Chinese and American teenagers celebrate Chinese Valentine's Day together: Friendship and understanding transcend differences
2024-08-11
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China News Service, Shijiazhuang, August 10th, Title: Chinese and American youth spend Chinese Valentine's Day together: Friendship and understanding will transcend differences
Author: Zhao Danmei
August 10th is the Chinese traditional festival Qixi Festival. Alise Marie Grady, holding a folding fan and wearing a Ming Dynasty Hanfu costume, is performing a new "Cowherd and Weaver Girl" story with Zhang Qimin, a student at Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School in Hebei Province, in a Chinese class.
On that day, as part of China's invitation to 50,000 American teenagers to come to China for exchanges and studies over the next five years, 25 teachers and students from the "Friendship Heritage" study group of Iowa middle school students came to Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School. Chinese and American students spent the Chinese Valentine's Day together and experienced traditional Chinese culture.
On August 10, American students experienced needle threading and felt the traditional Chinese culture. Photo by Zhai Yujia, a reporter from China News Service
"I think China's Qixi Festival is very romantic. Valentine's Day in the United States may not have too many stories. It is just a day to celebrate love. I like the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, which allows me to understand how two people came together," said Alice.
"The traditional Chinese Valentine's Day mainly expresses girls' pursuit of beautiful feelings, while praying for dexterity." Compared with the West, Chinese student Jin Hongyu believes that China's Valentine's Day is more subtle in expressing love.
"If love lasts forever, why should we be together day and night?" After having a brief understanding of the Qixi Festival, Alice, who is very interested in traditional Chinese culture, also learned this poem expressing love in class. "Thanks to my partner, she taught me a lot. In class, she encouraged me to show more Chinese and helped me take pictures." Alice happily touched her Hanfu and took pictures with her partner Zhang Qimin.
On August 10, Chinese and American students displayed their paper-cut works of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meeting on the Magpie Bridge. Photo by Zhai Yujia, a reporter from China News Service
Reciting ancient poems and experiencing the needle threading art, the Chinese romance also touched American teacher Karen Catron. Under the guidance of the calligraphy teacher, she tried to write the four Chinese characters "Happy Chinese Valentine's Day" with a brush. "On Valentine's Day in the United States and China, everyone gives gifts to each other. The difference is that in the United States, Valentine's Day expresses not only love, but also friendship."
When talking about the differences between Chinese and American students, Karen chose to use the Chinese phrase she had just learned today, "Harmony but not uniformity, sharing the beauty of life together." "On the surface, the students are different, but when they start talking, playing, and doing something together, they are so similar."
Karen has been telling students to experience China with their hearts. "Cultural differences will bring about interesting phenomena, but their friendship and understanding will transcend these differences." (End)
