春节成联合国浮动假日推动世界文明交流互鉴 UN recognition of Spring Festival is a positive step forward

2023-12-28 12:00:04 - 新浪新闻

TouristsviewlanternsatLaomendongscenicareainNanjing,eastChina'sJiangsuprovince,Jan.22,2023.[Photo/Xinhua]

TheUnitedNationsrecentlyannounceditsdecisiontoaddtheSpringFestivaltoitslistoffloatingholidaysforstaff.TheseholidaysarethosewhichemployeescantakeoffinadditiontothenineofficialholidayswhentheU.N.ceasesbusiness.

ChineseofficialscelebratedthemoveasevidenceofChineseculture'sincreasingrecognitionaroundtheworld.AmbassadorDaiBing,China'sdeputypermanentrepresentativetotheU.N.,saidtheofficialrecognitionoftheSpringFestivalasaU.N.holidayfullyshowcasestheinfluentialpowerofChinesecivilization,whichwillpromoteexchangesandmutuallearningamongdiverseworldculturesandactivelyembodytheU.N.'svaluesofdiverseandinclusiveculturalideals.

Fromapracticalstandpoint,itmeansthatanyoneworkingfororattheU.N.cantakeLunarNewYearoff,whichwillmakeiteasierforthemtotraveltomeetfamilyandobservetheholiday.TheSpringFestivalextendsfromFeb.10-20thisyear.Themostimportantdates,whicharenationalpublicholidaysinChina,areNewYear'sEve,NewYear'sDay,andtheseconddayofthefirstlunisolarmonth.Eachyear,thedatesoftheSpringFestivalontheGregoriancalendarvary,astheyarefixedtotheChineselunarcalendar.

Asof2022,theU.N.hadover125,000employees,notincludingthoseemployedbythecoalitionsofeachmemberstate.TheU.N.recognizesnineofficialholidays,whichareholidaysforallstaff:NewYear'sDay,GoodFriday,Eidal-Fitr,MemorialDay,Eidal-Adha,IndependenceDay,AmericanLaborDay(celebratedinearlySeptemberratherthanMay1),ThanksgivingDayandChristmasDay.

TheycanbegenerallycategorizedintoChristianholidays(GoodFridayandChristmas),Muslimholidays(Eidal-FitrandEidal-Adha),andAmericanholidays(MemorialDay,IndependenceDayandLaborDay)inadditiontotheinternationalNewYear'sDayoftheGregoriancalendar.ThereasonsomanyAmericanholidaysareU.N.holidaysisthattheorganization'sheadquartersarebasedinNewYorkCity.

Thereare193membernationsintheU.N.,manyofwhichobserveavarietyoffestivalsthatarenotofficialU.N.holidays,whichiswhystafftherealsohaveanumberofdaysoffandtheoptiontotakeoffoneofeightfloatingholidays:YomKippur,VesakDay,Diwali,Gurpurab,OrthodoxChristmas,OrthodoxGoodFriday,Nowruz,and,now,theSpringFestival.

TheSpringFestivalisoneofthebiggestfestivalsintheworld.InChinaalone,over1.4billionpeopleobservetheholiday.Additionally,thereareoveradozencountriesthathaveapopulationof1millionormorepeopleofChineseancestry.ThelunisolarcalendarisalsousedinsomeotherAsiancountries,includingVietnamandSouthKorea,andtheycelebratethenewyearwiththeirowntraditions.ForeignerswhovisitorstudyinChinamightalsocelebratetheSpringFestivalbymakingdumplingsorvisitingaChineserestaurant.

IhavecelebratedtheSpringFestivalinBeijing,Shanghai,NanjingandthecountrysideofHebeiprovince,aswellastheUnitedStates.Celebratingineachplacehasitsowncharm.InasmalltownofHebei,neighborswouldwalktothehomeofthefriendIwasstayingwithandbringbaijiuriceliquorandfoodtoshare.InBeijingandShanghai,thestreetswerepeacefulandquietfortheonlytimeallyear,asmanypeopletraveledtovisitfamilymembers.InNanjing,therewasalargelanternfestivalarrangedonthecitywall.

HopefullythisrecognitionbytheU.N.willhelpthosewhowishtocelebratetheSpringFestivalhaveamoreenjoyableexperiencethisFebruary.

MitchellBlattisacolumnistwithChina.org.cn.Formoreinformationpleasevisit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/MitchellBlatt.htm

Opinionarticlesreflecttheviewsoftheirauthors,notnecessarilythoseofChina.org.cn.

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