摘要

独具特色而丰富多彩的传统节日保存了国家文化中最精妙、最具代表性的一面。七夕被认为是“中国的情人节”，与此同时，西方的情人节（Valentine’s Day）也备受中国情侣的追捧。虽然它们都同样被称为“情人节”，但是因为自然环境、社会环境的差异而有不同的文化渊源及寓意。透过七夕和情人节可以清晰的看到中西方民族生活状态的差异。
本文将着眼于七夕和情人节（Valentine’s Day）这一对比鲜明的中西方传统节日。论文的第一部分是本文的写作背景，即简单传统节日的重要性，并简单介绍在中国七夕和情人节对人们生活、社会发展的影响；第二部分文献综述，将总结中外学者们对中西方文化所做的研究；第三部分系统的阐述从七夕和情人节的由来、习俗和文化渊源等层面体现的文化差异。本文认为七夕带有浓重的农业活动色彩，而情人节则是宗教的产物。最后简单介绍随着国际化趋势越来越明显，只有透彻地理解了中西文化及其间的差异，才能更好地做到文化间的交流。为了使传统文化适应时代潮流，向世界展示其独特魅力，需要中西文化相互汲取精华，相互交流与融合。

关键字：七夕，情人节，中西文化，差异

ABSTRACT

The unique, rich and colorful traditional festivals have saved the most exquisite and representative side of national culture. Qixi is regarded as "Chinese Valentine's Day", at the same time; Western Valentine's day is also highly praised by Chinese lovers. Although they are also known as "Valentine", different natural and social environment lead that they are different from each other in cultural origins and implication. People can find the differences of national lives between Chinese and Western States through Qixi and Valentine's Day are obvious.
This article focuses on the Qixi and Valentine's Day which is a pair of contrastive traditional festivals of China and West. At the first part, writer introduces the background of this article including the importance of traditional festivals and the influence to people's lives and social development of Qixi and Valentine's Day. The second part is the literature review. The writer summarizes the Chinese and foreign scholars’ studies about Chinese and Western culture. Then at the third part, the cultural differences on origins, customs, cultural connotation and other aspects of Qixi and Valentine's Day will be illustrated systematically. The writer is aware the Qixi of rich agricultural colors and Valentine’s Day of religious colors. Finally, it introduces simply, with the international trend becoming more and more obvious, that only a thorough understanding of the differences between Chinese and Western culture can promotes a better communication. In order to make the traditional culture adapt to the times and show its unique charm, it is best to communicate between Chinese and Western cultures.

Key words: Qixi, Valentine’s Day, Chinese and Western culture, differences