Yes, we're celebrating the Lunar New Year. The Lunar New Year is also called Spring Festival or Chinese New Year. Chinese are not the only ones who celebrate it, though - people in Korea, Vietnam, Japan or some other countries around the world celebrate it, too.
We just celebrated the Lunar New Year's Eve without setting off or lighting any firecrackers in the city where I live. Firecrackers used to be a must in celebration of the Lunar New Year - the tradition dates back to the ancient China (thousands of years ago). This New Year, however, firecrackers are banned in some of the big cities in China.
Air pollution
Air pollution is one of the major concerns here in China. Beijing, the capital of China, has been mocked for its notorious smog, and being under tremendous pressure. People here have been trying to improve the air quality. So here comes the firecracker ban. The deafening firecrackers are no longer part of the New Year celebrations. Anyway, you don't need to frighten off the man-eating beast Nian or evict bad luck by setting off firecrackers.
Fire or injury concerns
It's not uncommon that people die or get injured or buildings get damaged in a fire caused by firecrackers here during the New Year celebrations. Firecrackers can explode in a plant or warehouse or on the way to your city. These disasters did happen here in China.
Tradition to change
Things have changed so much since the remote ancient China. People now live in tall buildings, not just in cottages. Young people are no longer so interested in such things as firecrackers, lion dances, family reunions, delicious dishes or even watching TV together with family members, which are all the traditions related to the Lunar New Year celebrations. There's already plenty of fun to amuse them. Some of the traditions are not a must any more, even though the young people may still be so happy to get red envelops (lucky money) from their parents or aunts or uncles. And recently, more and more people tend to choose to spend the New Year holiday abroad instead of home.
You may argue that no Lunar New Year celebration is complete without such things as firecrackers, fireworks, family reunions, delicious food, new clothes, couplets (Chinese calligraphy on the door), lion/dragon dances, or Spring Festival TV gala. Anyway, that's what a Lunar New Year looks like in your memory.
Nevertheless, I think it's a good idea to ban firecrackers in cities.
Note:
If you want to write an argumentative blog/essay like this, you might like to read this blog: Expector's writing challenge: Argumentative Essay.
Comments
@Bob
Thanks so much for helping tell us how to write a nice argumentative blog/essay. Yes, it will be fun if I try to write another argumentative essay in which I'll try to be for the opposite rather than against it.
I'll give it try and hope other members here find it interesting too. Thanks again for the instruction - I appreciate it so much.
@Anne
Yes, that can be a problem. I wonder if they (the young people) still need to keep the tradition going. Change seems to be inevitable. The problem is whether they need to discard all the tradition or not. What if they are so tired of the tradition that they want to try something new or more fun instead of the old ones?
I hope others can join our discussion.
Argumentative essays are great. We used to have to prepare for a topic and at the last minute we were told if we must write for or against the proposition (just like debate). It didn't matter what your true feelings were, you needed to make a good argument for the point of view you were assigned to argue and then include any evidence you could to support it.
I think you might have fun trying to write another essay saying why fireworks are an important part of tradition and shouldn't be banned. It is a wonderful exercise to argue both sides of an issue. It can teach you to expect the arguments that your opposition may offer.
I think that the modern technology is partly to be blamed for the gradual detachment of the youngsters to the nature. Something disastrous is taking importance in their lives rather than getting a close scrunization of their inherited surroundings.
What legacy will they pass on to the future generation if they give priority to the modernization of the world over the source of their lives which is continuously being destroyed?
But until no major catastrophe has happened yet, no action will be taken to mobilize the youth and make them aware of their future deplorable situation.
@Anne
Yes, pollution is still a problem here in China. The fast economic development is to blame - rivers are no longer clear; the sky is no longer blue. The good news is more and more people here are concerned about the problem and have already been trying to solve it. China is such a big country, so it takes a lot of time and effort to deal with the problem.
Young people don't really care whether they are celebrating the Lunar New Year according to the traditions or not. They just need the time, the long holiday, during which they can do whatever they want. After the holiday, they return to school or work, so refreshed or so tired, depending on how they celebrate it.
When I was still schooling, a teacher told us that China was the most polluted country in the world. I was surprised when I read that pollution was still the dominant problem in China.
It's kind or ironic to think that China being known to the world as a prolific producer of firecrackers is now banning the use of them. This is indeed an admirable move on the part of those officials who are concerned with the anti pollution campaign. I hope it should not be in China only.
In my place, when new year comes, everyone is so eager to light up his firecrackers. Adamant people even use firearms on that occasion. Last year, there was a minimal number of firecracker injuries reported compared to the previous years' reports. But, this news should not be a thing to be proud of.
I am glad that my Chinese aunts and uncles (from my mother's side) have already detached themselves from observing the old chinese tradition except for one, they still believe the wearing red garments brings luck.
I only wear red during Mondays, that is, a teacher's uniform, hahaha!
@afro
Thanks for the comment. Firecrackers can be fun, but it's not suitable to set off or light them in cities where there are full of tall buildings.
I never heard of "Pohela Falgum", which sounds like an interesting holiday. You could try to write a blog about it.
@Tree
Many thanks! Yes, fireworks are banned in my city, too. Maybe I should have used the word "firework" instead of "firecracker" in the title. I woder if there were fireworks in ancient China - maybe only firecrackers. But, according to dictionaries, firecracker is a kind of firework - really confusing.
Thanks again!
I agree with you, Expector.
In Vietnam firecrackers have been banned for long time but there are still a lot of illegal firecrackers smuggled into Vietnam before Lunar New Year and they are mainly in countryside. We also ban illegal fireworks because they also cause not less noise then firecrackers.
I also like the idea of banding firecrackers. Here, we also have this and every time I scold the people who crack them near of me! I really being annoyed. It seems a dangerous object to play with! Anyway, we also celebrate the first day of spring...we say it "" Pohela Falgum"'...pohela is fisrt and falgun...is the name of a month of Banla calendar.
@Luci
Yes, you can say that again. We can go to the rural area to enjoy firecrackers. In fact, firecrackers are still allowed here in the suburbs. Or we could set off firecrackers in a designatied area in a city.
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