Abstract:

The traditional festivals of a country carry forward the beliefs, values, concepts, and aesthetic tastes embedded in its long history. They are expected to express characteristics of certain nations. However, with the ever-growing cultural exchanges between oriental and occidental countries, festivals of different nations are confronted with integration as well as collision. Today, more and more western festivals are gaining popularity among Chinese people. Just like Christmas Day, April Fool’s Day and Thanksgiving Day, the western Valentine's Day has also found its way to Chinese youngsters. Challenged by western festivals, many traditions of Chinese festivals are being ignored or forgotten.
Since Chinese Double Seventh Day and western Valentine's Day are typical examples in the collision between oriental and occidental festival cultures, this paper attempts to think deeply about them and make a comparison between them, which might be conducive to intercultural communication and mutual understanding. While introducing the differences and similarities between western Valentine’s Day and Chinese Double Seventh Day, this thesis also aims to remind us that we should pay more attention to our tradition culture when we absorb foreign culture.

Key words: festival; Valentine’s Day; Double Seventh Day; collision; comparison
                       
摘要：

一个国家的传统节日传承着其历史长河中积淀下来的信仰、价值观、理念以及审美品位。它们本应体现特定民族的特征。然而，随着东西方国家间文化交流日益频繁，不同民族间的节日面临着融合和冲击。今天，越来越多的西方节日在中国受到欢迎。正如圣诞节、愚人节和感恩节那样，西方情人节也收到了中国年轻人的青睐。在西方节日的影响下，许多中国节日传统日益被忽视或遗忘。
中国七夕节与西方情人节是东西方节日文化冲突的典型示例，因此本文尝试对两者进行深入探究并作对比，这对跨文化交际和文化间的相互理解有深刻意义。在介绍西方情人节与中国七夕节间的异同的同时，本文旨在提醒读者，在汲取国外文化时，不忘关注本国文化传统。

关键词：节日，情人节，七夕节，碰撞，对比