Tuesday 3 January 2012

What does "holiday" mean?

The importance of Christmas for Canadians is equivalent to Chinese New Year for the Chinese. As the biggest holiday, Chinese New Year, means new clothes, big fat dinners and red envelopes for kids; for most young people, Chinese New Year means a 7-day holiday. In some sense, Chinese young people seem to appreciate Western holidays more than traditional Chinese holidays.

Before I came to Toronto three years ago, my understanding of Christmas was all about shopping. I guess it is common for Chinese as Christmas usually is the beginning of “on-sale season” in China... that was why I couldn’t understand the closing of all stores on Christmas Day. In China, even during the Chinese New Year holiday, most stores are open and even packed as people go shopping between two meals.

I heard the only store open on Christmas Day, in Toronto, was Pacific Mall. Being in the market for more than 10 years, Pacific Mall has established its position as the leading Chinese mall. You can tell how popular it is by looking at its always-busy parking lot. My friend Jenny brought me to Pacific Mall on the past Christmas Day but we couldn’t find a parking spot for almost 30 minutes. I was excited to see so many Chinese people, which reminded me of my hometown, Shanghai, a metropolitan with more than 20 million populations. We had to leave Pacific Mall finally and then I was wondering what Canadians do on that day. Obviously, they don’t play Mahjong nor sing Karaoke.

A Canadian friend told me that family members open their Christmas gifts and share their happiness on Christmas Day. I can picture a happy family in a living room enjoying their moment no matter how cold outside was.

Comparing the Chinese way and the Canadian way to celebrate holidays seems thought-provoking. Sharing with family and friends is a simple and traditional way and it might be the essence of any holiday.

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