of Jesus is that the purpose was to Christianize the pagan festival in Rome of theDies Natalis Solis Invictimeans the birthday of the Unconquered Sun, a festival inaugurated by the Roman emperorAurelian(270275) to celebrate the sun god and celebrated at the winter solstice, 25 December. According to this theory, during the reign of the emperor Constantine, Christian writers assimilated this feast as the birthday of Jesus, associating him with the sun of righteousness mentioned in Malachi in Bible.2. Christmas in 20th centuryUp to the 1950s, in the UK, many Christmas customs were restricted to the upper classes and better-off families. The mass of the population had not adopted many of the Christmas rituals that later became general. TheChristmas treewas rare. Christmas dinner might be beef - certainly not turkey. In their stockings children might get an apple, orange and sweets. Full celebration of a family Christmas with all the trimmings only became widespread with increased prosperity from the 1950s. (II) Traditions1. DecorationsAChristmas treeis a decorated tree, usually anevergreenconifersuch asspruce,pine, or firassociated with the celebration ofChristmas. The tree was traditionally decorated with edibles such as apples, nuts, or other foods. In the 18th century, it began to be illuminated by candles which were ultimately replaced byChristmas lightsafter the advent ofelectrification. Today, there are a wide variety oftraditional ornaments, such asgarland,tinsel, andcandy canes. An angel or star might beplaced at the top of the treeto represent thearchangelGabrielor theStar of Bethlehemfrom theNativity.Other traditional decorations includebells, candles, candy canes, stockings, wreaths, andangels. Both the displaying of wreaths and candles in each window are a more traditional Christmas display. The concentric assortments of leaves, usually from anevergreen, make up Christmas wreaths and are designed to prepareChristiansfor the Advent season. Candles in each window are meant to demonstrate the fact that Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the ultimate light of the world.2. Music and carolsCompletely secular Christmas seasonal songs emerged in the late 18th century. Deck The Halls dates from 1784, and the American Jingle Bells was copyrighted in 1857. In the 19th and 20th century, African American spirituals and songs about Christmas, based in their tradition of spirituals, became more widely known.3. Gift givingA number of figures are associated with Christmas and the seasonal giving of gifts. Among these isFather Christmas, also known asSanta Claus.The exchanging ofgiftsis one of the core aspects of the modern Christmas celebration, making it the most profitable time of year forretailersand businesses throughout the world. Gift giving was common in theRomancelebration ofSaturnalia, an ancient festival which took place in late December and may have influenced Christmas customs. l Chinese New Year(I) HistoryAbout the mythologyAccording to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called theNian. Nian would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldnt attack any more people. One day a villager decided to get revenge of the Nian. A god visited him and told him to put red paper on his house and to place firecrackers. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. When the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again.(II) Traditions1. Festivities(1) Preceding daysThe biggest event of any Chinese New Years Eve is the Reunion Dinner, named as Nian Ye Fan. A dish consisting of fish will appear on the tables of Chinese families. It is for display for the New Years Eve dinner. This meal is comparable to Christmas dinner in the West. In northern China, it is customary to make dumplings (jiaozi) after dinner to eat around midnight. Dumplings symbolize wealth because their shape resembles a Chinesesycee. By contrast, in the South, it is customary to make a glutinous new year cake (niangao) and send pieces of it as gifts to relatives and friends in the coming days of the new year.(2) First day Third DayMost importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time to honor ones elders and families visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended families, usually their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.The second day of the Chinese New Year, known as beginning of the year (simplified Chinese:开年),was when married daughters visited their birth parents, relatives and close friends.The third day is considered a propitious day to visit the temple of the God of Wealth and have ones future told.