Purpose of festivals and celebrationsQ: Why do you think festivals are important events in the working year?Answer:Yeah. It’s very important for two reasons.For the country, it’s a time to remember our cultural origin and our historical past.The whole country celebrates our root and it’s very inspiring.We become so proud of our past.I guess that’s why festivals are important.For the individual, festivals give us a chance for relaxation as we often have a few days off. It’s a time of fun, meeting friends, entertainment.So after that we feel like a new man.In a sense, holidays restore our balance between work and leisure.That’s also why we need festivals for China.

　　Q: Would you agree that the original significance of festival is often lost today?

　　構思:節日的初衷: 慶祝傳統, 承上啟下, 結束也是開始現在的節日: 人們繁忙, 感覺不到開始和結束的意義, 過完節,馬上就再次投入到工作中, 有些單位甚至連節假日都加班. 人們也不在那么感動傳統,倒是好好的利用節日放松了一下, 吃吃喝喝,購物,節日從tradition象 consumption過渡.更像是給了人們一個借口: 1. 放下工作 2. 奢侈享受 3. 見見好久不見的重要的人.這么講的話, 節日也挺好的.Answer:I think the original significance for festivals are to celebrate our tradition.It’s an end to the old year and the beginning of a new year. So it’s a connecting day.But today, people are so busy, they’re under so much pressure and they no longer feel the transition between the old and the new year. Some companies even ask their employees to come in on holidays. So many people begin to feel that festivals are just as common as the other days.People no longer take the opportunities of festivals to honor their tradition,but go shopping, go to restaurant to entertain instead.So I think tradition is out, consumption is in.Festivals provide people such an excuse to put down their work, to spend money and be extravagant (奢侈的), and to meet people that they don’t have time for during the working year.So in this sense, even the original significance is lost, festivals are still exciting.(163 words)