Re: Chinese New Year - Islamabad welcomes the Year of Goat
It is quite different from before cultural revolution. ‘GOD’ doesn’t exist for most. A lot of them worship their ‘ancestors’ who are dead but still looking after them from heavens. The prayers often include material gifts (burnt, so that the ashes reach the ancestors in heaven).
Now, every person has a ‘duty’ (job) to do. If the person doesn’t do what he/she is ‘supposed’ to do, then he/she brings disharmony to the society. The concepts of ying/yang are deeply ingrained. So, essentially, every person is just a cog in the machine and that machine is not organic. Ideas like friendship, sacrifice for relations, personal enjoyment, etc. are not as strong as in other societies. When they get rich, they would do things that rich people are ‘supposed’ to do, not what they ‘like’ to do.
Think about this: Chinese excel in non-team based sports (table tennis, gymnastics, diving, badminton, etc.) and do not do very well in team-based sports (like soccer, basketball, baseball, etc).