Abstract:With the rapid economic development and enhancement of the comprehensive power of China, the economic and cultural exchange between China and the Western countries is becoming more and more frequent, and China is showing its unique culture to the world. At the same time, the culture of the Western countries, especially the traditional festivals, surging into our country. It is not unusual for us to see more and more people in China even join the wave to celebrate the western festivals and a great number of foreigners take interest in celebrating the Chinese traditional festivals. However, different nations or countries have their own cultures with unique features. Thus there are a great many of differences in culture between China and the Western countries and obstacles in the cultural shock of the international communication. 

　　　So in the present-day society, in order to know and even fully understand each other, to achieve efficient communication and to avoid misunderstanding, it is very important for us to learn the different cultures between China and the Western countries, through the traditional festivals. 

　　　In this thesis, some typical traditional festivals will be introduced, from their origins, celebrations and influences, and the differences of traditional festivals will be compared and analyzed. Finally, the different cultural connotations between China and the Western countries will be revealed, so as to come to a better understanding for eliminating those cultural conflicts and obstacles.

Key words: culture; traditional festivals ; differences; connotations

中文摘要:随着中国经济的发展和综合国力的增强，中国和西方国家经济及文化交流越来越频繁，中国逐步地向世界展示了自己独特的文化。同时，西方文化，特别是西方传统节日也大量涌入我国。在中国，我们不难看到越来越多的中国人加入到庆祝西方传统节日的浪潮中，而也有越来越多的外国人对中国传统节日感兴趣。然而，不同的民族和不同的国家之间的文化各有特色，所以中国文化和西方文化必然存在着差异，在国际交往中也存在着文化冲击的障碍。

　　所以，在当今社会，为了更好地认识和充分了解彼此，从而有效地进行交流，避免造成误解，通过不同的传统节日来了解中国和西方国家之间不同文化的内涵对于我们来说是很重要的。

　　在这篇文章中，通过从来源，庆祝方式和影响三方面比较分析中西方各自传统节日的差异点，最后揭示中西方文化的不同内涵，从而加深中西方人民对彼此的了解，达到避免文化冲突和消除部分交往障碍的目的。

关键词：文化；中西传统节日；差异点；内涵