The value of family, closely intertwined with the Spring Festival, is not exclusive to Chinese tradition, say the writers.
Image: IOL
By Guaiqiong Li & Rainer Ebert
January 29, 2025, is the first day of a new year, the Year of the Snake, on the lunisolar Chinese calendar. People of Chinese heritage all over the world are immersed in the festive joy of Chinese New Year – or the Spring Festival, as it is more commonly known.
Just in time for this year’s Spring Festival, UNESCO inscribed the festival on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. If you have ever seen the vibrant dragon and lion dances or wondered about the meaning behind the red envelopes handed out during this time, you have had a glimpse into the traditions of the Spring Festival. You may not know much about the details, but when it comes to family affection, the emotional core that defines the Spring Festival; you are surely no stranger.
The Spring Festival, as the most momentous festival of the Chinese tradition, not only bears the weight of thousands of years of cultural heritage and national memory, but also serves as a grand celebration of family. Like every tradition passed down for generations, the Spring Festival has evolved in how it is celebrated. In the past, due to scarcity, the majority of Chinese people led thrifty lives, and as a result, festivities were constrained. Today, with remarkable improvements in living standards, celebrations have become more elaborate. No matter how times change, however, the Spring Festival will always remain an occasion for family reunion and nurturing family bonds.
For the Chinese, home is the eternal compass during the Spring Festival. Returning home for the Spring Festival represents the unwavering commitment to family and tradition. Whenever this time of the year approaches, regardless of distance, people rooted in Chinese tradition are filled with a longing to return home. Their homes are decorated and have been thoroughly cleaned, to clear away any bad luck and make room for new beginnings. The moment they push open the door, familiar aromas greet them. The smiles of parents and the cheers of children instantly dissipate the weariness of the journey. The whole family sits around the table, sharing the New Year’s Eve dinner.
The value of family, closely intertwined with the Spring Festival, is not exclusive to Chinese tradition. Across the globe, people from diverse ethnic groups, cultures, and regions have their own grand festivals centered on family and togetherness. For example, during Christmas, people painstakingly decorate a warm home environment, prepare a sumptuous holiday feast, and the entire family congregates around the Christmas tree, exchanging gifts and conveying love and care among family members. In places that celebrate Thanksgiving, families gather together, expressing gratitude for the company and dedication of their loved ones, and family bonds grow stronger. During Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, Muslims don their finest attire and celebrate with their families. India’s Diwali is also all about spending time with family. On these special days, people celebrate as a family unit. The relationships among family members become closer, amid laughter and joy, and family affection deepens through mutual companionship.
These festivals vary significantly in form, origin, and the way they are celebrated, each boasting its own unique allure. Essentially, however, they all serve the same function, of invisible yet powerful bonds within families. They are a reminder that, although we are different, ultimately we truly are all the same. Despite the many cultures, languages, and customs on this vast blue planet, and the differences in race, skin color, and religion among us, there is an emotion that stands out, like a steady light in the shared human experience – our deep connection to family and the warmth of familial love. This emotion is deeply engraved in the soul of every group, serving as the most potent bond capable of evoking empathy among humans.
This Spring Festival, we invite you to make an effort to cultivate more of this kind of empathy, and to understand, from the perspective of “the others,” how these others uphold and express such universal human emotions as love for family and family affection. If more people, from different countries, ethnic groups, and cultural and religious backgrounds, did just that, we could all more easily envision a more inclusive and harmonious world.
We look forward to the day when, through realising our shared human values, we can muster the strength of all mankind to jointly tackle global challenges and earnestly collaborate to create a better future. In this future, no matter where people are, they can feel the care and warmth of family, and humanity can come together with a shared sense of purpose.
新年快乐 (Xinnian Kuaile), 万事如意 (Wanshi Ruyi) – Happy New Year, may all your wishes come true!
* Dr. Guaiqiong Li is an Assistant Research Fellow at Yunnan University in Kunming. She writes from her village home near Qujing, where she is celebrating Chinese New Year with her family. Dr. Rainer Ebert holds a PhD in Philosophy from Rice University in Texas and is a Research Fellow at the University of South Africa. He recently returned from his first trip to China, where he discovered a world that felt both strikingly different and profoundly familiar.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.