New Year Greetings

by Zi Mo

As the 2013 Spring Festival draws near， Sina Weibo， Chinas most popular microblog platform， has launched a special channel for users to post New Year greetings. In the “micro age，” increasing numbers of Chinese people have expressed their feelings about the upcoming Year of the Snake and spread greetings through Weibo， while others use Weixin （a voice messaging app） to send voice greetings.

Methods Chinese people use to exchange New Year greetings continuously evolve with the advancement of information technology. However， traditional faceto-face communication remains the most direct way to wish goodwill for the upcoming Chinese New Year.

Liu Yuhang， born in the 1970s， moved to Beijing from a rural village in eastern Chinas Shandong Province a decade ago. He still remembers as a child going doorto-door to greet elderly neighbors early on the morning of Chinese New Years Day.

At about 4 a.m.， after eating dumplings with his family and lighting firecrackers to welcome the New Year， he began visit-ing clan elders along with his siblings. The young dropped to their knees to show respect to the elders， and received red envelopes full of money or candy in return.“Almost every day during the two weeks of Spring Festival， my parents and I visited our relatives to chat and eat together. Some even received several groups of visitors in a single day. Those sweet scenes of family reunions remain fresh in my memory.”

In recent years， more and more youngsters are leaving their hometowns and moving to cities. Although the custom of going door-to-door to greet elders on Chinese New Years Day is still practiced in Lius hometown， children dont even kneel any more. Liu is unsure whether the New Year greeting tradition will survive the next generation.

Currently， the tradition of children and employees begging for lishi （literally “lucky money”） from their elders and employers on Chinese New Year is still practiced by residents of Hong Kong and Macao. “I wish you good fortune， now hand over the red packet！” accompanied by a sly grin is often heard on New Year greeting occasions. The givers hope that their generosity will bring good fortune in the coming year.

As a mobile communication technology emerging in the beginning of the 21st Century， text messages are the major method to send New Year greetings in China. Statistics show that Chinese people sent more than 30 billion greeting messages through SMS during 2012 Spring Festival.

Savvy senders customize the message content depending on its intended recipient. Typically， a text message to a respected elder or teacher should include “achievements” of the past year， while friends will often joke with each other through text messages. When texting a boss， a subordinate must communicate prosper respect without overusing flattery. Often， employees are moved when a boss texts on New Years Eve to thank them for their contributions throughout the year.

Modern technology enhances interpersonal communication， but at the same time can bring unexpected embarrassments. With the popularity of cell phones， many are overwhelmed by dozens of greetings from friends and even strangers on New Years Eve， however it is impolite not to reply. Still， it takes considerable time and energy to reply to each one individually. Some find difficulty composing text messages as poetic and eloquent as popular suggestions found on the internet， but copying those – though time-saving – lacks sincerity and a personal touch.

The best New Year greetings involve emotional exchange – regardless of how they are expressed. Modern devices such as cell phones enable personal contact despite great distance. But they also make it easier to neglect face-to-face communication. Does technology bring people closer together or push them away from each other？ Our interpersonal evolution is certainly worth pondering.