Happy Holidays Merry Christmas HappyHanukkah
The holiday season is an exciting time for children. First, there is winter break, that means no school for the kids! Next, it comes with family gatherings and travel. What else? It is a special time for baking, cooking, events, volunteering and time with the extended family…
What should we say to friends during the holiday season? With our diverse community, families are more mindful of different cultures and traditions in the neighborhood.
In the Chinese community, people are quite open to the diversity of festivities. It is important to know that there are many ethnic groups in Chinese culture in addition to the majority of Han people. Hàn 漢| 汉 means Chinese people or the Chinese language here. That is why you will hear Chinese people refer to Mandarin Chinese as hàn yǔ 漢語| 汉语 (hàn language)and the Chinese characters as hàn zì 漢字 | 汉字 (hàn words).
If we go a little further, you might notice that there are Chinese characters in the Japanese language. There are Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji in Japanese. And, Kanji in Japanese is written as 漢字 as it is written in Chinese. But, it (漢字) is pronounced as “kanji” in Japanese. Here you see “Kanji 漢字” and that refers to the Chinese characters are used in the Japanese language.
Is it interesting?
So, for a Chinese person who has never studied Japanese before might be able to get the gist of a flyer in Japan if there are some Chinese characters presented in the text.
Let’s get back to the seasonal greetings in Chinese.
Is it okay to wish a Chinese family Merry Christmas? Some Chinese families are Christians and they attend church services. Even if they are not Christians they are likely to enjoy Christmas as being a part of the main community culture in the U.S. Therefore, they will have friends and family gatherings at this time and celebrate it as an American holiday. Therefore, you can wish them:
Merry Christmas – Shèng dàn jié kuài lè – 聖誕節快樂| 圣诞节快乐
If you have friends who are celebrating the Jewish festival, Hanukkah at this time you can say:
Happy Hannukah! Guāng míng jié kuài lè 光明節快樂 | 光明节快乐
If you are not sure if your friends are celebrating either one of them. You can say:
Happy Holidays! – Jiā jié kuài lè 佳節快樂 | 佳节快乐
This expression is usually seen in the written form on Chinese greeting cards.
Introduce world language and culture to children opens up their understanding of the global community they live in and the world outside of the home culture. Every culture has its tradition, history, and stories including the one that is most celebrated in the mainstream culture.
Celebrate together, connect with each other, and be open to the differences in world culture. As we head to a new decade we are going to keep learning about the fast-growing global community around us with our children. And, last but not least, we will always respect each other’s traditions and heritage.
Happy holidays to you and your family no matter where you are in the world! If you are reading this we are all connected.
image by Pixabay
Happy Holidays Merry Christmas