Global Gala Captures 5,000 Year History
By Georgia Heyward
Epoch Times New York Staff
Dec 05, 2005
NEW YORK - With the Western world counting down the days until Christmas, Hannukah, or Kwanza, Asians must wait another month to celebrate their biggest holiday of the year—the New Year.
The Chinese New Year is by far the most widely celebrated holiday around the world. But what is the Chinese New Year and what does it really signify?
For New Tang Dynasty Television, the Chinese New Year provides a chance to explore China's rich 5,000 year history of culture, values, and ethics. NTDTV's Chinese New Year Global Gala plans to do just that.
NTDTV's Gala coordinator Zhou Yu says that the Gala is not just an expression of Chinese culture. "We want this event to present to our audience what is inside China's several thousand year culture and also what is inside the several thousand years of civilization worldwide. There are a lot of great values and ethics in art and we want everyone to remember these things."
The Gala intends to give people the world over a chance to get back to their ancient roots, to relearn a culture and tradition that has been corroded and lost. What better place to look than ancient myths and legends says Zhou.
"That is why we use this theme every year. Whenever you hear the Global Chinese New Year Gala from New Tang Dynasty, you should remember the theme, it is "Myths and Legends."
The traditional values that provide the basis for Asian myths are shared by all cultures. Western audiences will recognize in Chinese myths values from their own culture, says Zhou. There are also many Western performances in this year's Gala. Every location has its own specific culture, "So we choose Western programs based on the local cultures," says Zhou.
The 19 shows span from early January to early February, playing in major cities across Australia, Europe, North America, and Asia.