5-25 Self-esteem holiday
The picture below comes from the May 25th Self-esteem holiday, something that’s less popular than the May 1 Workers’ Day or the June 1 Children’s Day holidays.
The sign says: May 25, University psychological health holiday group counseling recruiting
I saw a videotape of the activity itself, although I didn’t see it in person. Faculty and groups of students sat at tables along the main street students pass to go to meals or the post office. I’m not completely clear on what they were doing, although a great deal of paperwork was involved.
The choice of date is significant. May 25, or “5-2-5” is pronounced “wu3 er4 wu3” which is somewhat close to “wo3 ai4 wo3” or “I love me.” So it’s a good day for a self-esteem holiday.
In the U.S., the “self-esteem movement” has been blamed for narcissism and pretty much all of the ways that the current generation doesn’t live up to the high standards set by their forebears. Bill Damon presents one of the best cases for this point of view: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684825058/002-8791970-2877636?vi=glance
That’s not to say that a self-esteem movement isn’t a good idea for Chinese college students; I just don’t know. It will be very interesting to see how this all plays out, though.