Three cheers for the red, um...
Well, tomorrow is National Day. The 56th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Banners are going up and classes are off for the following week. (I'm hoping that the cafeteria and/or grocery stores are open...) People are heading off here and there for a five day weekend.Me, I don't know how to act. I mean, sure, I know what to do with time off of work. (We're heading off to Kunming on Wednesday night.) But what about the holiday itself? Do I cheer? Do I wish people a Happy National Day? Do I hide quietly in my room? I mean, when I was a kid, I don't think anybody in America would celebrate October 1st. Communists were the bad guys, after all. Sure, Nixon went to China, but the President has to do that sort of thing.
Okay, I'm getting a little facetious here. I guess the issue here is the thought of celebrating another country's national holiday. I've never done that before. Well, I have wished Canadians a Happy 1st of July, but Canada and the U.S. are buddies. China and the U.S., on the other hand, have issues. If I go to a parade and start waving a little Chinese flag, I'll get that niggling feeling of being disloyal. (Not that I've heard about any parades. Can you even have a parade without little Tootsie Rolls? Haven't seen any Tootsie Rolls around here.) Ahh, I'm probably analyzing it too deeply. I'm sure that if I go out tomorrow and people are happily waving their flag, I'll just smile and wish them well. Maybe it's all just feeling a bit out of place.
posted by John @ 6:46 AM
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