(3) Fifteenth dayThe fifteenth day of the New Year is celebrated as Yuan XiaoFestival, also known as theLantern Festival. Rice dumplings or tang Yuan are eaten this day. This day is celebrated as theLantern Festival, and families walk the street carrying lighted lanterns.2. Traditional FoodThe New Years Eve dinner is very large and sumptuous and traditionally includes dishes of meat andfish. Most reunion dinners also feature a communalhot potas it is believed to signify the coming together of the family members for the meal. Most reunion dinners (particularly in the Southern regions) also prominently feature specialty meats and seafood that are usually reserved for this and other special occasions during the remainder of the year. In most areas, fish is included, but not eaten completely and the remainder is stored overnight, as the Chinese phrase may there besurplusesevery year sounds the same as let there befishevery year (年年有余). 3. Practices(1) Red envelopesTraditionally,Red envelopesor red packets (红包) are passed out during the Chinese New Years celebrations, from married couples or the elderly to unmarried juniors. It is also common for adults or young couples to give red packets to children. (2) FireworksBamboo stems filled with gunpowder that were burnt to create small explosions were once used in ancient China to drive away evil spirits. In modern times, this method has eventually evolved into the use offirecrackersduring the festive season. Firecrackers are usually strung on a long fused string so it can be hung down. Each firecracker is rolled up in red papers, as red is auspicious, with gunpowder in its core. Once ignited, the firecracker lets out a loud popping noise and, as they are usually strung together by the hundreds, the firecrackers are known for their deafening explosions that are thought to scare away evil spirits. The burning of firecrackers also signifies a joyful time of year and has become an integral aspect of Chinese New Year celebrations.(3) SymbolismAs with all cultures, Chinese New Year traditions incorporate elements that are symbolic of deeper meaning. One common example of Chinese New Year symbolism is the red diamond-shapedfu characters (福字), which are displayed on the entrances of Chinese homes. Therefore, it symbolizes the arrival of luck, happiness, and prosperity.Red is the predominant color used in New Year celebrations. Red is the emblem of joy, and this color also symbolizes virtue, truth and sincerity. Candies, cakes, decorations and many things associated with the New Year and its ceremonies are colored red.III. Conclusion Culture blending(I) Christmas in ChinaDo the Chinese celebrate Christmas in China? Well, the answer to this question is both YES and NO. If you walked around a major Chinese city 20 years ago, you probably wouldnt have seen many signs of Christmas. This is because Christmas is a Christian holiday and not many Chinese people are Christian. However, if you were to visit those same Chinese cities today, youd see signs of Christmas everywhere you looked! On the Avenue of Eternal Peace in Beijing, China, there are Christmas displays everywhere. Many Chinese people celebrate by decorating their houses with Christmas trees, cooking and eating special foods, and spending time with family and friends. So yes, the Chinese celebrate Christmas. But no, most do not celebrate it for the same reasons that Christians do. (II) Festivities outside china during Chinese New Year1. Southeast AsiaIn some countries ofSoutheast Asia, Chinese New Year is a national public holiday and considered to be one of the most important holidays of the year. The biggest celebrations take place inMalaysia and Singapore. Chinese New Year is considered to be the most important festival forFilipino-Chinesein thePhilippines, and its celebration has also extended to the non-Chinese majorityFilipinos. In 2012, Chinese New Year was included in thecalendar of holidays as a special, non-working holiday, to be observed nationwide.2. Other parts of the worldChinese New Year is also celebrated annually in many western cities with significant Chinese populations. Among the cities with such parades areSan Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City,Boston, Wellington, Toronto, andVancouver.However, even smaller cities that are historically connected to Chinese immigrationhave recently hosted parades. BothLondonand San Franciscoclaim to host the largest New Year celebration outside ofAsia. In San Francisco, over 100 units participates to the Chinese New Year Parade held since 1958which is attended by some 500,000 people along with another 3 million TV viewers.In London, the celebrations which take place throughout Chinatown, Leicester Square and mainly with concerts and performances on Trafalgar Square attract 300,000 people and 500,000 for the entire festival according to the organizers.(III) Culture blending all over the worldIts just a phenomenon brought by the Globalization course. From my perspective, it might not be a bad thing for traditional Chinese culture to make some changes under influence of Western culture. The competition and syncretism among different cultures would make them more dynamic and advancing with the times. As a matter of fact, Chinese culture has developed a lot while embrac