CultureDifferencesofChineseandWesternTraditionalFestivalsAbstractTraditionalfestivalsarethehistoricalproductsofanation’sdevelopment.WhetherinChinawhichhasalonghistoryofmorethanfivethousandyearsorinthenewbornAmerica,theoriginationoftraditionalfestivalsinthetwocountriesissimilar.Mosttraditionalfestivalsoriginatedfrompeople’sexpectationforharvestintheagriculturalproduction,theworshiptowardsthegodsandthenature,sacrificestothehistoricalcharactersandetc.Afterthelong-termevolution,traditionalfestivalshavebecomeanindispensablepartofthenationalculture.Throughtraditionalfestivals,thedistinctculturalcharacteristicsofapeopleandthenationalspiritscanbeobserved.Sincetheancienttime,Chinahasbeenalargeagriculturalcountry,thesmall-scaleeconomicmodeknownas“Themenploughandthewomenweave”initiatedtheagriculturalcivilizationofChinesecharacteristics.ChinesetraditionalfestivalsaredeeplyrootedintheagriculturalcivilizationandgreatlyinfluencedbyConfucianism.Tosomeextent,ChinesetraditionalfestivalshaverelievedfromtheprimitivetaboosandtendedtobehappyfestivalswhichreflecttheconceptofharmonyandintegrationinConfucianism.InAmerica,religionplaysaveryimportantroleinpeople’slife.Withvariousbranches,thereligioussystemofAmericaisquitecomplicated,amongwhichChristianityisofthegreatestimportance.SomeAmericantraditionalfestivalsarethedirectproductsofChristianityandmostfestivalshaveevolvedintothereligiousfestivalslater.Thispaperisdesignedtodiscussthedifferencesincustoms,originsandotheraspectsoftraditionalfestivalswiththesimilarculturalconnotation,thenanalyzethereasonslyingbehindthedifferencesandfinallyreflecttheculturaldifferencesofthetwonations.ThepaperalsoanalyzesthemutualfusionintradtionalholidaysbetweenChinaandthewest.Keywords:Traditionalfestivals;ChineseandAmericanculture;culturaldifferences;causes;mutualfusion.Contents1.Introduction2.DifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternTraditionalFestivals2.1TheSpringFestivalvs.ThanksgivingDay2.2TheZhongyuanFestivalvs.Halloween2.3TheChineseValentine’sDayvs.Valentine’sDay2.4Summary3.MajorFactorsCausingDifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternTraditionalFestivals3.1FactorsInfluencingChineseTraditionalFestivals3.1.1AgriculturalCivilization3.1.2Confucianism3.2MajorFactorsInfluencingWesternTraditionalFestivals3.2.1Industrialization3.2.2Christianity4.MutualFusionBetweenChineseandWesternTraditionalHolidays4.1ThedevelopmentoftheMutualFusion4.2ThePerformanceoftheMutualFusion5.ConclusionCultureDifferencesofChineseandWesternTraditionalFestivals1.IntroductionChinaisamulti-ethnicnation,withtheHannationalityaccountingforthemajorityofthetotalpopulationandvariousethnicminoritiesintheminority(Zhao,2002).AccordingtoZhao(2002)andTan(2003),peopleindifferentnationalitiesorregionscelebratesometraditionalfestivalsoftheirown,whileamongallthefestivalsthemosttypicalonescelebratedbyChinesepeopleincommonconsistoftheseones:theSpringFestival,theLanternFestival,Tomb-SweepingDay,theDragon-BoatFestival,theChineseValentine’sDay,theZhongyuanFestival,Mid-AutumnDay,theDouble-NinthFestival,theWinterSolstice,theLabaFestival,andtheKitchenGodFestival,etc.DifferentfromChina,Americaisamulti-culturalnationwiththeimmigrantstakingalargeproportionofitspopulationandpeoplefromdifferentcountrieslivetogetherandtheculturesbroughtwiththemmeltintothedistinctAmericanculture(Wu,2003;Hu,2004;William,2007).InthesystemofAmericantra...