When Ken Carroll, my co-host at ChinesePod asked me in a Halloween related lesson whether people in China knew about the holiday, I said ‘no, the vast majority doesn’t’. It was in 2007. Come 2009, things have changed. Halloween/万圣节/wan4 sheng4 jie2 is set out to become the next big imported/commercialized holiday in coastal China. While in the recent past, Halloween was only celebrated by expats dressing up in costumes that shocked and amused the Chinese, this year’s Halloween seems to have a lot of local flavors, which makes one wonder if it has reached critical mass in China. Here is the evidence: I received a multimedia message from China Mobile which featured a step by step guide to carving a Jack-O-Lantern; youngsters in Shanghai line up for hours to enter a Halloween themed haunted house; a local supermarket near my home which is frequented by young migrant workers is selling plastic pumpkins and scary masks. But in typical style of ‘festival adoption’ in China, hallmarks of the true Halloween spirit seem to be missing: crazy costumes and trick or treat.
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October 31, 2009 12:10 pm
Halloween isn’t really catching on in Haikou yet, but we are working on it! You can see my blog about it here: http://mouseneb.livejournal.com/8284.html
November 1, 2009 9:17 pm
During my time in America, I never got to like Halloween – the tacky decorations and over-abundance of cheap candy, combined with my dislike of pumpkin, meant I came to dislike it. I think the Americans really love it because of the childhood memory of trick or treat. It’s a shame, because an excuse to dress up in customes should be a welcome thing!
Whether or not its coming to China is a good thing I can’t say. It’s bound to be commercially driven.
(As an aside, I really liked Thanksgiving – no presents, no religion, just getting together with loved ones and getting a good feed. Sadly, the “Black Friday” shopping madness is getting uglier every year.)
December 2, 2009 7:49 pm
Well, the varst majority of people in China still dont know about halloween. It’s really an american thing. I grew up in Australia and we’re not really into halloween either (apart from kids going around trick or treat’ing).
Having said that, I think it’s a great idea for people to celebrate something different (I’m in shanghai by the way, didn’t receive any greetings from China mobile… didn’t see anyone selling pumpkins either). Life is too much of a stress for most people, so in this case any excuse to find some enjoyment is a good thing.
On the other hand, there’s the risk of young chinese forgetting our own culture and values. I bet most of 90后, and even 80后, cant even name 10 traditional chinese festivals. Heck, I was over in Malaysia one year and the chinese over there are more Chinese than the chinese in China.
December 9, 2009 3:33 am
Hm. I wonder when they start importing the Cologne carneval to China. Dressing up, singing, drinking – shouldn’t those be ingredients for instant success in China? (cf. http://www.koeln.de/cologne_tourist_information/events/cologne_carnival)