What is it like when your age and generation don't match? Why do we call people by their generation when greeting each other during the Chinese New Year?

Many friends go home to pay New Year's greetings during the Spring Festival. Chinese people are very particular about New Year's greetings. Many people are young but have a high generation, and many people are old but have a low generation. If the family is large, it will be more interesting to call out. A lot of relatives don't come over. This one is the uncle, and the one standing next to him may be the nephew. Let's take a look at what it feels like when the age and generation don't match!

What is it like to have age and generation mismatches?

With a large family, celebrating the New Year is a headache.

I can't recognize all my relatives. There is a guy who is four years older than me. His generation name is Xiang. I am Fan.

The generation below the Fan generation is the Meng generation, and the generation below the Meng generation is the Xiang generation.

In other words, even though he is four years older than me, he still has to respectfully call me cousin. Not only is he upset, but I am too...

How can it be appropriate for a girl in her twenties like me to be called aunt?

Why do we greet people by their seniority during Chinese New Year?

Chinese people have a strong sense of clan, especially in rural areas, where they attach great importance to and pay attention to seniority. Usually, the descendants of the eldest son are older but of younger generation, while the descendants of the younger son are younger but of older generation. Therefore, it is often the case that an elderly person calls a three-year-old child "great uncle" based on seniority, which is quite embarrassing. However, in this era, people seem to be less particular about it. If the difference in seniority and age is too great, you can find a more appropriate title without worrying too much about the generational title.

What to do if it's embarrassing to call someone by their seniority

In fact, there is no need to be embarrassed. Chinese people really pay attention to seniority, especially those with large families. There are a lot of relatives at home, plus all kinds of children of those relatives. The various generations alone can make people dizzy. Sometimes when they meet, they really don’t know how to address each other.

Sometimes there is always an inexplicable awkwardness between age and seniority. You are clearly in your prime, and suddenly someone calls you aunt. That feeling is really hard to describe.

Related News

I remember very clearly that when I was 18, I got the news that my cousin's daughter had become a mother, and I became a grandparent. When I was in school, the boys in my class were either my brothers or my nephews, and some girls were my nieces. Because I was called aunt or old aunt so early, I didn't have a big feeling about the passing of age, and I always felt that I was still young.