From God To The People - The Changes Of The Olympic Games Ceremony

Olympic ceremony is an important part of the Olympic Games, and its openingceremony as part of the Olympic ceremony is the highlight, as the saying goes, "Wellbegun is half done." At the opening ceremony, planners express the major idea oftheir ethical and national cultures to the world;all previous Olympic Games haddifferent characteristics and themes. no matter whether it is ancient Olympic Games,or modern Olympic Games, the opening ceremony have changed with the times , andtheir meaning were different . The changing has its regulations. Beijing OlympicGames will be held soon, and Chinese national conditions require that it will bedifferent from previous Olympic Games, including the performance form,performance theme and especially the spiritual connotation. Therefore, the study onthe changing regulations of the Olympic ceremony is significant to the theory andpractice.The study probes into the changing process of Olympic ceremony completelyand deeply, from the relationship of spirits and human in Ancient opening ceremonyto the relationship of body and mind in modern Olympic opening ceremony. Thepaper make study through the method of documentary, analyzing by both history viewand logic view, analyzing and synthesizing,inquiring experts ,also use historicalmethods and philosophical methods. The paper analyses profoundly the social andhistorical background and the philosophical basis in the process of forming Olympicsceremony, also analyses the changes of the meaningful opening ceremony in ancientOlympic Games and modern Olympic Games in the historical view, then sum up thechanging regulations. And after analyzing our country's actual conditions, we hope toprovide the theoretical foundation and practical basis to the opening ceremony of2008 Olympic Games, and provide a useful reference to the future evolution of theOlympic ceremony. Conclusions are drawn as following:Firstly, the ancient Olympic ceremony came of religious myth ceremony, inwhich people aimed to be closer to spirits and be liked by spirits. It is a memorialceremony for spirits who is considered has the same body and nature with person inancient Greece.Secondly, The original purpose of the modern Olympic ceremony is same tothe ancient Olympic ceremony, both of them are held down from the source ofWestern culture ancient Greece, but in different historical periods Olympic ceremonyhas different meaning.Thirdly, Modern Olympic ceremony is based on the philosophy ofhumanism .the modern Olympic ceremony comes through neoteric Revival ofLearning period to modern industrial society and the contemporary fast-developedinformation society, so its philosophical foundation has changed. The relationship ofspirits and human has changed in different stages, from the body and mind dualism ofidealism to the theory of body-mind of dialectical materialism.Fourthly, as a whole, Olympic ceremony has experienced the process from spiritsto human. The process was from the religion theology of the memorial ceremony forspirits in ancient Greece to neoteric Revival of Learning, then to the humanism inmodern society.Fifthly, The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games held in Beijing must bebased on Chinese culture and philosophy. The Chinese culture based on naturaleconomy is the philosophy basis of pursing stabilization and harmony, and the trendof the future Olympic Games is the combination of human and spirits. If theopening ceremony base on harmony and combination of human and spirits, theopening ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games will be expected.In short, Olympic ceremony has changed with long history, society, culture, andphilosophy. And the changing process is important to study We suggest the Beijing2008 Olympic Games should follow the traditional culture pattern in china ,considering the relationship of tradition and modern,mainland culture and worldculture,culture meaning and impression. And we must follow the changing rules ofthe Olympics ceremony, and consider national condition and culture and philosophyfoundation;in this way we can hold the Olympic Games successfully.