The cultural difference can be seen in just a Valentine's Day. Worldwidely, Valentine's Day is the same date. But Spanish call the day The Day of The Love. For Spanish students in America, they would have problem with the grammar in Valentine's Day because Spanish does not have the apposition and even Spanish have something similiar to English article the, Spanish use it differently.
As a cultural difference, Chinese people who would buy flowers and take the aroma of Western Valentine's Day do not think of their parents or friends on February 14. In Chinese view, Valentine's Day is the day to say sweet words and show love to their lovers only.
I am not sure if it is my days spent in the United States that have changed my way of thinking and behaviors. This year, I thought of my mom on the day. Because I think that she, as a widow, needs more love than I do. She also needs to be told that she is loved by her daughters since we had not have this kind of habits for so many years. I also thought about calling a lady about my mother's age late last night. Unfortunately, I had the thought too late and I would rather not make any call at that time.
To show your love to your loved ones, which definately includes more than just your lover is exactly what American people would do in the Valentine's Day. DB told me that her daughter actually called her on the day and sweetened her day. My roommate also bought a gift for her niece, so does her niece to her. Both of them do not have boyfriends, but they have loved each other.
I received flower from my husband for the day. This is the second flower I got from him since I know him. The first bunch of flower I've gotten from him was bought and delivered to me through one of his best friends. Surprisingly, the card attached to that bunch of flower was literally written by that friend! This time, he found the delivery service on the Internet and have the commercial service did it so that he would not be embarrassed to let other people see through his soul.
When the delivery was received in the early morning of February 14, Carol the secretary called "cc, come here!" She and our administrative coordinator stood beside the carton and handed me a pair of scissors. It was a pot of pink mini rose. I told Carol and the admin lady that , in Chinese, we call it four-season flower. Theyt and other associates came to the reception area and checked exactly how the card was written so as to make sure that I know who exactly the gift was from. Oh, my lord! The card was typed without any signature, which means that they would not be sure that this gift was literally from my husband in China! Only I can be sure that the Valentine's gift is from my husband because he had bought pot flowers to present me before. Also, only I can be sure that he is the only lover in my life.
Right after I received my Valentine's Day gift, our communication manager also received a bunch of heart-shape pink and red balloons. He also bought gift for his girlfriend. What embarrassed him was that he ordered the gift late on February 13, which did not allow him to have the gift delivered before noontime in the Valentine's Day. In American, the Valentine's gift is not supposed to be delivered by the valentine himself or herself! This cultural difference shocked me again. A woman would be honored if her lover deliver the flower to her in person if she is a Chinese. Besides, Chinese celebrate Valentine's Day in the evening rather than expecting a gift delivery before noon.
After we shared our Valentines' glories with our associates, everybody went back to each other's office. Together with the flower pot, the gift includes a pink ceramic pot. It looks like a corset with a fluffy black bow in front of the V-neck area, a pair of same blackberries hanging from the bow. I put the flower pot into the corset pot and watered it with my spring water. The first thing I notice this morning when I stepped into my office is that one of the buds blossomed! How lovely it is. Moreover, the blossom showed me love has a life. One has to nurture his love in order to harvest the fragrance of life.
