How the Chinese are Celebrating the Chinese New Year (Part Two)

Today is February 19th which means that the long awaited day, Chinese New Year, has officially arrived! Due to the time difference, people in China have already been celebrating for almost a day- and some people kick started their celebrations this past weekend! After the New Years Eve Reunion dinner has concluded and the red envelops have been exchanged, families eagerly await the sound of the midnight bells that will let them know the New Year has arrived. If they somehow missed the bells though, no worries because they certainly wouldn’t of missed the crescendo of fireworks and firecrackers lighting up the night sky the moment the clock struck midnight.

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Fireworks and firecrackers are one of the oldest and most important customs of the New Year, but in recent years they have been banned from major cities due to the danger and noise disturbances they’ve caused. But this doesn’t stop people in smaller cities and rural areas from practicing the firecracker tradition. Most families spend the rest of their night enjoying the fireworks show and little children run in the street throwing their miniature firecrackers and quickly covering their ears. 

This day marks the beginning of the Year of the Sheep, a mild and gentle animal that lives peacefully in groups. Last week, Hong Kong leader CY Leung gave a holiday speech, urging people to “be like sheep” during their celebrations this year, in an effort to avoid some of the accidents that have occurred in the past from some hardcore celebrating.  

Chinese families also use this time to give thanks to their ancestors. Many people will burn paper money and sweep the graves of deceased family members as an offering to their ancestors. These customs are a way for families to show their deceased loved ones respect and that they are missing them on this special day. It is also to ask for good fortune and protection for their children during the upcoming year. These customs are performed over the course of the holiday, but they are the most important during the first few days.

Depending on where you live, you might also witness lion and dragon dances during various parades, especially in Hong Kong and Macau.  

One of the most widespread traditions for the first day of the new year is for everyone to wear a new outfit (new clothes for the new year), preferable red in color. Red is the color symbolizing good luck, so it is the most common color seen during this important time. To spread the New Years cheer, people will wish everyone they see, stranger or not, “Gongxi”, which literally means “respect joy”, which can mean greetings or congratulations. 

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How the Chinese Celebrate the Chinese New Year (Part One of Two)

With Chinese New Year just two days away, activities for preparation are over and people are getting ready for the celebrations to start. Some people have already begun their celebrations, attending various parades and festivals this past weekend. Families have spent the last few weeks preparing for a reason, the Chinese New Year is not just one day, but a whole 16 days worth of celebrating. Also referred to as the Spring Festival, this holiday is the most widely celebrated holiday in China, as well as one of the most important traditions in the Chinese culture. Preparing included activities such as cleaning, shopping, getting a haircut, and more- but all of those should be finished by now as the people get ready for the festival’s arrival.

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If anyone still has some sweeping left to do, they’d better get on it! An important Chinese New Year’s tradition is a type of cleaning Chinese people call “sweeping the dust”, which is a symbol of bidding the old year farewell and making room for the New Year to bring good luck into the home. However, sweeping or any sort of cleaning is strongly advised against during the first two days of the New Year because it is believed to sweep away the good luck that the New Year brings. 

Now that the house has been cleaned and all the necessary items have been bought, it is time to decorate the house. Putting up New Year decorations and preparing the house for the holiday is something most families typically do the night before the New Year. Houses are decorated with red lanterns, red couplets, New Year paintings, and images of goats or sheep since this 2015 is the Year of the Sheep. Another important custom typically done on New Year’s Eve is to paste a “door god” image on to the front door. Although the “door gods” were originally made of carved peach wood, nowadays most people just paste printed images. These images are a prayer for health, peace, and longevity. Two door gods are thought to ward off evil spirits and keep them from entering the home. The door gods are always scowling and holding weapons to intimidate evil spirits and display power. 

The New Year’s paintings serve a different purpose. The paintings are put up to create a joyful and prosperous environment in the home. The subjects of the paintings are typically positive, happy ones including birds, flowers, ripe fruit, legends, treasure and more. 

And now that the home has been decorated and all the necessary items to bring in good luck and fortune have been put up, it is time for the New Year’s Eve dinner. Having a big feast with the family is seen as a critical aspect of the New Year’s celebration and most people try their hardest to make sure they are present. The food served on this special night varies depending on which region of China you’re in. In northern China, the traditional food for New Years Eve is dumplings shaped like a half moon. In southern China, they consume niangao, a cake made of rice flour, as their traditional dish. 

Since the family is all together for this wonderful dinner, parents and grandparents use this time to give the red envelopes filled with lucky money to the children. The gift symbolizes the parents’ wish for their children to stay healthy and grow a lot during the upcoming year. 

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Much like New Year’s Eve in the United States, in China families stay up till at least midnight to witness the beginning of the New Year and hear the traditional midnight bells begin to ring. 

The History and Legends Behind China's Mid-Autumn Festival

Beginning this weekend and lasting through September 8th is the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. This festival is one of China’s most widely celebrated and “grand”, only second to the Spring Festival. Also named the Moon Festival, the holiday revolves around (no pun intended) both the movements of the moon as well as the beginning of the fall season. 

The annual three day celebration of the moon dates back thousands of years to the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC). The ancient Chinese people began to notice a relationship between the movement of the moon and the changing seasons. And with the changing season came the harvests. This connection sparked the beginnings of custom moon sacrificial ceremonies. A practice where the people would make offerings to “thank” the moon during those critical autumn days. 

During the Tang Dynasty the ceremony began to morph into a more widely celebrated folk festival. While still making offerings to the moon, the people would praise and celebrate the harvests too. 

