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Festivity
- Chinese New Year Day |
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The
Chinese New Year falls on different dates each
year a date sometime between
January 10 and February 20 of the Gregorian calendar.
Chinese New Year is considered to be most important
holiday for the Chinese as well as ethnic groups
such as the Mongolians, Koreans, the Miao
(Chinese Hmong) and the Vietnamese, who
were influenced by Chinese culture in terms of
religious and philosophical worldview, language
and culture in general. The festival begins on
the first day of the first lunar month in the
Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; the day
is called Lantern Festival.
An animal, like a mascot, designates each New
Year and there are 12 animal names; so by this
system, year names are re-cycled every 12 years
as shown below:
1. February7, 2008…………………………
Rat
2. January 26, 2009…………………………………
Ox
3. February 10, 2010 ………………………………
Tiger
4. February 3, 2011…………………………………..Rabbit
5. January 23, 2012…………………………………..Dragon
6. February 10,2013… ………………………………Snake
7. January 31, 2014……………………………………
Horse
8. February 19,2015…………………………………….Sheep
9. February 8,2016 …………………………
Monkey
10. January28, 2014……………………………………….Rooster
11. February 16, 2018…………………………………….Dog
12. February 8, 2016 …………………………
Pig
The Chinese New Year season lasts fifteen days. |
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In
the first day of Chinese New year,
the families visit
the old and most senior members of their extended
family, usually their parents, grandparents or
great-grandparents.
On the second day,
the Chinese pray to their ancestors as well as
to all the gods. They are extra kind to dogs and
feed them well as it is believed that the second
day is the birthday of all
dogs.
The third and fourth days are for the sons-in-laws
to pay respect to their parents-in-law.
The fifth day is
called Po Woo. On
that day people stay home to welcome the God
of Wealth. No one visits families and friends
on the fifth day because it will bring both parties
bad luck. On the sixth to
the 10th day, the Chinese visit their relatives
and friends freely. They also visit the temples
to pray for good fortune and health.
The seventh day of the New
Year is the day for farmers
to display their produce. These farmers make a
drink from seven types of vegetables to celebrate
the occasion. The seventh day is also considered
the birthday.
On the eighth day
the Fujian people have another family reunion
dinner, and at midnight they pray to Tian
Gong.
The ninth day is
to make offerings to the Jade
Emperor.
The 10th, 11th and the 12th
are days that friends and relatives should be
invited for dinner. After so much rich food, on
the 13th day you
should have simple rice congee and mustard greens
(choi sum) to cleanse the system. Noodles are
eaten to promote longevity and raw fish for success.
The 14th day should
be for preparations to celebrate the Lantern
Festival which is to be held on the 15th
night.
Through out the New Year days people greet each
other with various kinds of greeting
cards. Also Chinese congratulate
each other and themselves on having passed through
another year, a time to finish out the old, and
to welcome in the New Year. Common expressions
heard at this time are: GUONIAN
to have made it through the old year, and BAINIAN
to congratulate the New Year.
Chinese New Year is also celebrated with firecrackers,
dragon dances and lion dances. Typically
the game of mahjong
is played in some families.
Some families may invite a lion dance troupe as
a symbolic ritual to usher in the Lunar New Year
as well as to evict bad spirits from the premises.
Members of the family who are married also give
red packets containing
cash to junior members of the family, mostly children
and teenagers.
The Lantern Festival is also known as the Little
New Year since it marks the end
of the series of celebrations starting from the
Chinese New Year. Koreans
celebrate this festival as the Daeboreum.
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