Singles' Day colonized by e-commerce (2)

Western festivals have deep cultural roots, just like their Chinese counterparts. Halloween is All Saint's Eve, not just an excuse to carve pumpkins, and Valentine's Day is the feast of the martyred St. Valentine, not just a chance to give chocolate.

Singles' Day, which started on Chinese campuses, can be seen as a contemporary Chinese cultural creation. However, before it could grow some real culture of its own, it was already commercialized. The roses of love could have blossomed, but they've already been replaced by coupons.

Regrettably, such commercialization doesn't only happen in China. Even Thanksgiving hasn't evaded the trend. Every "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving, sees chaos and even injuries as mobs of eager shoppers pour into malls offering deep discounts.

What's important is not what festivals we celebrate, but what we do with them. On Thanksgiving, beside eating turkey, we could review the painful history of relations with the Native Americans whose generosity saved the first European settlers. Similarly, when we eat zongzi, the traditional Chinese stuffed rice, at the Dragon Boat Festival, why not read the poems of Qu Yuan, one of the figures celebrated by the festival?

It's time to rethink the overwhelming trend of commercialization.