2 . Sun Yi finally received an email she had long been waiting for, which contained her final wedding plan. The plan, which had been revised nearly ten times, offered the 29-year-old girl a “new Chinese-style” wedding in March. She described it as “traditional but old-fashioned” and “ritualistic (仪式的) but stylish.”

In recent years, traditional Chinese weddings have won popularity again among the country's newly-married. Many of them no longer consider western-style dresses and words of “I do” as important parts of weddings. Instead, they now prefer wearing Tang Dynasty-style clothes and performing traditional rituals at weddings the same way their ancestors did hundreds, even thousands of years ago.

In traditional Chinese weddings, couples usually wear red. Red is always a symbol of fortune in Chinese culture, and the hall of the ceremony is also richly decorated in red. Couples will perform a three-step ritual, namely to heaven and earth, to their parents and to each other.

In Lanzhou, several wedding planning companies are sparing no effort to promote their “Chinese-style wedding packages”, which offer a wide range of choices for wedding plans. Chinese-style weddings make up nearly 40 percent of our orders. Customers often need to make reservations six months in advance, said Zhang, a wedding planner.

Wang Yiru, another wedding planner in Lanzhou, Xinxin Wedding Service Company, said the preparation for a Chinese-style wedding is usually very time-consuming and costly.

“Wedding ceremonies reflect social and cultural changes. With people’s living standards improved, they go for more individual choices,” said Wang Zongli, a professor at Northwest Normal University.

3 . Weekends are a time to relax and a chance to leave your work behind and have some me time instead. But working from home has tended to blur (模糊) the lines between people’s personal space and workspace and many people are feeling stressed by the middle of the week. That’s why accepting the Swedish tradition of lillördag or “little Saturday” might be the answer to getting through the week.

This midweek celebration isn’t a vacation day; it’s more like a pause or break after work on Wednesdays to do something like enjoying a meal with your family or just watching an interesting TV show. “You let yourself enjoy something,” said Hanna Hedenius living in Stockholm. “You can see people celebrating on social media. On Instagram, you’ll see a picture of a glass of wine and some cheese, or ice cream, on Wednesday because people have a reason just to do it.”

There’s a national radio show that plays popular music on Wednesdays and there’s a podcast with topics that connect to the celebration of “little Saturday”. While not every Swede practices lillördag, most do see the pause as a way of getting through the workweek.

Self-care is important for people’s body and mind. Paula Gill Lopez, a professor of Fairfield University in Connecticut, told Everyday Health that the need for self-care is conspicuous. “We have an epidemic of anxiety and depression,” she said. “Everybody feels it.”

Self-care and wellness activities can range from eating healthy foods, to exercising, to taking time to relax. Many people don’t make time to care for themselves and that’s where lillördag comes in.

“Something like lillördag can be quite wise in helping people relax,” said Constanze Leineweber, associate professor at the Stress Research Institute of Stockholm University. “You can become encouraged with smaller goals within the week which you can reach and get a reward for.”

So if you’re feeling stressed, have a happy lillördag!

4 . Family days out can be expensive but it’s possible to stick to a budget during the summer holidays by taking advantage of the following activities.

Outdoor activities

At Brimham Rocks, there is a one-hour rock explorer activity on 14 July. The activity is free, although car-parking charges apply for non-National Trust members.

While getting out into nature has lots of benefits, sometimes you need an extra activity to keep things interesting. For example, the Woodland Trust is hosting a tree planting event at Yonder Oak Wood, near Exmouth in Devon. There are morning and afternoon sessions on 18 and 19 July. It is free to attend but online booking ahead of time is essential.

Rainham Marshes, the RSPB nature reserve in Purfleet, Essex, is running an arts programme for children aged three to ten on 14 July. You can sign up online and tickets cost £3. It is also hosting pond-dipping activities on 15 July (up to £5.50).

Arts, crafts and museums

For Londoners or those visiting the capital during the holiday, the Southbank Centre is hosting the Imagine Children’s Festival (until 18 July), where many events are free, including hip-hop dance workshops, and live music shows. The Tate Modern is hosting Threads, a free family event running from 11—19 July where you work together to create your own artwork using colorful threads and textiles.

The Royal Air Force Museum London (free entry) in Hendon has a range of free activities on offer over the same dates, including a robot-coding workshop, a radar maths challenge and tote bag making. And the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington is running free Chinese themed events including a drop-in workshop for families where you make a traditional Chinese kite (15—17 July).

5 . Here are some festivals and events to be held in Canada. Plan and schedule your festivals and events now.

When: Jun. 30-Jul. 1

Join us for a two-day multi-cultural event featuring arts, entertainment, music, education, children’s activities, fireworks, and more! The Billy Bishop Museum will be hosting Ghost Walks during the evening hours. The Community Waterfront Heritage Centre will feature displays of music. By the way, the next day is planned with balloon animals, a Four Paws Flying Dog Show and circus performers.

When: Jul. 6-9

The Essex Fun Fest is a family-fun festival for all ages, with 71% of attendees coming in groups of 4 people or more. And the best part? Almost everyone who attends wants to come back again! In a recent survey of 720 people, 97% of those who came to last year’s festival said they would return this year.

When: Jul. 6-30

The Beaches International Jazz Festival will celebrate its 35th year, and we want you to come and celebrate with us! Be part of Toronto’s biggest jazz musie celebration and street party of the year. Beaches International Jazz is Canada’s largest free festival. You’ll be happy to come, and be sad to leave. Or you’ll be sad when the festival is done.

