-:| CHINA TODAY |:-

Life in China has become ever more diversified in recent years, allowing more space for Western fashion and convention. Today Valentine's Day and Christmas are widely celebrated, particularly among the youth, who jump at every chance to party, revel and romance.

A Conspiracy of Retailers, Restaurants and Media

"Valentine's Day is a conspiracy of retailers and media," says one journalist who identifies himself as Mr. Yu. "It gives the media more scope to run spicy items and shops another excuse for campaigns to drum up business."

The media gets in gear as early as one month ahead of Valentine's Day, suggesting the most ingenious ways of celebrating, soliciting love stories, and of course, recommending the best places to shop, travel and dine. Those Cupid has left behind stay firmly in the hearts of businesspeople. Some websites organize Internet singles parties for those without a sweetheart on Valentine's Day, charging as much as 100 to 200 yuan.

Flowers are part of parcel of Valentine's Day. The price of roses quintuplicates in February, with even more being shelled out for special breeds. Last Valentine's Day, a single blue rose went for 180 yuan, but this did not prevent tens of thousands being sold in Nanjing City alone. According to one florist, the sales volume for his sector on Valentine's Day accounts for more than 50 percent of total annual sales.

Shopping malls set up special counters groaning with multifarious glitzy gifts. Western style restaurants are booked well in advance, as are big city luxury hotels. "Love package" containing romantic surprises for significant others on Christmas Eve, Spring Festival and Valentine's Day are also awaited from certain websites.

For Love's Sake

The blue rose was a big hit among young lovers.

No matter how commercialized it may be, Valentine's Day is increasingly popular among Chinese, as it meets their growing demand for romance.

Wang Li has become attached to the primarily Western holiday. "I know that my boyfriend loves me, but I still like him to show it by sending me roses."

Computer engineer Liu Ping is planning to bring home nine roses on Valentine's Day. "Like most Chinese, my wife regards the word lover as synonym for the third party in a love triangle. But I believe that spouses should be lovers too, and that marriage should be imbued with romance and affection."

But it is the youth who are most enthusiastic about Valentine's Day; like many other trends imported in China, Valentine's Day celebrations first appeared on campuses.

"The growing popularity of Valentine's Day reveals that Chinese, conservative and restrained for thousands of years, are becoming more open and bold about love" says an anonymous Internet critic. "Before opening and reform, love was a seldom used word."

A Western Feast with Chinese Taste

A kissing contest on Valentine's Day.

The mounting prices of roses and soaring sales of chocolate don't mean all Chinese have accepted this Western fete.

Li Jianguo, among one of the first batches of college students educated after the Cultural Revolution, had never heard of Valentine's Day until 1993, when he saw department store displays and kids selling flowers on the streets. Li believes that a wife is a wife and not to be treated in the same way as a lover. His wife once hinted that they should celebrate Valentine's Day, but he rejected it on the basis of having no interest in Western festivals. "I am a traditional Chinese, and I don't think Valentine's Day can do me any good," he says.

Sixty-five-year-old Mr. Wang is planning to send a bunch of rose to his wife this year to compensate for the lack of romance throughout their 40 years of marriage. But he also intends to let the Valentine's Day be a reason to have dinner with his neighbors and consolidate their understanding and good will.

Valentine's Day seems to be embraced by most Chinese in cities, though many of them prefer to send or receive practical gifts like jewelry rather than roses and chocolate. But it makes no sense among China's huge rural population.

Chinese Valentine's Day

As the Valentine's Day fever gains momentum, advocates of traditional culture call for revival of the Chinese festival for lovers - the 7th evening of the 7th month in the lunar calendar. An unidentified teacher echoes this sentiment in an online article, saying "The zeal for foreign festivals has overshadowed traditional Chinese celebrations. Chinese people should preserve their tradition in this era where world cultural diversity is protected."

An enterprise in Jiangsu Province went further to fund a seminar in which scholars made the suggestion of "red bean (used as love tokens in ancient China) vs. rose" and "forging a Chinese Valentine's Day."

Media and retailers again welcomed these ideas, as they promise ye another gift buying bonanza, but they have not been embraced by the masses. On July 7th, there are no special displays in stores or bars, and sales of flowers and gifts are flat.

History and folklore experts argue that it is farfetched to make the lunar July 7th a day for lovers, as it is traditionally a date for young girls to pray for good needlecraft skills. A graduate student of history at Peking University explained: "Chinese festivals mostly celebrate the spiritual, like revering ancestors, while Western ones, such as Mother's, Father's and Valentine's Days, are strictly temporal. Young people yearn for romance, happiness and excitement, and seldom care about the religious or historic significance of these dates. That's why they love Valentine's Day."

According to folklore professor Chen Lianshan of Peking University, the import of Christmas and Valentine's Day is inevitable in the course of cultural development. "They are loved by Chinese people, they will be included into Chinese culture and become a factor of the new Chinese tradition," he says.

Other scholars hold similar optimistic views and pointed out: "Chinese wear Western suits and celebrate foreign festivals, and foreigners wear Chinese-style coats and have Chinese festivals. This manifests the tolerance of Chinese culture and the trend of all cultures of the world learning from each other and blending."

Note:

Qixi (Seventh Night) Festival is China's Valentine's Day. According to Chinese folklore, Zhinu (Weaving Girl) who was the granddaughter of the Lady Queen Mother, fell in love with and married a young farmer named Niulang, despite the rule prohibiting marriage between mortal and immortal. Zhinu was forced back to heaven, but Niulang pursued her with help of a magic ox. The Lady Queen Mother lined out the Milky Way with her hairpin, separating the couple. They remained devoted and unbowed, and at last, on the 7th evening of the seventh lunar month, bevies of magpies bridged the Milky Way to bring Zhinu and Niulang back together.