Traditional festivals and the composition of modern society

Problem description:

Spring Festival is the most important traditional festival of the Chinese nation, and setting off firecrackers can increase the festive atmosphere. However, due to various considerations such as environmental protection and personal safety, firecrackers have been banned in urban areas of big cities such as Beijing for more than ten years, and other cities have also banned or restricted firecrackers. There has been a lot of controversy about this. Please take this as the background and combine the self-renewal of national customs, cultural traditions and traditional culture. According to your knowledge and viewpoint, write a short article about "traditional festivals and modern society".

Analysis:

Spring Festival: Contemporary Interpretation of Traditional Festivals

As far as history and social culture are concerned, local complex and family complex are the basis of patriotism and nationalism. In China, without local complex and family complex, patriotism and nationalism will become rootless trees and passive water. There is no doubt that the local complex and the family complex, as well as the patriotism and nationalism generated on this basis, are the foundation of the nation, the foundation of the country, the powerful spiritual adhesive that unites more than one billion people, and the most precious cultural heritage of the Chinese nation.

In the past seven days, people have been happily celebrating the China New Year in prosperous cities and remote villages, in all parts of China, and even in places where Chinese people live in the world. Celebrating the Spring Festival has become the central topic of more than one billion people, and all kinds of news in the political, economic and cultural fields generated by celebrating the Spring Festival have also become the focus of the whole society to a certain extent. It can be seen that in a specific period, celebrating the Spring Festival has a great influence on China people.

From the perspective of folklore, traditional festivals are the carrier of national culture, which embodies a nation's spirit, marks a nation's style, highlights a nation's value and shows a nation's pursuit. The Spring Festival is undoubtedly the most important traditional festival of the Chinese nation, and its cultural connotation cannot be underestimated. As this happy new year is about to pass, it may be meaningful to make a rough modern interpretation of the traditional Spring Festival.

Spring Festival is the product of agricultural society. In ancient China, "Spring Festival" first refers to the festival sequence of spring, which is basically a synonym for the word spring, and later refers to New Year's Day of the Lunar New Year. In agricultural society, the weather has the greatest influence on material production. "Cold comes and summer goes, autumn harvest and winter storage" is a true portrayal of agricultural production. In the article Spring Festival in Beijing, Mr. Lao She listed various phenomena of Chinese New Year and pointed out that they were all related to the agricultural society, which was completely correct. The food culture during the Spring Festival is based on the rich and colorful products of agricultural society. The entertainment culture during the Spring Festival is based on winter leisure in agricultural farming. The culture of offering sacrifices to God during the Spring Festival is based on farmers praying for good weather in the sky and a bumper harvest of crops. Almost all cultural forms during the Spring Festival are typical manifestations of agricultural culture.

Culture in a broad sense refers to the sum of material wealth and spiritual concepts, but when people use the word culture, they more refer to spiritual concepts. The spiritual concept of agricultural culture comes from agricultural farming methods. If we look at agricultural farming methods a little, we will find that its biggest feature is the fixity of the region. Agricultural people don't live by water like nomadic people, and they have no fixed place to live; Agricultural nationalities are not as profit-seeking as commercial nationalities, and there is no trace of it. Agricultural peoples have been farming on fixed land for generations, which has been passed down from generation to generation. Over time, two very obvious concepts have emerged, namely, great attachment to hometown land and great attention to family ties. The former is a local concept, while the latter is a family concept. In China, regardless of the passage of time, social changes, * * * changes, people's metabolism, local culture and the concept of blood relationship have already turned into a deep complex, rooted in the bone marrow of China people. "Now, when I meet people near my village, I dare not ask any questions" and "I miss my relatives twice every festive season" and other ancient poems just reflect this complex. As far as history and social culture are concerned, local complex and family complex are the basis of patriotism and nationalism. In China, without local complex and family complex, patriotism and nationalism will become rootless trees and passive water. There is no doubt that the local complex and the family complex, as well as the patriotism and nationalism generated on this basis, are the foundation of the nation, the foundation of the country, the powerful spiritual adhesive that unites more than one billion people, and the most precious cultural heritage of the Chinese nation. That's what the Spring Festival means. Hundreds of millions of people in China, no matter whether they are cold or tired, whether they are tired after a long journey or running around, will go home and reunite with their hometown folks. Isn't this the biggest nostalgia? Hundreds of millions or even billions of people watch CCTV Spring Festival Gala. With the program of the Spring Festival Evening, they shared joy, sang and laughed, and created a strong atmosphere of the big family of the Chinese nation. Isn't this the greatest affection? The powerful spiritual power generated by this traditional culture should push us to build a well-off society faster. A few years ago, some scholars put forward the theory of "cultural power", which aroused heated discussion in the theoretical circle. The author believes that as a social phenomenon, the Spring Festival can completely prove the theory of "cultural power".

It is worth recalling that classic Marxist writers have said that tradition is the inertia of history. Then, as a traditional festival, has the traditional significance of the Spring Festival and some aspects of modern society become unsuitable? In fact, the Spring Festival in China has undergone great changes in the past decades, and the significance of rituals such as praying to God and offering sacrifices to ancestors has been greatly weakened. However, it is undeniable that the Spring Festival still has some negative factors for modern society. Economically speaking, the economic phenomenon triggered by the Spring Festival is actually an abnormal economic phenomenon, which is contrary to the market economy in modern society. Because the mode of production in industrial society is very different from that in agricultural society. Industrial production depends on market demand, not on seasons and seasonal changes. Industrial production is more regular and balanced than agricultural production. Except for some man-made specific circumstances, there are few cases of great cold and great heat, ups and downs. Agricultural economy is a seasonal economy with uneven busy and idle. Since the Spring Festival originated from the agricultural society, the Spring Festival economy is of course a seasonal economy, which will inevitably bring certain obstacles and influences to modern industrial and commercial operations. From a cultural point of view, although the significance of the Spring Festival can express nostalgia, enhance the degree of family ties, thus rallying people's hearts and contributing to social stability and peace. However, while paying too much attention to homesickness and affection, the other side of its coin may be ignoring the rigid legal rules of modern society, which may not be conducive to the rule of law in modern society. The phenomena of "back door", "nepotism" and "related households" in China society have been repeatedly banned. From a deeper level, it is related to the excessive emphasis on human feelings and the deep-rooted concept of family ties in traditional culture. Facts have proved that the Spring Festival is also a period of high incidence of social unhealthy tendencies in a year. Of course, I don't think that traditional cultures such as local kinship are inherently irreconcilable with the legal rules of modern society, but you can't ignore their great differences in expression.