When: Aug. 4-7

5lst must be one of Ontario’s largest outdoor arts, crafts and music festivals this year. There will be over 300 art and craft exhibitors, and 40 antique dealers. Typical attendance will probably be over 200,000 during the four days. You can get free admission except for some ticketed concerts.

6 . On May 17, the “Touching China” 2019 Award Ceremony went on the air on CCTV-1, and Professor William N. Brown from the School of Management of Xiamen University was awarded the honorary title “person of the year”.

The CCTV award speech says, “Open our hearts, for embracing enhances understanding; drop our biases, for nothing can separate us, even if it is the Pacific Ocean. Between the lines of your letters home, we can read your tales of China and your deep love for this country. Our dear friend from a far, China is forever a home away from home for you, and we all love you ‘cause you always feel at home in China.”

William Brown has served as a professor at the School of Management in Xiamen University since 1988. In 2002, he applied for permanent residence in China and became the first foreigner to be granted “Chinese Green Card” in Fujian Province. Having been working in China for 32 years, he knows and loves China, and has witnessed the rapid growth of China’s economy. Thanks to his introduction, cities like Xiamen and Quanzhou have earned their places on the honor roll of “International Garden Cities”. In addition, he has also been awarded the Chinese Government Friendship Award and Honorary Citizen of Xiamen.

By the end of 2018, he published a new book Off the Wall: How We Fell for China, recording and describing, from a unique global perspective, how China has changed and developed over the course of reform and opening up. In his acceptance speech at the ceremony, Brown said, “I don’t think I’ve done anything to touch China. On the contrary, China has touched me.” A bosom friend a far brings distant lands near. Charming Brown has been so charmed by China and its development. His stories of China are filed with such a deep love which has touched each and every one of us.

“Touching China” Award is a mind-nourishing brand program created by CCTV, and the year 2019 marksthe70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and this annual event is a special honor to the extraordinary builders of a new China.

7 . Two years ago, my friend Terry and I were living in our dormitory at our university. With his birthday approaching, he came to me with an unusual request. Instead of receiving presents and getting drunk (like most every other 21-year-old would), he wanted to do some acts of kindness. I was struck with such an idea. He told me about a TED talk he had watched online, which had inspired him.

Our university is not located in the safest area in Los Angeles. In fact, its location is so unsafe that the school employs the second largest private legal militia (民兵队伍) in the United States to protect its students. They have to work around the clock, standing on street corners throughout the university keeping watch. It’s a thankless job as most students grow used to seeing officers all around and finally hardly even notice their presence.

How could we show them our appreciation? We rented a truck and asked its driver to drive us around the place where we knew the officers would be and we poured them each a cup of hot chocolate. The truck driver was a bit hesitant (犹豫的) about our plan at first but after a while he was helping us spot officers and our lively spirits had spread to him as well. Smiles and appreciative words from the officers impressed us a lot. Soon they were talking about us over their radio and we were the ones being spotted and called over. Finally, the hot chocolate seemed secondary (次要的) to their interest in meeting us, the two boys that went around with hot chocolate expecting to share some late-night laughter. It was amazing to see how a small simple act can lift everyone’s spirits.

8 . Four Things About the Spring Equinox (春分)

The traditional Chinese solar calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms. The Spring Equinox is the fourth term of the year. This term signals the equal length of the day and the night time. Many people hold various activities to celebrate the festival. Here are several things you may not know about it.

In ancient times, people did not have good medical resources. So they wrote their health problems on paper kites. When a paper kite was in the air, people would cut off the string to let it fly away, meaning the disease would go away. Later flying kites developed into a popular game in spring.

The ancient Chinese people divided the fifteen days of the Spring Equinox into three hous or five day parts. As the old saying goes, “Swallows fly back to the North in the first hou; thunder cracks the sky in the second hou; lightning occurs frequently in the third hou, which shows the climate feature during the term.”

It is a commonly practised custom to eat spring vegetables in many regions of China Spring vegetables refer to the seasonal vegetables that differ from place to place. The ancient teachings in a Chinese classic suggest people eat the seasonal food, especially vegetables, to help preserve health and bring good luck.

Standing an egg upright (直立的) is a popular game across the country during the Spring Equinox. It is an old custom that can date back to thousands of years ago. People practise this tradition to celebrate the coming of spring. It is said that if someone can make the egg stand he will have good luck in the future.

9 . What do you do during the Spring Festival? Here is something about two students.

He Jian is thirteen years old. He lives with his parents in the city. He likes traditional Chinese festivals and the Spring Festival is his favorite. During the Spring Festival, he often visits his grandparents by bus. They live in a small village and they love He Jian very much. Every time He Jian gets to the village, his grandparents always get many traditional food ready, such as jiaozi and Niangao. He Jian likes niangao very much. This year he also met his cousin Ma Bin in his grandparents’ home. They were happy to play winter games.

Zheng Min is in Grade 7 and she’s twelve years old. She lives in Shanghai with her parents and grandparents. Her grandparents were teachers and collected many stories about the city. They often tell them to Zheng Min when she is free. During the Spring Festival this year, Zheng Min heard some stories about food in Shanghai when she ate out with her parents and grandparents. She wrote them on the computer and sent an email to her friend in New York.