Contemporary Evolution Of Social Functions Of Traditional Festivals And Analysis Of Influencing Factors

After thousands of years of development and evolution,traditional festivals have become a very mature cultural phenomenon in Chinese society,which is the spiritual sustenance and emotional support of the Chinese nation.The formation of traditional festivals is not only a symbol of history and civilization,but also a centralized display of the spiritual and cultural life of the Chinese nation,but also a social function of social integration,cultural inheritance,economic and trade in China’s social life.However,with the process of globalization and modernization,in modern society,the Mid-Autumn Festival is gradually showing a declining trend,the author believes that its social function has changed.From the perspective of cultural anthropology,this paper divides the cultural system of Mid-Autumn Festival into three elements: cultural symbols,cultural products and cultural rituals of Mid-Autumn Festival.In the cultural system of the Mid-Autumn Festival,the cultural symbols of the Mid-Autumn Festival bear the function of inheriting the Mid-Autumn Festival culture;the cultural products of the Mid-Autumn Festival bear the economic function;and the cultural rituals of the Mid-Autumn Festival bear the function of social integration.However,in the process of transformation from traditional society to modern society,the cultural symbols of Mid-Autumn Festival have been endowed with new cultural connotations,which have reduced the function of cultural inheritance to a certain extent;the rapid development of market economy has further promoted the circulation of cultural products of Mid-Autumn Festival,and a wave of "holiday economy" has emerged,which to some extent reflects the strengthening of the economic and trade functions of Mid-Autumn Festival.The simplification of traditional ritual process and the decrease of people’s participation consciousness lead to the weakening of social integration function of traditional ritual.Holiday,as a new way of personnel adjustment,is another manifestation of social integration function.On the whole,the Mid-Autumn Festival gradually shows a weakening trend.The first reason is the influence of market economy.On the one hand,economic development has brought vitality to the inheritance and development of the Mid-Autumn Festival.On the other hand,the competitiveness and utilitarianism of the market have gradually eroded the cultural connotation behind the Mid-Autumn Festival.Second,the influence of modern cultural concepts.The impact of modern culture on the traditional festival diet culture concept;the contradiction between modern festival concept and Traditional Festival taboos intensified;and under the background of globalization,the conflict between western festivals and Chinese traditional festivals intensified.Thirdly,it is due to the intervention of government forces.The change of calendar severed the relationship between Mid-Autumn Festival and astronomical calendar,further aggravated the weakening trend of traditional festivals,resulting in the weakening of the social function of Mid-Autumn Festival.The "screening" of traditional festivals during the Cultural Revolution made people lose their sense and enthusiasm for the inheritance of traditional festivals.The Mid-Autumn Festival is listed as a statutory holiday,which strengthens the function of holiday rest adjustment,which weakens the cultural meaning of Mid-Autumn Festival to a certain extent.The Mid-Autumn Festival shows a gradual decline,which is the manifestation of its weakening social function.It is our duty to inherit and protect the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation for every Chinese.The author believes that,first of all,we should adhere to cultural consciousness and cultural self-confidence.Only by fully recognizing and affirming the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation,can we have a long-standing foundation for the Chinese nation’s culture.As far as the reality is concerned,the government should strengthen the inheritance and protection of traditional festivals;from the social level,the media,folk art groups,communities and cultural enterprises should play an active role;from the individual level,enhance the awareness and enthusiasm of Mid-Autumn Festival participation,while strengthening the cultural thinking behind the ceremony.In a word,the inheritance and protection of traditional festivals need the active leadership of the government,social interaction and consultation,and the active participation of individuals.