(W.E Talk) | How can Chinese New Year embrace a more global future?

(ECNS) -- Why was the Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, selected as a UNESCSO intangible cultural heritage? What cultural values does it embody, and what inspiration does it bring to the world? How can we add more global appeal to the “Chinese New Year”? Richard Trappl, an Austrian sinologist and former director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Vienna, and Gao Wei, head of the Beijing Folklore Society and a member of the expert committee for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Beijing shared their views in the latest W.E. Talk program.

Traditional “Harmony” culture contributes to its popularity

During the Spring Festival, Chinese families often reunite in their hometowns. The “Harmony” culture behind this ancient Chinese festival has long transcended national boundaries and celebrated by around the world.

Trappl highlighted the festival’s prominence in Austria, where government events, Confucius Institute programs from the University of Vienna and the local Chinese Tourism Association introduce Spring Festival customs through food, performances and cultural activities.

This provides locals with the opportunity to get fully emersed in true Chinese culture while also enabling friendly exchanges between the two sides. In his eyes, the Spring Festival has become a cultural bridge across national boundaries.

“I think one of the cores of the Spring Festival is ‘being together’, with everyone being happy and enjoying themselves,” said Trappl. Spring festival makes people reflect on whether we have neglected families, relatives and friends, and whether people have grown distant from them, he said.

The Spring Festival reminds us that we should pay more attention to our relatives and friends, he noted.

He pointed out that the Western New Year and the Chinese Spring Festival both share a universal message: the importance of togetherness. “Regarding international issues, I believe we need to be highly united. We should not be divided, try to avoid misunderstandings, and understand each other better,” he said.

Gao stated that some countries have designated Chinese Spring Festival as a local legal holiday and have their own ways of celebration, underscoring the global appeal of the festival. 

The culture of “Harmony” often mentioned by the Chinese, such as the unity of humans and nature and harmonious coexistence among people, that is, the “Harmony” culture, have been spread through the Spring Festival as a carrier, and have been recognized by people from all countries, said Gao. “So I think the festival is a cultural activity with a promising future,” he added.

Spring Festival is gaining more diverse opportunities to go global

The Spring Festival, rooted in millennia of Chinese heritage, gained UNESCO status not only as a nod to its cultural significance but also as a catalyst for global cultural diversity.

“We are now living in a multimedia society and an era with diversified cultures. That provides an opportunity for us to understand each other better, enabling the West to have a deeper comprehension of Chinese traditions,” Trappl said, adding that it allows people to thoughtfully examine the relationship between individuals, ethnic groups, and different cultures.

“If we want to grasp the future, we must understand our traditions, not only our own but also those of others,” he noted. 

According to him, Austrian TV shows cover the Chinese Spring Festival every year. “Both the Western New Year and the traditional Chinese Spring Festival give people the opportunity to review the achievements and challenges of the past year and inspire people’s hope for the new year,” he said.

Such a festival makes us more optimistic about the future and enables us to uphold a diverse culture, he added.

With the changes of the times, the ways of celebrating the Spring Festival are also constantly changing. Gao pointed out that young people choose to spend the Spring Festival traveling, giving “lucky money” to their elders, and even experiencing virtual online fairs through the internet, offering opportunities for the inheritance of the Spring Festival and its further spread around the world.

“We can learn from others and draw on their experiences to enrich the festival after it was included in the list of intangible cultural heritage of the UNSCEO,” he said.

He also mentioned that symbolic elements, such as dragon and lion dance, which are known around the world, are performances that have become important vehicles to promote the Spring Festival globally.

“Such celebrations can spark foreign friends' interest in the festival and during celebrations, they can incorporate their imagination and creativity, thus promoting the Chinese festival globally,” Gao added.