Due to the length of time this festival has been celebrated and the time in which its celebration began, there are many myths and legends associated with the holiday. One of the most well known of which is the story of Chang E flying to the moon. 

The legend says that during ancient times there where ten suns that surrounded our planet, creating extreme heat and making life on Earth very uncomfortable for those who lived here. But a courageous man named Hou Yi wanted to help the people so he shot down nine of the ten suns. Shortly after his heroic act, he met a woman named Chang E. They fell in love and were happily married until his wife was forced to drink a potion that caused her to float away from the earth and towards the heavens. Hou Yi was devastated and cried her name out into the night sky. Upon looking up, he was amazed to see a figure who looked just like his wife standing on the moon. After this discovery, Hou Yi began to pray and make offerings to the moon in honor of his beloved wife. After the other villagers found out the fate of Chang E, they began to do the same until it became a widely spread custom. 

Other popular legends behind the Mid-Autumn Festival include  Wu Gang Chopping Laurel Tree, Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine, and Zhu Yuanzhang and the Moon Cake Uprising. 

Keep a look out for part two of the Mid Autumn Festival Series to learn about the traditions and celebrations surrounding the exciting holiday! 

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Chinese New Year: The Celebration (Part three of five)

As the Chinese New Year is quickly approaching, people across China are beginning the necessary steps in order to prepare their house for the New Year. Excitement vibrates throughout the country as the Chinese prepare to welcome the Year of the Water Snake on Sunday, February 10th. 

One of the most important preparations for the fifteen day holiday is to do a thorough house cleaning. The Chinese consider a clean home crucial for the start of the New Year, believing that through cleaning the house they sweep away any bad luck from the previous year. 

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The next step for preparing for the New Year is the fun part! Decorating! The legend of the origin of the Chinese New Year says that the monster that terrorized the villagers was deterred by the color red, so the tradition of painting doors and window panes red has continued to stay an important part of the New Year's preparation. Paper cut outs are also hung throughout the house, a very culturally significant tradition that extends all the way back to the Han dynasty. 

After these weeks of preparation for the holiday comes the celebration. Once the holiday has actually arrived, it is stressed to cease all cleaning of the house. It is thought that if you clean during the first few days of the New Year, you risk sweeping away the good luck that the New Year has brought. 

The New Year is an important holiday for families. It is a time for families to gather together and enjoy the company of one another. A traditional activity for families to participate in together is the preparing and cooking of Chinese dumplings, or Jiaozi. It is custom for many families to also hide a coin in one of the dumplings and whoever gets the dumpling with the coin in it is expected to have good luck in the upcoming year. 

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Giving out money packets to family members, especially children, is also custom. On the eve of the New Year, children will receive red packets decorated with gold symbols filled with money. These red packets are known as leisee. 

Festive and symbolic foods are served throughout the fifteen day period. The purpose of these very specific foods are to symbolize abundance and good fortune, something all Chinese people are trying to acquire in the coming year. These symbolic foods, such as lotus seeds and lychee nuts, are all gathered together on what is called a Tray of Togetherness. It is a circular shaped tray with eight compartments. These compartments are designed in a way so that they can be filled with all the special Chinese New Year foods in order to provide a delicious welcome into the New Year!

Chinese New Year: The History (Part Two of Five)

One of the most important, culturally significant holidays in China is rapidly approaching. On February 10th Chinese people across the country will begin to celebrate the Lunar New Year. 

In addition to being one of the most significant, the fifteen day event stands as the longest holiday in China-but where did it all begin?

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We were surprised to find out the event of the year that is so celebrated and looked forward to originally began out of fear! Legends of the origins of the Chinese New Year tell a story of a mythical lion-like monster named Nian (which is also the Chinese word for year!), who preyed on the people of the villages. 

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The terrified villagers sought the advice of a wise old man who told them that in order to rid of this monster they needed to use firecrackers and drums to make loud noises, scaring Nian away. The wise old man also claimed that Nian feared the color red, so the villagers could ward him off by hanging red paper cut outs and scrolls on their doors. The villagers took the advice and soon enough they were free from Nian's terror. This freedom is recognized as the "passing of the Nian", referred to in Chinese as guo inane. 

The Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is also closely tied to the spring season. It is a time for celebrating the end of the winter season and welcoming spring. 

Chinese New Year: The Significance (Part One of Five)

Only a few weeks left until one of the most important traditional Chinese holidays: the Chinese New Year. This nationally celebrated event is the annual celebration that marks the beginning of the new year, according to the Chinese Lunar calendar. Always falling during January or February, the Chinese New Year also marks the end of the winter season, originally purposed to notify farmers when to begin their spring harvests. For this reason, it is also sometimes referred to as the Spring Festival. 

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Each year the day is different, but this 2013 the holiday will begin on February 10th. Up to two days at the beginning of the celebration are considered a public holiday, giving people time off work to kick off the new year with friends and family. 

In addition to being one of the most important holidays, it is also the longest- lasting for fifteen days. The much looked forward to festivities end on the 15th night with a celebration called Chap Goh Mei. Chap Goh Mei literally translates to "the fifteenth night". 

One of the most unique and exciting parts of the new year are the creatures of the Chinese Zodiac. There are twelve creatures of the Chinese Zodiac and each year one of them is selected to represent the year we are entering into. In 2012, it was the Year of the Dragon, specifically the Water Dragon. This year will welcome the Year of the Water Snake.