Many foreigners visiting China enjoy the local food. Some even gain weight here. On one hand, this may have to do with the outstanding flavors of Chinese cuisine. On the other hand, this is an outcome of Chinese customs. Chinese hospitality requires hosts to have guests eat and drink well. Spendthrift feasting is a sign of happiness and contentedness for an average Chinese person. But behind such enthusiasm for dining and wining, historians and cultural scholars have identified an agrarian society’s underlying worries about a frequently broken food chain. That the older generations of Chinese continue to stick to the food-centric holiday traditions derives from their memories of famine in the Mao era (in the 1960s and ‘70s). In their own words, they have been “frightened by hunger.” No wonder some say Chinese holidays are all about eating.
During the just passed Year of the Ram Spring Festival, however, dining and wining seemed to have begun to give way to “playing” in terms of holiday spending. Many elderly citizens often complain that Spring Festivals are increasingly unlike what they are supposed to be. But such complaint also reflects the fact that many old customs, as remains of an agrarian society, are fading from everyday Chinese lives. Continuous increase in per capita income in this country over the past dozen years is making memories of famine increasingly distant.
According to a survey, nearly one-third of permanent residents of Beijing (roughly 5 million) left the city to travel during the Spring Festival, and among them about 60 percent traveled overseas. Adding the other metropolises where people share similar buying power and propensities, the figure can be tantalizing to all tourist destinations around the globe.
Conspicuous changes are also occurring in the holiday tradition regarding fireworks. In Beijing, for instance, the number of firecrackers stalls has been dramatically reduced. Sales have so far have been less than 40 percent of last year’s, and actual consumption so far remains 27 percent of the previous year. Nationwide, 30 major cities have banned firecrackers. All cities have announced restrictions. One important reason for the sharp drop in firecrackers consumption is the awakening public awareness of environmental protection. The prevalence of toxic haze as well as the rapid rise in diet-related chronic diseases have rendered many Chinese unprecedentedly health-conscious, and instilled in them an imperative sense to adjust their ways of life. The younger generations’ love for such foreign holidays as Christmas and Valentine’s Day has also contributed to the changes in holiday consumption.
The forceful anti-extravagance, and anti-graft campaign Xi Jinping and his colleagues have initiated has also significantly changed the nature of Chinese holidays. It is significant because it has made abrupt changes that would otherwise be impossible.. As is widely known, while the Chinese economy grew rapidly in size over the past dozen years, the country has slipped down radically in rankings of government cleanliness due to rampant rent-seeking in public offices. Dining and wining as well as gifting on public expenses has been an essential form of corruption in traditional holidays in China. Such activities are usually related to behind-the-scenes deals, or even undisguised bribery.
During the Spring Festival, a letter Xi wrote to his father on the latter’s 80th birthday became available on the Internet. In the letter, Xi emphasized the fine influence from his father’s simple and thrifty style. Today, Xi is adopting such a yardstick in assessing officials. Simplicity and thrift’s return to Chinese officialdom will certainly have an impact on holiday customs.
