摘 要：节日带有强烈的文化色彩，是日常生活的一部分但又区别于日常生活。作为文化的重要组成部分，能够体现出民族文化中最精致，最具代表性的一面，是人们日常生活的浓缩和精华。中国的春节和西方的圣诞节分别是各自文化中最重要的节日，文化代表性极高，是探讨中西方文化习俗差异最好的切入点。本文通过对春节和圣诞节的起源、传统习俗和禁忌进行比较，进而找出两者之间的文化差异。研究差异有利于国人较理性地吸收和借鉴外来文化中的优秀成果，意识到保护和弘扬中华民族优秀文化传统的重要性。

关键词：春节；圣诞节；对比研究；文化差异

Abstract：Festival is a special day colored with traditional culture. It belongs to daily life but also differs from daily life. As an important part of culture, festival can reflect the most delicate and representative side of a nation. Both Spring Festival and Christmas are most important festivals in China and the West respectively. To some extent, the study of Spring Festival and Christmas is a great point to explore the cultural differences between China and the west, because these two festivals enjoy a high cultural representative. Therefore, this paper aims to find out the major cultural differences by making a contrast between Spring Festival and Christmas in the light of origins, conventions and taboos. A comparative study is conducive to help Chinese people absorb and learn the fine achievements of foreign culture and to realize the importance of preserving and promoting the fine traditional culture of the Chinese nation. Besides, knowing more about the cultural differences can help us avoid cultural shock and misunderstandings while in cross-cultural communication.

Key words: Spring Festival; Christmas; comparative study; cultural differences

Contents

摘要 ..i

Abstract ...ii

I. Introduction .1

II. The Origins of Spring Festival and Christmas ...2

2.1 The Origin of Spring Festival.1

2.2 The Origin of Christmas 2

III. The Customs of Spring Festival and Christmas 3

3.1 The Custom of Spring Festival ..3

3.1.1 Elements of Spring Festival 3

3.1.2 Important Conventions of Spring Festival...5

3.1.3 Taboos of Spring Festival ...6

3.2 The Custom of Christmas ..7

3.2.1 Elements of Spring Festival 7

3.2.2 Important Conventions of Christmas ..9

3.2.3 Taboos of Christmas ..10

IV. Cultural Differences Between Spring Festival and Christmas11

4.1 Different Religion and Beliefs .11

4.2 Different Cultural Connotations ..12

V. Conclusion ..13

Bibliography ...15

Acknowledgment ...16

Comparative study of Chinese and Western Cultures in the Light of Spring Festival and Christmas

I. Introduction

There are many cultural differences between China and the Western countries, of which traditional festivals are of great importance. With the rapid advance of globalization, the interactions among countries are becoming more and more frequent and comprehensive. In the light of western festivals, Christmas has exerted a huge impact on traditional Chinese culture. It is imperative to explore the reason that so many Chinese young people tend to accept western festivals and ignore traditional Chinese cultures. Among the festivals at home and abroad, Spring Festival and Christmas enjoy a high position respectively.

Although some scholars have made a comparison between Spring Festival and Christmas, most of their studies are short essays or articles particularly in Chinese. However, this paper is focused on making a comparative study between Spring Festival and Christmas in English so that some foreigners can have a better understanding about the cultural differences between these two important festivals. By learning about cultural differences, one can cope with cultural shock and misunderstandings effectively. Most importantly, it helps Chinese people to realize the importance of traditional Chinese cultures and arouse their awareness to inherit Chinese cultural legacy.