平淡的加国国庆日与喧嚣的中国国庆节

7月1日是加国国庆日，加拿大迎来了其149岁的生日。对于许多在加国欢庆国庆日的移民来说，平淡的加国国庆日与喧嚣庆祝的中国国庆节似乎形成了鲜明对比。

July 1th is Canada Day, when Canada celebrates is 149th anniversary. For many immigrants who spend this national holiday in their adopted country, Canada Day celebrations seem strikingly different than how National Day is celebrated in China.
 

中国的国庆节是中国最重要的节日之一。为了庆祝国庆节，中国常常会举行大规模阅兵式，数万名参阅官兵会昂首跨步，目不斜视地走过天安门广场，各种高科技武器也会悉数亮相。在这之后通常还会举行有大量老百姓参加的群众庆祝游行，到了晚上狂欢人群会聚集在天安门广场跳集体舞。

China’s National Holiday is one of the most important holidays in the Chinese calendar. It is often celebrated with a large scale of military parade, with thousands of troops marching through Tiananmen Square and high tech weapons on display. It’s usually followed by a public parade joined by hundreds of thousands of civilians and collective dancing at Tiananmen Square at night.

我在上大学时也曾参加过一次中国国庆庆祝活动。那是1984年10月1日的下午，成千上万像我一样的大学生和群众游行队伍一起走过长安街，我们一边挥舞着小旗，一边高呼口号：“祖国万岁！庆祝中国共产党英明领导的丰硕成果！在共产党会下振兴中华！”

I participated in one of these celebrations while I was a university student. In the afternoon of Oct. 1, 1984, hundreds of thousands of university students like me took part in a civilian parade walking through ChangAn Ave, waving a small flag and shouting slogans. “Long Live Motherland! Lets’ celebrate the great achievements made under the leader of Chinese Community Party! The Communist Party will lead us to rejuvenate China! “ 

在我们彩排时大喇叭里不停喊着：“国庆节是中国国家独立的标志，充分反映我们国家和民族的团结统一，显示出党和政府的强大领导力，彰显了国家及其领导人的信心和信念。”

 “National Day is a symbol of China’s independence, reflecting how united we are as a country and a nation. It has showcased the great power and strength of the government and the party, and revealed the confidence and faith of the nation on the its leadership,” the loudspeaker shouted during the rehearsal.

在游行后，当天晚上我们还在天安门广场表演了经过精心编排，花了近半年时间排练的集体舞。这种活动劳民又伤财，在一个烈日炎炎的夏日进行彩排时我的一个同学甚至因中暑昏了过去，但是因为参加集体舞是强制性任务，因此即便出现学生晕厥现象，谁也没有理由退出。参加这类活动也是对我们政治觉悟的重要考验，如果这种场合败下阵来，你的政治前程则将毁于一旦。

The parade was followed by a choreographed collective dance at Tiananmen Square at night that took almost half a year for us to practise and rehearse. It cost tens of millions of dollars and tons of civilian resources. One of my school mates passed out during a rehearsal on a hot summer day, but despite incidents like this, calling it quit was not an option, because participation was mandatory. It was also a critical test of our political consciousness, and failing such a test can often doom one’s future instantly. 

但是我们对这些口号和政府宣传从来都是左耳朵进右耳朵出，几乎一个字都不相信。当时的中国处于贫穷状态，老百姓们都在贫困和社会不公等状况下中苦苦挣扎，而政府所宣传的那些丰功伟绩根本无处寻踪或子虚乌有。

But these slogans and the government propaganda never really registered with us, and we hardly believed a word of it. The proclaimed achievements were seemingly invisible or non-existent back then, and all we could see was a country struggling in poverty and inequality. 

在那之后，随着中国经济飞速发展，国庆庆典也渐为更庞大和更隆重的庆祝活动。但是在这些大型庆祝活动背后掩藏着政府的政治目的，那就是煽动民族主义激情以转移公众日益增长的对社会之不满和对其社会安定的担忧。

Since then, China’s economy has grown rapidly and its National Day celebration has evolved into a much bigger and more powerful event.  But the government has a political agenda behind these big celebrations – to spur nationalist fervour to distract growing concerns of social insecurity and dissatisfaction from citizens.

在我移民加拿大数十年后，这种高喊口号或立誓表忠心的国庆庆祝活动已经成为遥远的记忆，变得越来越生疏和遥远。在加拿大，国庆日庆祝活动往往安静而低调，而最多不过一个公众假日而已。

Decades after I immigrated to Canada, such national celebrations involving slogan shouting or oath-taking have been a distant past, becoming increasingly unfamiliar and strange. In my adopted country Canada, Canada Day celebration is often quiet and lacks atmosphere, and is nothing more than an extra day off.

加国的媒体并不会藉国庆日对加国大肆自吹自擂，反而将国庆节视为正视问题，探讨如何才能将加拿大建设成为更美好国家的好机会。无疑，中国的国庆庆祝活动方式会让大部分加国人士倒尽胃口或嗤之以鼻。

Instead of buying into self-praise, media in Canada take Canada Day as an opportunity to confront issues and to argue how to make Canada a better country. Chinese National Day celebrations would surely turn off most Canadians or make them roll their eyes.

《环球邮报》在国庆日发表的一篇社论称：“对一个国家的丰功伟绩的颂歌似乎从来都不真实的，也非对国家状况的真是写照。对国家现状之不满事实上是不可回避的，也是有益的。这种心态并非心虚缺乏自信，但反而是信心十足的表现。”

“The grandiose generalization of the greatness of the country never seems real or entirely true”, says the Globe editorial on Canada Day.  “A permeant and healthy dissatisfaction with the way things are isn’t insecurity but confidence instead”.

在国庆日，我像许多加拿大人一样坐在后院里看着我最喜欢的Netflix节目，放松地享受着假日的悠闲。同时，我对加国的安享自由、高品质生活、丰富的资源和旖旎的自然风光感激不已。身为一名加拿大公民，我倍感自豪和荣幸。

I celebrated Canada Day as did many Canadians by sitting in my backyard, watching my favorite Netflix show and relaxed. I am grateful for what Canada has to offer – from freedom and quality of life, to vast resources and natural beauty. And as a Canadian, I am very proud and grateful. 

但是更让我感到庆幸的是，我无需再挥舞小旗或是高喊口号去表达对加国的这种发自心底的深爱。

But I am more grateful that I don’t have to wave a flag or to shout slogans to express a deep-seated gratitude.