Alone at a Foreign Land, I am Homesick During Festivals
Alone at a Foreign Land, How I Miss my Family During Festivals
------Especially for my dearest, fatherly friend, David.
For those kids who have long been looking forward to, today, the new year's eve, is the happiest day of the year. Not only for the new clothes, tasty food, long-anticipated toys, and the famous Chinese New Year's Money, but the fact that
everybody becomes so caring and friendly, including the elderly who are usually
so stern. They can sleep, run around singing and screaming, or watch their favorite animations to their hearts' content without being ordered to quiet down or
to go to bed.
The generations of parents and grandparents have a lot more to take care of, though. It's not only a moment for relax or for fun, though many of them would certainly love to, but most importantly it's a season for family reunion. Chinese are a people who is convinced that "east or west, home is the best", and the saying "the best niche for leaves is the root of the tree" has deeply rooted in Chinese psyche. Driven by this spirit, no matter how far one has left his hometown and no matter what this is for in the first place, people pay whatever it takes to get back home when it's the season for family reunion. Numbers of passengers in the news just keep rising during the travel peak, and the rest of the world can't help turning its head over this large-scale, unprecedented migration of
humans. Given the intense emotion and affections for their families, who can blame them?
In the old days the New Year's Eve was certinaly a time to look forward to, one of the reasons being the fancy food that was indeed once-in-a-year. It's not
the case now, but of all the exciting festive activities, people still value the
meal of the year, and the family talk during the meal, the best. It's a time to show your affections for the family, both the elderly and the children, to summarize a year's gains and losses, and to envisage a brighter new year. Those who usually don't drink will for the moment ignore the warnings from doctors and hit the bottle a bit. And with all family members getting half drunk, you can feel the atmosphere. It's well acknowledged that it's better not get drunk and make an exhibition of yourself at the table, but for the night nobody will frown at you even if you finally go under the table.
The next day is the first day of the new year of Chinese lunar calendar, and of the joyful spring festival. However, poeple don't celebrate on this day because it's traditionally set aside for their ancestors, whom are belived to be watching, and bringing good luck to, the living over the year. So it's a time for tomb cleaning, refurbishing and visiting. Children are usually told to bow to the
deceased, praying, and the adults believe that their forefathers are ready to listen to the reports of their offspring's exploits in the year. For most of the
visitors, though, maybe it's a good time for a pleasant outdoor walking. Considering all the activities and members involved, you can say the first day of the
vacation is still a time for family reunion.
The real time for visiting relatives and for all celebrations begins from the
second day of the new year. With the pace of life quickened and becoming more tense, the period for relative-visiting has recently been shortened into three or
four days. There's a lot of good meals, drinking, tea or wines with snacks, samll talk, card playing, and maybe a little bit of gambling involved. It's without a doubt a good time for relax.
Though the pressure from life, no less than this overwhelming globalization, has more or less changed this deep-seated Chinese convention, nothing could really keep people from the eagerness to get reunited with their families, well, at least once a year.
Panpanpan.
_________
PS, the title of the article is from a famous old Chinese poem. Hope you would
like it.
|
轻松英语