洋節(jié)來襲 洋節(jié)

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TheYearThatHasGoneThemonthofDecemberisabigmonthforcelebrationsandfestivalsinthewestandincreasinglytheseareimpingingonthetraditionalend-of-yearattitudesofChinesepeople,especiallytheyoung.IamnotatallconvincedthatthisisagoodthingformostpeopleandIsaythisfrommyownexperience.

TraditionallyinScotland,myhomeland,theonlymajorfestivalofthewholeyearwastheseeinginoftheNewYearonHogmanayandthefirst-footingthatcontinuedthroughouttheearlyhoursanddaysofthewelcomearrival.Iftherewasanycommercialgaintobemadeitwasmadebythewhiskydistillersforalmosteverythingelsewasmadeathomeinatraditionalway.ThesimilaritieswiththecelebrationofSpringFestivalinthecountrysideinShandongareinfactquitestriking,probablybecauseagriculturalcommunitiesthroughouttheworldenjoyawinterbreakfromtheirlaboursandlookforwardtothecomingofspring.Aschildrenwestayeduptillaftermidnight,listenedforthebellswhichheraldedthenewyear,hadaverydaringsipofwhiskymixedwithhotwaterandsugarandwenttobeddelightedbeyondmeasure.

Withinafewyears,theinfluenceofthe"English"festivalofChristmasbegantoextendevenintoourruralbackwaterandwebegantohearofamysteriouscharactercalledSantaClauswhobroughtgiftsforchildren(wellforgoodchildrenanyway).Myparents,whocouldillaffordsuchluxuryfoundthemselvesbowingtofashionandwehungupourstockingonChristmasEve,justastheydidinthestorybooks,expectingsomereward.Theslipperyslopehadbegun.

Twogenerationslater,ChristmasisatleastasimportantformostScotsasNewYearisandcertainlycoststhemasmuchormore.Thetraditionalfirst-footingorgoingouttovisitallyourneighboursandhaveadramwiththemtowelcometheNewYearhasgivenwayinmanyplacestopartiesinhotels.Mostmunicipalgovernments(mostfamouslythatofEdinburgh)noworganizeanopen-aircelebrationofHogmanaywithfamousrecordingstarsandentertainerswhichattractmostoftheyoung,whiletheoldergenerationstayathomeandwatchthespecialprogrammeontelevision.

ThissamepatternisnowbeingrepeatedinChina,wherethecommercialpressuretogeteveryone,especiallychildrenandyoungpeople,tocelebrateChristmasbythebuyingofexpensivegiftsandattendingextravagantpartiesgrowsstrongeryearbyyear.TenChristmasesago,IwentasaguestofouruniversitytoahotelinJinanwhichwashavingaspecialcelebrationwitharealFatherChristmas.Everyoneandhiswife-andaboveallhischild-wasthereandtheFatherChristmascharacterinhisCoca-Colaredandwhiterobeswasamajorattraction.Nowthereisscarcelyarestaurant,nevermindahotel,inthecitythatdoesn"tprovideitsownChristmaspartycompletewiththesmilingoldman.ThefirststoreinJinantohaveaChristmaschoirwasalsothefirsttohaveitsstaffworkingallthroughtheSpringFestivalholidaybutitsexamplewassoonfollowedbyalltheothers.Asprosperityhasincreased,manycity-folkprefertogoouttoeatwiththeirfriendsratherthanmakingjiaozitogetherintheirownkitchen.RecentlyIaskedmywritingclassestodiscussthetopicof"ChristmasorSpringFestival"anddiscoveredthatamajorityofmystudentspreferChristmasmainlybecausetheylikehavingagoodtimewiththeirclass-matesratherthan"beingbored"athomewiththeirfamily.ThisisgoodnewsforthebusinesscommunitybutsetsalarmbellsringingforthosewhovalueChina"sancienttraditionalfestivals.

