Unit 3 Festivals and Customs
Reading
Alex around the World
10 January, a wedding ceremony, India
When Nadim invited me to his sister's wedding, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime. I was definitely not wrong!
The wedding ceremony took place in a brightly decorated hotel room. There were hundreds of guests, all dressed up in formal, colourful clothes. According to tradition, the bride was wearing an eye-catching red silk sari.
I did not understand all of the traditional customs, but a few made a deep impression on me. One was the bridegroom's entrance on a beautiful white horse. I had never seen that back home! Another was the part when Nadim's father proudly led his daughter through the rows of seats to her husband. It reminded me of my sister's wedding. Although our cultures are so different, the smiling faces are the same.
The customs that followed were anything but ordinary. The couple joined hands and walked around a small fire four times. Then they took seven steps together by the fire, and with each step made a different promise about how they were going to support each other and live together happily. It was very romantic!
After the ceremony, it was time for the celebrations. That is a story for another day but let's just say there was a lot of dancing. Now I know I have two left feet ... and both of them hurt!
26 February, Rio Carnival, Brazil
The summer heat hit me as soon as I got off the flight. No wonder people from Rio take a week off for this happy occasion. I could feel it already — the Carnival was in the air!
To experience the spirit of the Carnival for myself, I went to a street party. Luckily, I arrived just in time — the show was about to begin as I took my place in the merry crowd. I could see a group of around 20 Brazilian dancers and a band in fancy costumes standing in the street. Some of them carried flags, which blew in the wind. The crowd waited with excitement.
Then there was an explosion of bright colours and lively music, and the group jumped into action. The band started playing an energetic samba beat, the dancers twisted and turned, and the crowd began to cheer, clap and sing. The whole group started marching down the street. The Carnival current carried us through the ever-growing sea of people, dancing all the way. Iceboxes of soft drinks and beer lined the narrow streets, and the smell of roasted meat filled the air as we passed wave after wave of street stands. I was so caught up in the party fever that I hardly noticed five hours fly by!
Even as I lay in bed that evening, the bright colours and lively music were still swimming all around me. What an amazing first day in Rio!
Integrated skills
Importance of Promoting Traditional Chinese Festivals in Modern Society
The Double Ninth Festival (the Chongyang Festival), which has a history of over 2,000 years, falls on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. According to tradition, we should celebrate the festival by going mountain climbing, but how many people today still observe this tradition? In modern society, many traditional Chinese festivals are becoming less and less popular. However, they are an important part of Chinese culture, and we must protect and maintain them.
Traditional festivals teach us a lot about our nation's history. The Dragon Boat Festival, for example, is celebrated in honour of Qu Yuan, a great poet living in the Warring States period of ancient China. By celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival with rice dumplings and dragon boat races, the story of Qu Yuan is passed down from generation to generation. Promoting traditional festivals helps spread knowledge about our national history.
Moreover, traditional festivals enable us to learn more about fine Chinese values. Many festivals, such as the Mid-Autumn Festival, have a caring, family-centred message at their heart. The full moon on the festival is considered to stand for family togetherness and family members will come back home even if they live very far away. With the celebrations of these festivals, younger generations learn to honour fine Chinese values.
Finally, traditional festivals are a source of national pride and help shape our national identity. For example, we celebrate the Hanshi Festival and the Laba Festival with unique customs, and these shared experiences bring us together as a people. Traditional festivals tell us who we are and fill us with pride in being Chinese.
Traditional festivals have been passed down to us from previous generations. It is the duty of every one of us to protect them for generations to come.
Extended Reading
A Precious Family Dinner
It is just past five o'clock on the Chinese New Year's Eve, and the dinner table is already covered with white china plates and bowls, full of all sorts of dishes: chicken, duck, pork, fish and vegetables. Luo Yan, 29, lifts the cover of a large bowl to breathe in the rich smell of the soup his wife and mother have prepared. Luo Yan's son, Bofeng, happily takes a bite of the chicken his grandfather has selected for him.
Six-year-old Bofeng has not seen his grandparents for almost a year, and he is full of joy and excitement. Indeed, the whole family could not be happier to be together. Despite the cold outside, their happy faces fill the air with warmth while merry laughter rings throughout the house. Luo Yan and his wife and son have settled in the big city, far away from their hometown. Every year, they travel back for the Spring Festival, for their dream of “three generations under the same roof ”.
The Luo family's journey back to their hometown was a long and tiring one just a few years ago. However, the high speed train has made it much more convenient for them to go back home. During the five-hour trip, they chatted excitedly with each other, their minds full of thoughts about their sweet home.
On their arrival, they find Luo's parents eagerly waiting for them. Their home has been specially decorated for the joyous occasion. From the neat designs of the paper-cuttings on the windows, to the Spring Festival couplets on the door and to the New Year paintings on the wall, everything represents joy, luck and happiness. Even the fish on the plate expresses a hope for nian nian you yu — yu means both “fish” and “plenty” in Chinese —“May you get more than you wish for every year”.
After dinner, the hours until midnight go slowly by. The whole family are going to stay up late on the Chinese New Year's Eve. They gather around the television to watch the Spring Festival Gala, while eating snacks, chatting with each other and making dumplings that they will eat at the very start of the new year. In the warmth and comfort of the room, Luo Yan talks about his plan for the future. “I hope we won't have to be separated again,” he says, looking at his ageing parents. “My parents are getting old, and we should spend more time with them. We'll come back more frequently and we're also considering taking them to the city to live with us. After all, home is where all family members are together.”
As midnight approaches, Luo Yan takes his parents, wife and son outside to set off firecrackers. The whole village is lit up with colourful fireworks. All over the country, people are celebrating their good fortune, celebrating their family's togetherness, and celebrating their nation's strength.