Spooky festival prompts panic over traditional holiday's decline in popularity
Kindergartens' zeal for Halloween celebrations has refreshed the debate over the influence of Western culture and the decline in popularity of Chinese traditional festivals. One lawmaker has called on the government to promote traditional holidays so as to boost their profile.
The season that scares many young Chinese parents has come again. Homework assigned by their children's kindergartens will test their creativity and dedication to parenthood.
Xu Lei, a parent in Beijing, received a notice from his son's teachers last week to prepare candies and a costume for his 3-year-old to celebrate Halloween. The dazzling array of Halloween products available in the doorway of a nearby supermarket quickly dispelled his fears.
He finally bought a pirate mask, a bloody "knife" and a plastic laughing pumpkin, and brought them to the kindergarten last Friday morning. However, the other fathers apparently outdid him. Their kids had jack-o'-lanterns, wizard's cloaks, Spiderman suits and even military uniforms.
"When I saw my kid was jealous of his classmates and their costumes, I felt a bit sorry," Xu said.
In China, celebrating Western festivals like Halloween and Christmas has become a tradition in many kindergartens. Xu is skeptical about such traditions. "We adults do not even know the exact origin of Halloween, how could the kids know? Is such a celebration meaningful?"
Some parents complain about the waste involved in Halloween as the props and costumes are only used once. Some others complain that teachers value Western festivals but neglect Chinese ones.
"I don't disagree with teaching children about Western festivals and culture. Halloween is a kind of 'ghost day' in my understanding. But when Zhongyuan Festival (a day on which people worship their ancestors, also known as the Ghost Festival) comes, will the teachers teach children to burn 'ghost money'?" a parent from Chengdu, Sichuan Province, recently commented online.
However, in some people's eyes, the kindergartens' zeal for Western festivals sheds light on some worrying trends.
"It's just one small aspect of the phenomenon of Chinese worshipping foreign things. Lots of people travel, study and emigrate abroad," lamented He Youlin, deputy to the National People's Congress and former principal of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Middle School in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province. "The sense of national identity has declined."
He has been proposing the government promote traditional Chinese festivals, such as requiring schools to get students to pay tribute to revolutionary martyrs on Tomb-Sweeping Day and extending the Spring Festival holidays.
"They are important ways to foster patriotism but we have ignored it," He told the Global Times.
Zhou Fengli, had similar worries 10 years ago. In December 2006, the then PhD candidate at Peking University signed an joint open letter with nine other academics from well-known universities, asking Chinese not to celebrate Christmas and warning against the "penetration and expansion" of Western culture.
But his worries have been eased now. "The conditions have changed. The new generation of leadership has attached unprecedented importance to Chinese culture. The confidence in our own excellent traditional culture is in recovery," Zhou told the Global Times.
Supporting foreign holiday
But it seems most parents are not worried about such celebrations. The five parents interviewed by the Global Times all showed support for Halloween.
"We should be open-mined. Celebrating Western festivals doesn't mean a denial of our own culture," mother of a 3-year-old in Beijing told the Global Times. "Besides, I don't think it's wrong that we admire US-led Western civilization, which has its charms. Otherwise, why don't we celebrate African or Indian festivals?"
A mother of a 6-year-old surnamed Wang from Guiyang, Southwest China's Guizhou Province believes Halloween is a good chance for the kids to showcase their personalities.
"My daughter chose to dress up as Elsa from Frozen last year. This year, she plans to be a wizard," Wang told the Global Times. "Thanks to the almighty Taobao, you can buy whatever props or dresses you want. They cost me no more than 100 yuan ($15) each time."
