洋節(jié)來(lái)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(guó)人對(duì)待歲末時(shí)間的態(tài)度，尤其是年輕人。以我自己的閱歷看，對(duì)大片面人來(lái)說(shuō)這不見(jiàn)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(dòng)是迎接新年到來(lái)的Hogmanay節(jié)。從新年夜到來(lái)之前的幾小時(shí)開(kāi)頭，這種慶?；顒?dòng)要一向持續(xù)幾天時(shí)間。節(jié)慶期間，惟一能從商業(yè)活動(dòng)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(dòng)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(lái)年春天早日到臨的起因吧。在我小的時(shí)候，新年夜，我們都要熬到半夜，聽(tīng)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(wú)法形容的愉悅?cè)ニX(jué)。

也就在幾年時(shí)間吧，“英國(guó)人的節(jié)日”――圣誕節(jié)傳到了我們那里的鄉(xiāng)下。我們開(kāi)頭聽(tīng)說(shuō)一個(gè)神秘的圣誕老人會(huì)給孩子們(當(dāng)然是好孩子啦)帶來(lái)禮物。我父母盡管沒(méi)錢(qián)去應(yīng)付這些奢靡品，但是，也不得不屈服于潮流。于是，我們?cè)谑フQ節(jié)的晚上也像故事書(shū)里寫(xiě)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(wú)休止地進(jìn)展起來(lái)。

經(jīng)過(guò)了兩代人后，對(duì)大多數(shù)蘇格蘭人來(lái)說(shuō)，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(qián)是越來(lái)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(lái)的傳統(tǒng)都被改成了到酒店里聚會(huì)慶賀。片面市政府(愛(ài)丁堡尤其如此)現(xiàn)在還組織露天活動(dòng)來(lái)慶祝Hogmanay節(jié)。慶?；顒?dòng)上，要邀請(qǐng)一些影視明星或消遣明星來(lái)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(guó)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(huì)來(lái)慶祝圣誕節(jié)的風(fēng)氣變得一年比一年濃。十年前的一個(gè)圣誕節(jié)，我受所在的大學(xué)邀請(qǐng)，到濟(jì)南的一家酒店加入了圣誕慶?；顒?dòng)。慶?；顒?dòng)上的主角是一個(gè)穿紅色衣服的圣誕老人。到場(chǎng)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(lái)像個(gè)可口可樂(lè)罐子，很是招搖?，F(xiàn)在，圣誕節(jié)的時(shí)候，濟(jì)南幾乎家家餐館(更何況賓館了)都要舉行圣誕活動(dòng)，而且活動(dòng)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(dòng)的商店同時(shí)也開(kāi)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(huì)了。隨著條件的改善，現(xiàn)在大量城里