Christmas is an opportunity for cultural exchange between young people.

(Baonghean) -Reporter of Nghe An Newspaper had an interview withAssociate Professor, Dr. Ngo Van Gia - Head of Writing DepartmentJournalism, Hanoi University of Culture.

- Professor, it can be said that Christmas has become very familiar to most Vietnamese people. However, there are still many opinions about the reception and behavior of Vietnamese people towards this imported cultural activity. What is your opinion?

Associate Professor, Dr. Ngo Van Gia. Photo: HV

- We know that Christmas originated from Christianity; it entered Vietnam through the path of religious introduction. Nowadays, with the development of the media, many people know about this great holiday and it is popular in the lives of people nationwide. That is normal. For example, Buddha's Birthday, for example, is also a religious festival and it is popular nationwide.

Personally, because I do not follow any religion, I come to Christmas as an observer. My husband and I have attended Christmas several times. That is a way for me to join in everyone's joy and to be happy myself. However, participating in Christmas Eve is not a strong need for me. I only participate if I have free time on Christmas Eve, sometimes depending on inspiration. Looking at my artistic friends, I see that most of them are the same, they also come to Christmas when they have free time. They go to churches mainly to observe the Christmas atmosphere...

- Young people today are generally very excited about Christmas, whether they are religious or not. Is it just a trend, but not really accepting and absorbing a cultural festival activity?

- I think it is a good thing that young people today are excited about Christmas. They see it as an opportunity to go out with their lovers and friends, to join everyone in the big festival. They will understand more about a festival originating from the West, which means to understand more about Western culture, understand more about Catholics, as well as understand Christianity.

However, like Halloween, for example, in many schools, students participate in dressing up, impersonating to cause fear and above all bring joy; I see that there is a "following the crowd" in it. I think that festivals like Halloween are completely Western, completely foreign. There is no reason for us to be overly excited and enthusiastic. When accepting things that are too foreign and are just strange pieces of Western culture, we need to have a calm attitude...

The pine tree - a symbol of hope and new life, is nearly 40 meters high, equivalent to a 10-story building, erected in Trai Gao parish.

- So, the question is what to do to orient young people towards new cultural trends, thereby raising awareness of promoting and preserving traditional cultural values?

- In theory, cultural infiltration often follows the direction of shifting from one cultural region to another in an intact manner. The second process is imitation and simulation. This stage can easily lead to reactions. This is when knowledge, communication, education are needed... The third step is extremely important, the "crystallization" step when new cultural values ​​are accepted maturely, carried out from the quintessence and inherent beauty of traditional culture.

The issue of cultural identity is not something to worry about. We cannot see cultural identity on the observable surface. In the context of economic globalization, we cannot avoid cultural globalization, forcing us to face it. The story here is what we accept and what kind of cultural policy we must have to strengthen the quintessence of Vietnamese culture, promote culture, and "export" culture. If we are culturally self-reliant, there is nothing to worry about.

- Thank you, Associate Professor, for the interview!

You Wei(Perform)