Abstract: Spring Festival and Christmas are Chinese and western society’s most important festivals. Both of them have long history and with rich cultural significance. However, there are many differences in origin, time and tradition. During Spring Festival, people love to stick couplets, to let off crackers, pay a New Year call and so on. And for western people, when Christmas comes, they love to decorate the Christmas tree and buy presents to put under the tree. What’s more, they will have a big dinner. Then, people always go to the church for worship next morning. This article compares the differences between Chinese and western traditional festival culture on the basis of a comparison between Spring Festival and Christmas. It reveals the social and historical experience, traditional values and deep cultural psychology that Chinese and western festival culture contained.

Key words: Chinese and western; traditional; festivals; festival culture; comparison

摘要：春节和圣诞节分别是中国和西方社会最重要的节日。它们都具有悠久的历史，蕴含有丰富的文化意义。两者在起源、时间和习俗等方面也存在较大的差异。春节期间，人们总是要贴春联、燃放爆竹，相互拜年等。西方圣诞节期间，人们习惯于装饰圣诞树，买来礼物置于圣诞树下。吃一顿丰盛的晚餐然后第二天早晨去教堂做礼拜。本文通过研究春节和圣诞节的异同来比较中西方节日文化的异同，揭示了中西传统节日文化所负载蕴含的社会历史经验、传统价值观念和深层文化心理。在此基础上挖掘我国传统节日文化的民族性和独立性。

关键词：中西方；传统；节日；节日文化；对比