Sugar painting, as its name suggests, is made from sugar. It is regarded as both sugar and painting to view or eat. It can be seen in temple fairs, market fairs or in parks. Sugar painting is a kind of folk traditional handicraft (手工艺) which is especially popular in northern China.

Boil brown sugar, white sugar and little malt sugar in a fire until it can draw lines. Then the artist scoops up a spoon of the melted (融化的) sugar juice, casting (浇) it quickly back and forth on a stone board to create a shape. The shapes of characters and animals such as dragons, fish,birds, butterflies, Zhang Fei and others attract children’s imaginations the most. After finishing, they scoop up the sugar painting with a wide flat blade and attach (固定) it to a bamboo stick.

As one symbol of Chinese culture nowadays, sugar painting has been gradually getting more and more attention. Chengdu Sugar Painting has been listed in the “National Intangible Cultural Heritage”. Cai Shuquan, born in a sugar painting family in Sichuan Province, has performed sugar painting shows in large Chinese cities and even in foreign countries such as Japan, Germany,Spain, Singapore and so on.

Some say sugar painting may date back to the Ming Dynasty. The handicraft then spread and gradually developed among the common folk. Some other people say the unique folk art was created by the great poet Chen Ziang in the Tang Dynasty. He was promoted by the emperor because of his special handicraft of drawing by melted sugar. In order to pay back the emperor, he took some apprentices (徒弟) to pass on the skill after retirement. Spreading from hand to hand, the handicraft of sugar painting was passed down among the people.

【小题1】 Usually it is held in January or February. Of all our festivals, the Spring Festival is the most important to us Chinese. Before it comes, everyone has to prepare things. Several days before the lunar New Year, we clean our houses and decorate them. The old folk say that everything must be new and clean for the Spring Festival celebration so that the New Year will bring happiness and good luck.

【小题2】 We put up some New Year pictures. On the Festival eve, all the family members come back to their hometown. No matter how far away from home a person is, he will always try to get home in time for this big dinner. 【小题3】 It means “come together”. When we’re enjoying the meal, we give each other the best wishes for the coming year.

On the first day of the holiday, we usually stay at home. We get up fairly early and, first thing, exchange New Year greetings. This is a happy moment for the children. 【小题4】And then we let off firecracker and fireworks. We enjoy ourselves very much.

【小题5】We sit around chatting and eating sweets and New Year Cakes and all kinds of delicacies (佳肴). Each family prepares something special. Sometimes we would see some lion and dragon dances. The celebration lasts about 15 days.

Researchers are often interested in how culture changes over time. All cultures go through periods of change and some cultures change faster than others. For example, in the past 10 years, Chinese culture has changed rapidly as western products have become popular. Other countries, such as France, have created rules to prevent their culture from changing too quickly.

Even though cultures change at different paces, the causes of cultural change are quite similar around the world. One of these is technology and medicine. In the United States the invention and development of birth control pills and other measures helped parents to limit the size of their families. As a result, families grew smaller and parents could give more attention to fewer children.   On the other hand, new technology has also created emotional distance among families.

Cultures also change when they come into contact with other cultures. Immigration, for example, often results in cultural change for both immigrants and the host culture. Immigrants often bring with them different ideas, food, music, language, and manners when they move to a new culture. In Canada, for example, the government has a policy of multiculturalism where immigrants are encouraged to share their background cultures with Canadians while adopting and accepting Canadian culture.

Cultural change can occur due to larger events. For example, economic depression, war, and disaster can endanger societies, which must adapt to these challenges and events. Because of these changes in society, ideas and ways of life also affect the entire culture. For example, during World War II, many American men were sent far off to fight. Consequently, women were suddenly needed to work in the factories. As a result of this change, it is no longer culturally acceptable to believe that they should not have the right to work.