Chinese Culture Goes Deep and Renders Evangelism Opportunity
Mid-Autumn Festival is a big holiday among the Chinese communities around the world. This holiday which originated six and a half centuries ago was historically recognized on August 15 by the Chinese Lunar calendar, and still is, so its date changes every year according to the internationally used Gregorian calendar, which resides on September 29 in 2023. Mid-Autumn Festival is treasured among the Chinese internationally due to its symbolism, in particular, the value of unity and relationship both within the family members and in between dear friends. The symbolism is marked by the always biggest round moon on the day of Lunar August 15 every year.
This year the Mid-Autumn Festival rests on the weekend when the National Day holiday (October 1st) celebration begins, which gives citizens of China a full week break. The Chinese government promoted tourism and travel right before Mid-Autumn Festival to boost national economy, which it did. Over 88 million travels were made during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and revenues reached $103 billion dollars during the combined Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday period. People observed shoulder-to-shoulder crowds in night markets and other popular destinations. China’s border authorities processed 11.8 million entries and exits during these two holidays. Data recorded China’s first expansion in factories activity in six months.
Mid-Autumn Festival gives Chinese overseas an opportunity to gather together and celebrate, because they are away from home and lonely. So, the Chinese churches everywhere always pick up the opportunity and invite people in. The Middle Tennessee Chinese Church of Christ, for example, invited oversea Chinese students in Nashville for an authentic Chinese meal and a special program. The program’s highlight is a Q & A session in which many questions about the holidays and the moon were asked. People who gave the correct answer are rewarded with a gift. The last question is about which scientist and which non-scientist person in human history told the world that it is the moon that causes ocean tides and waves. The correct answers are Isaac Newton and prophet Jeremiah. So, the entire program ended with an evangelistic note, something for the Chinese students to think about. Jeremiah’s depiction about the moon and the ocean tides and waves are recorded in Jeremiah 31:35. It was also made into a radio program aired by World Christian Broadcasting.
A Program Highlight
Philip joined our team in October. His first script interestingly sheds light on the meaning of a biblical name, Miriam (Old Testament) or Mary (New Testament. The popular female name in the Christian world, Mary, is the same as Miriam, Moses’ sister’s name, one Greek and the other Hebrew. According to the linguist’s studies, this Hebrew word is composed by the Egyptian verb “to love” and the Hebrew word for “sea”, a cultural phenomenon reflecting the four hundreds of years of Hebrew history during which Jacob’s descendants lived in Egypt as slaves.
The meaning “to love” appeared more strongly during the New Testament time when Jesus’ mother was given the name Mary, reflecting her chosen calling by the loving God to give birth of God’s son to the world. Later, Mary became a very popular name in the Western Christian world due to Mary’s love for God and for Jesus, whereas, Miriam took a negative turn, because Moses’ sister spoke against Moses’ authority when he married his second wife. It is worth noting that the word Miriam was continuously used in the Book of Numbers 20:2, 20:10, and Nehemiah 9:17 reminding God’s people of the rebellious character of ancient Israelites against God’s loving will. Philip brings out the meaning of the Hebrew name which strikes Chinese interest. Because Chinese names traditionally contains meaning as well, a similarity shared by the Hebrew and Chinese culture. We appreciate Philip’s love for God and his service to the Chinese listeners.
We also like to take this time to thank you for your faithful interest in the Chinese ministry of World Christian Broadcasting. Your prayers are needed. Please remember all the listeners and website visitors, and pray for God’s communication with each person every day as he or she listens and reads. Please pray that God would help expand our reach to Chinese speaking people worldwide daily. May God bless our combined efforts in the name of Jesus Christ.
Categories: CHINESE