Christmas,ofcourse,isanimportantfestivalforChristiansallovertheworldandthatincludesthosewholiveinChina.However,itwouldbeasadday,inmyhumbleopinion,wereitsimplytobecomeaharvestfestivalfortheentrepreneurialclassandaglobalsubstituteforthetraditionalfestivalsofordinarypeople.Iwishyouallahappynewyear.

在西方，12月份是重要的節(jié)慶之月，這種風(fēng)氣也逐步影響了中國人對待歲末時間的態(tài)度，尤其是年輕人。以我自己的閱歷看，對大片面人來說這不見得是什么好事。

在我的家鄉(xiāng)蘇格蘭，傳統(tǒng)上，一年之內(nèi)惟一的盛大節(jié)慶活動是迎接新年到來的Hogmanay節(jié)。從新年夜到來之前的幾小時開頭，這種慶?；顒右幌虺掷m(xù)幾天時間。節(jié)慶期間，惟一能從商業(yè)活動中獲利的只有釀造威士忌的人，由于除了威士忌之外，全體其他節(jié)慶活動的物品，人們都是按照傳統(tǒng)方式在家里自己弄的。在這點(diǎn)上，蘇格蘭慶祝Hogmanay節(jié)與山東納農(nóng)村慶祝春節(jié)有驚人的好像之處，這也可能是由于全世界的農(nóng)業(yè)地區(qū)在農(nóng)忙之后，都要在冬日里休整并期盼來年春天早日到臨的起因吧。在我小的時候，新年夜，我們都要熬到半夜，聽了宣告新年到臨的鐘聲后，喝點(diǎn)攙了熱水和糖的威士忌，然后懷著無法形容的愉悅?cè)ニX。

也就在幾年時間吧，“英國人的節(jié)日”――圣誕節(jié)傳到了我們那里的鄉(xiāng)下。我們開頭聽說一個神秘的圣誕老人會給孩子們(當(dāng)然是好孩子啦)帶來禮物。我父母盡管沒錢去應(yīng)付這些奢靡品，但是，也不得不屈服于潮流。于是，我們在圣誕節(jié)的晚上也像故事書里寫的那樣，掛起了襪子，渴望著能得到一些好處。從此，這種談不上多么好的法則就無休止地進(jìn)展起來。

經(jīng)過了兩代人后，對大多數(shù)蘇格蘭人來說，圣誕節(jié)至少是和新年一樣重要的節(jié)日了，而且我們花在圣誕節(jié)上的錢是越來越多。在好多地方，在新年第一天到鄰居家里拜年或與他們一起舉杯同慶新年到來的傳統(tǒng)都被改成了到酒店里聚會慶賀。片面市政府(愛丁堡尤其如此)現(xiàn)在還組織露天活動來慶祝Hogmanay節(jié)。慶?；顒由?，要邀請一些影視明星或消遣明星來吸引年輕人加入。年紀(jì)大的人，大都呆在家里看電視上的節(jié)目。

這種處境現(xiàn)在中國又重復(fù)上演了。受商業(yè)的推波助瀾，大家(尤其是孩子和年輕人)添置昂貴的禮物和加入奢華聚會來慶祝圣誕節(jié)的風(fēng)氣變得一年比一年濃。十年前的一個圣誕節(jié)，我受所在的大學(xué)邀請，到濟(jì)南的一家酒店加入了圣誕慶?；顒印c?；顒由系闹鹘鞘且粋€穿紅色衣服的圣誕老人。到場的大都是一家三口――丈夫、妻子和孩子。圣誕老人穿著紅白相間的袍子，看起來像個可口可樂罐子，很是招搖?，F(xiàn)在，圣誕節(jié)的時候，濟(jì)南幾乎家家餐館(更何況賓館了)都要舉行圣誕活動，而且活動上都有自己的圣誕老人展現(xiàn)，供人們消遣。

濟(jì)南第一家在圣誕節(jié)期間舉行合唱活動的商店同時也開了春節(jié)期間讓員工不休止工作的先河。但是，這種做法很快被別的商家學(xué)會了。隨著條件的改善，現(xiàn)在大量城里