Tradition is often a double-edged sword, which accumulates history and enriches culture, but its ideas and cultural identity formed in a specific historical stage may also hinder the infiltration of new ideas and concepts; As a traditional culture, the Spring Festival is also a double-edged sword. Its positive influence has long been known to all in China. And some customs that follow the tradition and are not suitable for modern society are felt by people, but they may not be deeply understood. How to publicize the positive influence of the Spring Festival culture, dispel the negative influence of the traditional culture of the Spring Festival and give the Spring Festival more modern significance and flavor of the times is exactly the topic that we can calm down and think about after celebrating this peaceful and beautiful Spring Festival. Today, it is of great significance to interpret the ideological background of the Spring Festival from a modern perspective.

In recent years, with the development of society and the continuous opening up, many people gradually feel that the Spring Festival is no longer as attractive as before, and the taste of 2008 is getting weaker and weaker.

Professor Tao, a well-known folklore scholar and director of the Folk Culture Research Center of the Central University for Nationalities, said in an interview that the material life is getting richer and richer now, and everyone feels that the New Year is boring. It is definitely not because there is any material deficiency, but because the spirit is not fully satisfied. In the memory of our nation, the Spring Festival is the most important and lively festival, which includes astronomical calendars, folk beliefs, weddings and funerals, food, clothing, housing and transportation and other cultural phenomena. Now, the Spring Festival has lost many of its original cultural connotations, and everyone feels that the taste of the year is weak, and there is a sense of psychological dissatisfaction.

Professor Tao believes that with the development of society, people's life rhythm is obviously accelerated and their cultural life style is richer than before, which may indeed have an impact on the Spring Festival, making some traditional etiquette born in the farming era no longer suitable for modern society. Of course, some customs or ceremonies of the Spring Festival may not adapt to the development of modern society, which is a question of folk custom renewal, but the theme and essence of the Spring Festival will never be out of date.

Mid-Autumn Festival should become a national legal holiday as soon as possible.

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. When people invite friends to enjoy the moon in the evening, many people also express regret: the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month is not a legal holiday.

In recent years, China has achieved remarkable economic growth, and the material living standards of the people in China have also been significantly improved. Why are people more and more interested in the historical traditions of the Chinese nation, including traditional festivals? Tradition and modernity, a pair of seemingly opposite concepts and things, are being given new connotations and explanations. The more modern the society, the more people need spiritual comfort, spiritual support and emotional expression. With the increasing demand of people's inner world, there is a rich historical tradition of accumulating spiritual resources, and the possibility and necessity of resurrection are even greater. This is no exception for China, which is becoming more and more modern.

More than 80 years ago, the British philosopher Russell visited China. After nearly two years' investigation in China, he believes that the Chinese nation is a nation with a very free spirit and knows how to be happy. What he is worried about is whether the rationality and efficiency of modern society will give up the ideal pursuit of traditional goodness and beauty after China is as "modern" as the West.

Today, when reflecting on what this "wise man of the century" said many years ago, what China people should think about is: How to inherit and accept the traditional freedom and happiness within the framework of "modernity"? In other words, how to be a China person with good ethics and aesthetic feelings in modern society?

In this regard, traditional festivals in China can play a powerful role in nourishing the soul. The ceremonies of traditional festivals have been loved by the Chinese nation for thousands of years. They are the expression of the inner feelings of the Chinese nation and contain rich aesthetic ideals and ethical pursuits. Just like any nation with its own historical tradition, basic personal and social virtues, such as people's religious significance, emotional edification of aesthetic significance and ethical and moral significance, are scattered in the spiritual ideals contained in those traditional festivals in China.

In the history of the Chinese nation for thousands of years, around these festivals, writers and poets of past dynasties have left too many beautiful poems and legends. These legends and characters are not rigid ethical dogmas, but vivid displays of a nation's soul. Paul S. Rui Enshi, an American diplomat who served as ambassador to China for a long time during Yuan Shikai's administration, wrote with deep feelings when he attended the memorial ceremony for Confucius in China in 19 13: "The most profound thing about the ceremony was the expression of singing, the music and the very solemn attitude of the participants ... I can't help but feel that China people are so unwilling to completely abandon these traditions.

It should be noted that these traditional festivals, which have been handed down for thousands of years, and their ethical and aesthetic connotations still have important social and life significance today. Why do you need to emphasize these festivals and think that China should be changed into a national legal holiday after modernization? We should also see that people in traditional society have a lot of leisure time. With the popularization of modern market economy lifestyle and bureaucratic management, the standardization and knowledge of social life, traditional festivals will inevitably be impacted by the lack of time guarantee if they are not protected by corresponding national legislation. Therefore, in the form of legislation, all or most of the five traditional festivals in China-Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Double Ninth Festival-will be upgraded from simple folk festivals to national festivals protected by festivals, so that people can have time to feel China's own historical traditions and enjoy the spiritual pleasure brought by festivals.

The above is for reference only.