洋節來襲

The Year That Has Gone

The month of December is a big month for celebrations and festivals in the west and increasingly these are impinging on the traditional end-of-year attitudes of Chinese people， especially the young. I am not at all convinced that this is a good thing for most people and I say this from my own experience.

Traditionally in Scotland， my homeland，the only major festival of the whole year wasthe seeing in of the New Year on Hogmanay and the first-footing that continued throughout the early hours and days of the welcome arrival. If there was any commercial gain tobe made it was made by the whisky distillers for almost everything else was made at homein a traditional way. The similarities with the celebration of Spring Festival in the countryside in Shandong are in fact quite striking， probably because agriculturalcommunities throughout the world enjoy awinter break from their labours and look forward to the coming of spring. As childrenwe stayed up till after midnight， listened forthe bells which heralded the new year， had avery daring sip of whisky mixed with hotwater and sugar and went to bed delighted beyond measure.

Within a few years， the influence of the\"English\" festival of Christmas began to extend even into our rural backwater and webegan to hear of a mysterious character called Santa Claus who brought gifts for children(well for good children anyway). My parents，who could ill afford such luxury found themselves bowing to fashion and we hung upour stocking on Christmas Eve， just as they didin the story books， expecting some reward.The slippery slope had begun.

Two generations later， Christmas is atleast as important for most Scots as New Year is and certainly costs them as much or more.The traditional first-footing or going out to visit all your neighbours and have a dram with them to welcome the New Year has given way in many places to parties in hotels. Most municipal governments (most famously that of Edinburgh) now organize an open-air celebration of Hogmanay with famous recording stars and entertainers which attract most of the young， while the older generation stay at home and watch the special programme on television.

This same pattern is now being repeated in China， where the commercial pressure to get everyone， especially children and young people， to celebrate Christmas by the buying of expensive gifts and attending extravagant parties grows stronger year by year. Ten Christmases ago， I went as a guest of our university to a hotel in Jinan which was havinga special celebration with a real Father Christmas. Everyone and his wife - and above all his child - was there and the Father Christmas character in his Coca-Cola red and white robes was a major attraction. Now there is scarcely a restaurant， never mind a hotel， inthe city that doesn't provide its own Christmas party complete with the smiling old man. The first store in Jinan to have a Christmas choirwas also the first to have its staff working all through the Spring Festival holiday but its example was soon followed by all the others.As prosperity has increased， many city-folk prefer to go out to eat with their friends rather than making jiaozi together in their own kitchen. Recently I asked my writing classes to discuss the topic of \"Christmas or Spring Festival\" and discovered that a majority of my students prefer Christmas mainly because they like having a good time with their class-mates rather than \"being bored\" at home with their family. This is good news for the business community but sets alarm bells ringing for those who value China's ancient traditionalfestivals.

Christmas， of course， is an important festival for Christians all over the world and that includes those who live in China. However， it would be a sad day， in my humble opinion， were it simply to become a harvest festival for the entrepreneurial class and a global substitute for the traditional festivals of ordinary people. I wish you all a happy new year.

在西方，12月份是重要的節慶之月，這種風氣也逐漸影響了中國人對待歲末時間的態度，尤其是年輕人。以我自己的經驗看，對大部分人來說這不見得是什么好事。

在我的家鄉蘇格蘭，傳統上，一年之內惟一的盛大節慶活動是迎接新年到來的Hogmanay節。從新年夜到來之前的幾小時開始，這種慶祝活動要一直持續幾天時間。節慶期間，惟一能從商業活動中獲利的只有釀造威士忌的人，因為除了威士忌之外，所有其他節慶活動的物品，人們都是按照傳統方式在家里自己弄的。在這點上，蘇格蘭慶祝Hogmanay節與山東納農村慶祝春節有驚人的相似之處，這也可能是因為全世界的農業地區在農忙之后，都要在冬日里休整并期盼來年春天早日來臨的緣故吧。在我小的時候，新年夜，我們都要熬到半夜，聽了宣告新年來臨的鐘聲后，喝點攙了熱水和糖的威士忌，然后懷著無法形容的愉悅去睡覺。

也就在幾年時間吧，“英國人的節日”——圣誕節傳到了我們那里的鄉下。我們開始聽說一個神秘的圣誕老人會給孩子們(當然是好孩子啦)帶來禮物。我父母盡管沒錢去應付這些奢侈品，但是，也不得不屈服于潮流。于是，我們在圣誕節的晚上也像故事書里寫的那樣，掛起了襪子，盼望著能得到一些好處。從此，這種談不上多么好的規矩就無休止地發展起來。

經過了兩代人后，對大多數蘇格蘭人來說，圣誕節至少是和新年一樣重要的節日了，而且我們花在圣誕節上的錢是越來越多。在很多地方，在新年第一天到鄰居家里拜年或與他們一起舉杯同慶新年到來的傳統都被改成了到酒店里聚會慶賀。部分市政府(愛丁堡尤其如此)現在還組織露天活動來歡慶Hogmanay節。歡慶活動上，要邀請一些影視明星或娛樂明星來吸引年輕人參加。年紀大的人，大都呆在家里看電視上的節目。

這種情況現在中國又重復上演了。受商業的推波助瀾，大家(尤其是孩子和年輕人)購買昂貴的禮物和參加奢華聚會來慶祝圣誕節的風氣變得一年比一年濃。十年前的一個圣誕節，我受所在的大學邀請，到濟南的一家酒店參加了圣誕慶祝活動。慶祝活動上的主角是一個穿紅色衣服的圣誕老人。到場的大都是一家三口——丈夫、妻子和孩子。圣誕老人穿著紅白相間的袍子，看起來像個可口可樂罐子，很是招搖。現在，圣誕節的時候，濟南幾乎家家餐館(更何況賓館了)都要舉行圣誕活動，而且活動上都有自己的圣誕老人出現，供人們娛樂。

濟南第一家在圣誕節期間舉行合唱活動的商店同時也開了春節期間讓員工不間斷工作的先河。但是，這種做法很快被別的商家學會了。隨著條件的改善，現在許多城里的人都喜歡和朋友到外面吃飯，而不是在自己家里的廚房里包餃子了。最近，在我教的寫作課上，我要學生們圍繞“圣誕節與春節”的話題展開討論，結果發現，大部分學生更愿意過圣誕節，因為他們寧愿與同學在一起玩，也不愿意呆在家里過春節，因為在家里沒意思。對做生意的人來說，這絕對是個好消息，但是卻為那些珍愛中國古老傳統節日的人敲響了警鐘。

對全世界的基督徒和中國的教徒而言，圣誕節當然是個重要的節日。但是，依我看，如果圣誕節僅僅是生意人大肆撈錢的日子，讓它來取代大眾的傳統節日，那可真是悲哀透頂。所以，我還是祝你新年快樂吧。