| 春节 CHUNJIESpring Festival (The Chinese New Year) (1st of the 1st month) Commonly known as Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year, Chun Jie is the biggest and most celebrated festival in China and part of east and Southeast Asia. Traditionally, Chun Jie is celebrated over a period of 15 days starting from the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar. Chinese New Year commences with the new moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival. Lantern Festival is typically celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade. Why Chinese New Year falls on a different date every yearAlthough Chinese New Year starts on the first day of the first month of the calender, the festival falls on a different date each year if one goes by the solar calender. This applies to most other Chinese festivals. The reason for the discrepancy lies with the lunar cycle. The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements, and the lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. To compensate for the discrepancy, the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle) to "catch up" with the solar calendar. This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This explains why Chinese New Year falls on a different date in the solar calendar every year. Significance 0f Chinese New YearChun Jie symbolises the beginning of the year, a fresh start in one's life. It also heralds fresh hopes for happiness and prosperity among mankind. Chinese New Year is a time to renew and reaffirm family and kinship ties. It is also a time to resolve disputes and grudges. Chun Jie activities like reunion dinners, visits among relatives and friends and the exchange of gifts serve to remind the Chinese of the central position the family occupies in the society. OriginThe origin of Chinese New Year involves the conquest of a legendary beast known as Nian. There are two versions to this folklore. According to the first version, the beast Nian (meaning "year" in Chinese) would emerge from the mountains and prey on people on the eve of every new year, terrifying one and all. Then, an old man said that Nian was afraid of loud noises and the display of red. Hence, before its arrival on the eve of the new year, people put up red paper on their doors and windows. When the beast arrived, everyone would start to hit drums, pots, light fire crackers to scare it away. This ingenious ploy did its trick, and Nian did not appear anymore. This heralded the beginning of red paper decorations, lighting of fire crackers and the lion dance during Chinese New Year. In the second version, Nian was a beast with a huge mouth and could swallow a great many people in just one gulp. One day, an old man came and offered to subdue Nian. He told Nian, "I hear that you are very capable. I challenge you to devour the other beasts of prey on earth instead of eating people who are weaklings and are no opponent to you!" Nian accepted the challenge and swallowed many of the beasts of prey on earth that harassed people and their domestic animals. With peace reigning again, the old man too disappeared, riding away on the great beast Nian. The old man turned out to be an immortal. With Nian subdued and other beasts of prey retreating into the forests, people were now able to live in peace again. Before the old man left, he told the people to put up red paper decorations on their windows and doors at each year's end to scare away Nian in case it sneaked back again. CelebrationNew Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. Days before Chun Jie, every family would be busy cleaning the house, hoping to sweep away all ill-fortune in order to make way for incoming good luck. Doors and windows would be decorated with paper cuts and couplets with verses such as "Gong Xi Fa Cai / 恭喜发财", "Wan Shi Ru Yi / 万事如意", "Long Ma Jing Shen / 龙马精神 ", etc. The entire family gets together on New Year’s Eve for Reunion Dinner. The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged with places set for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community. The communal feast called "surrounding the stove" or weilu symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations. After a sumptious dinner, all would gather to "shou sui” (守岁), meaning to stay awake all night in order to delay the aging process for the more elderly family members. The next morning, children would gleefully receive red packets (Hong Bao /红包 ) from their parents. A good deal of visits also takes place, with the exchange of mandarin oranges. During Chinese New Year, the Chinese usually consume "Fa Gao /发糕 ", in order to prosper ("Fa") and rise high in position ("Gao"). Another kind of cake called "Nian Gao /年糕 " is also a must as it means "Nian Nian Bu Bu Gao Sheng / 年年步步高升 " (rise in position yearly). Things To Be Observed During Chinese New Year1. After dinner on the eve, one is not supposed to sweep anything out of the house. If one has to sweep anything, he or she would have to sweep it in. This is done so good luck will not be swept away. 2. If someone breaks anything, he or she would have to utter (Sui Sui Ping An /岁岁平安 ) or (Hua Kai Fu gui /花开富贵 ) which means "peace every year" and prosperity after the arrival of flower blooms. 3. Bad, vulgar or unpleasant topics are to be discouraged. 4. Debts are to be settled before the arrival of the new year. How The Chinese in Southeast Asia Celebrate Chinese New YearSingaporeWith a majority Chinese population, Chinese New Year is typically celebrated with great pomp in Singapore. There is even an annual parade (known as Chingay) to celebrate the occasion. Up till the 70's, firecrackers were lit to usher in the new year. However, due to the danger involved, the Singaporean government banned firecrackers. On Chinese New Year's eve, many Singaporean families would get together for a steamboat reunion dinner. Some more traditional families might eat "jiao zi /饺子 " (dumplings boiled in broth). After dinner, the whole family will sit up for the night watching TV programmes, play cards, board games or majong. This practice "shou sui), is to delay the aging process for the more elderly family members. Early next morning, children will greet their parents and receive red packets. During and several days following New Year's day, people visit each other with a great deal of exchanging of gifts. Manila During Chinese New Year, traditional Chinese dragon dances are held in Manila's Chinatown. Jakarta As Chinese New Year (Imlek) draws near, a festive atmosphere would be observed at several spots in the city's Chinatown in Glodok, West Jakarta, and at shopping malls and hotels, while Chinese temples in the same area would be cleaned. Chinese temples usually wash all statues of deities one week before Chinese New Year, the time when the deities "go to God to report all the deeds of humankind". The statues are forbidden to be cleaned when the deities are still inside. The deities would return on the fourth day after the new year. Bazaars can be seen in many places, with performances of the traditional Chinese Barongsai lion dance. Bangkok Chinese New Year Celebrations in Bangkok (picture taken from www.earth2marsh.com/ images/thailand/) On the eve of Chinese New Year's Day, Thai people with Chinese roots start to make offerings to gods, their ancestors, the God of Land and the God of Luck. Offerings include steamed duck, chicken, pork heads, fresh or canned fruit, Chinese cakes (often with durian) and vegetarian food. "DOOK MAI CHIN" (ดอกไม้จีน - Chinese flower) and golden paper are also offered. On Chinese New Year's day, family members visit each other and exchange money in red envelopes called "ANG PAO". On this day, Chinese restaurants are packed because many Chinese families dine out. During the Chinese New Year period, many parades can be seen with dragon dances. When the dragon passes by stores, the owner would ignite crackers to solicit luck for their business. These crackers are very long (two meters) and it takes more than one minute for the combustion to be completed. Lantern Festival (15th of the 1st month) The Lantern Festival marks the end of the Chinese New Year season. This occasion is marked by lantern exhibits, lion and dragon dances, and eating Tang Yuan (ball-shaped boiled sweet rice dumplings with delicious stuffings). It is very much celebrated in the rural areas by farmers. Sources: http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Parc/1486/festival/cny.html http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/chinese_new_year.html http://www.indiana.edu/~chasso/holiday.html http://myweb.gettinghere.com/country/phil/event.cfm http://www.rice.edu/projects/topics/internatl/holidays/new-years-page1.htm Last updated 31 Jan 02 |
