缘消节 ... no 2014 Valentine's Day in China

[Guest realmayo]

I thought this was quite neat (maybe I'm easily amused), assuming I've understood it correctly:

 

This year Lantern Festival i.e. 元宵节 falls on February 14.

That means lovers can't celebrate Valentine's Day together because they'll be doing Lantern festival stuff instead.

 

Therefore people say that this year 元宵节 should actually be called 缘消节:

 

- the second, made-up name means 'predestined love + destroyed + festival'

- both are pronounced yuanxiaojie (tones are identical too)

 

 

So Valentine's Day becomes Breakup Day. Good luck out there!

[skylee]

But the Lantern Festival is THE Chinese Valentine's Day.  It was the official date night in the past where young people were free to socialise in fairs, at night, and with lanterns so they could see one another clearly and romantically ....

 

Read Ouyang Xiu's 生查子 -

 

去年元夜時，花市燈如晝。月上柳梢頭，人約黃昏後。今年元夜時，月與燈依舊。不見去年人，淚濕春衫袖。

[Guest realmayo]

Ha, that's ironic! Presumably these days it's more a family holiday?

[abcdefg]

Therefore people say that this year 元宵节 should actually be called 缘消节:

Interesting play on words!

 

I'm watching the CCTV 晚会 right now. Seems like a less grandiose production than the New Year's Eve spectacular, but it is still a big production.

 

Sent text messages to a couple of my 20-something friends asking if they were watching it and got only lukewarm replies. I think it is somewhat a generational thing, mainly of interest to the "old folks," who get all misty-eyed and nostalgic. 

 

Lots of fireworks outside my windows already at about 9 p.m. and they seem to be increasing.

 

(In Kunming.)

[Kelby]

Here in Zhengzhou me and the Mrs. to be worked it all in, as it seems most people are doing. Dinner with the family, then the old folks watch the 晚会, kids light up fireworks and the young people seem to have all flooded the bars. Of course we celebrated early in case the family wouldn't let us off the hook, going out was just a pleasant surprose. Good night so far, hanging out with our sigle friends