真善美的春节 CNY beyond materialism

An article contributed by jlvk.

Perhaps we are all a little let down by two things in this coming CNY:
i) the additional scruples put into spending our cash for the festivity items;
ii) the lack of visual appeal and poor edibility of mandarin oranges we bought everywhere.

Like it or not, we live in the modern economy with sound monetary systems where cash is to a very large extent, king. And like it or not, we are grossly dissatisfied with products not meeting our expectations when we actually paid for them. So is our CNY going to be gloomy?

Not nearly so. And most of us remain quite far from a true-blue poorman's CNY celebration--where a family of five gather around the reunion dinner table sharing one chicken, a fatty cut of meat, some green vegetable, a pot of rice enough for one bowl per person, and a pot of Chinese tea to soak up the sumptious meal. As in the olden days we didn't have much material enjoyment, we instead delighted in getting together as a family, to cheer and laugh as a big happy family.

We didn't enjoy huge payrolls and so we pretty much did everything ourselves, and we loved home-baked biscuits, and we loved home-made dishes. We didn't have much money to gamble and wager so we had plenty of time to meaningfully visit neighbors, relatives, and friends. And at night we were all filled with overflowing laughter and bliss.

真善美的春节 means "a truly kind and beautiful coming of spring". The lack of material pleasure and satisfaction can be made up for in a multitude of ways. Let us all learn to discern and appreciate what is truly meaningful and let us begin to place emphasis on building lasting memories. Afterall, what we consider the greatest joy in celebrating this fine season is that it remains the Chinese way of paying tribute to the coming of spring. As we honor the season may we also honor the force of life it exudes upon us.