Comparing dads
By contrast, he said his family was recently paid a visit by a man seeking help from his own powerful father.
The boy shrewdly complained that his iPad was damaged and he could no longer play FruitNinja on it. The visitor immediately got the message, accessed the Internet, and placed an order for an iPad, which was shipped to the boy's home the following day, the report said.
The duo's joust for face was topped by a student cadre whose father gave him 30,000 yuan to buy gifts to give away to orphans.
Mortified at the competition for ostentation, the teacher wondered how a holiday for children turned into an occasion to compare their dads, or in the popular street lingo, pin die.
In my youth, when pin die was less conspicuous, receiving desired books and toys on June 1 was delight that kept me happy for a day. Today, however, children's short attention span and desire for new things, diminishes their euphoria over an iPad, iPhone or other fancy electronic gadgets.
Undoubtedly, it won't be long before we read news that a boy is given a sports car as a Children's Day gift, and smugly shows it off to classmates envious that he has such a hell of a father.
Children in their formative years should be kept away from the insidious intrigues and temptations plaguing the adult world. Alas, too many have learned with their own eyes and from their own parents, how power can be traded for money and coveted items.
Precociously aware that palms need to be greased to grant favors, children are keen to exploit their father's influence and connections to satisfy their own desires.
The result is that children learn to worship power, take unearned comforts for granted, and inherit their official fathers' flamboyance and greed.
Despite disciplinary authorities' edict warning officials to guard against bribes during public holidays, bribe-givers look for every opportunity to bypass any stricture. Children's Day presents itself as one such opportunity.
If watchdogs are alarmed by the reported conversation among greedy boys, they could take the initiative and nab a few bribe-taking official-dads on Children's Day. Xinhua Daily suggested as much on Monday in its editorial "Don't Miss Children's Day in Anti-Graft Crusade."
Commercialized festivals
Festivals in China are highly commercialized.
Savvy businesses now even invent gimmicks for ordinary dates, depending on their potential for stoking consumerist imagination.
For instance, May 20 was interpreted as a day for couples to cherish their love through consumption, simply because the date is phonetically similar to "I love you" in Chinese. And that contrived interpretation means money.
As such, on June 1 there is no escaping the commercial drive. But apart from businesses that target children, there also are shady people who disguise bribes as gifts and corrupt children's minds. It's high time that we restored purity to a festival denigrated to pin die.
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