Chinese New Year

Mythology

According to tales and legends, the beginning of the Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian. Nian would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children.

To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn't attack any more people. One day a villager decided to get revenge of the Nian.

A god visited him and told him to put red paper on his house and to place firecrackers. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red.

When the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again.

The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjun Laozu's mount.

Chinese New Year

• Also known as the Spring Festival
• Begins on Thursday 19 February, and ends on 5 March
• Was traditionally a time to honour deities as well as ancestors

Chinese New Year

• The festivities are known as the Nian festival
• Chinese: 年节
• Pinyin: Nián Jié

A festival for families

• Chinese New Year is a time for families to be together. People come home to celebrate the festival with their families.
• New Year's Eve dinner is called Reunion Dinner, and is believed to be the most important meal of the year.

THE LONGEST PUBLIC HOLIDAY IN CHINA

Chinese New Year's Eve and three more days are always added to give seven conconsecutive days of holiday.

Most Chinese will be off work from Wednesday, February 18 (New Year's Eve) to Tuesday, February 24 (the 6th day of Chinese New Year).

DATeS

Chinese New year falls on different dates every year, usually between Januarty 21 and February 20. Chinese New Year is associated with the Chinese Animal Zodiac which has a 12 year cycle. The animal changes each year (Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon). Aside from the animal zodiac, there is a 10 year cycle of the heavenly stems which change every 2 years(Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water).

TRaditional food

Food that are eaten during Chinese New Year include fish, mandarin oranges, noodles and niangao. The word for fish (魚yú) sound like surplus (餘yú) which makes it lucky to eat. Mandarin orange in Teochew dialect is (橘 jú) which is close to the word luck (吉 jí). Noodles are eaten to represent having a long life. Niangao or better known here in the Philippines as Tikoy is eaten because it sounds like “a more prosperous year” when pronounced.

Preceding days

Preceding days

• Laba porridge is served in remembrance of an ancient festival, called La, that occurred shortly after the winter solstice.

First Day

First Day

• for welcoming the deities of heaven and earth and to honor the elders of the family. Noise is made to scare off evil spirits

second Day

second Day

• Known as the beginning of the year
• Married daughters get the opportunity to visit their parents and relatives

THIrd Day

THIrd Day

• Known as "Chigou's Day" or the God of Blazing Wrath
• Paper offerings are burnt and it is unlucky to visit or have visitors

fourth Day

fourth Day

• The day when spring dinners usually take place

fifth Day

fifth Day

• The god of wealth's birthday
• Firecrackers are set off to get Guan Yu's attention, the chinese god of war, to have good fortune for the coming year

sixth Day

sixth Day

• The day to visit temples, relatives and friends
• It's called the birthday of the horse

sixth Day

• People burn old clothes and other dirty things to send the ghost of poverty away
• The ghost of poverty is supposedly the son of an emperor who preferred to dress simple/dirty clothes and eat porridge with the poor

seventh Day

seventh Day

• Known as Renri when everyone officially grows 1 year older

eighth Day

eighth Day

• Believed to be the birthday of millet, an important crop in ancient China
• According to the folk proverbs, if this day is bright and clear, then this whole year will be a harvest year; however, if this day is cloudy or even rainy, then the whole year will suffer from poor harvest

ninth Day

ninth Day

• The birthday of the Jade Emperor (the Supreme Deity of Taoism)
• According to Taoist legend, all the deities of the heaven and the earth will celebrate this day. And there will be grand ceremonies in Taoist temples on this day.

tenth Day

tenth Day

• The birthday of the god of stone
• On this day, it is forbidden to move any stone, including stone roller, stone mill and stone mortar, so this day is also known as “Shi Bu Dong”(meaning not move any stone). In addition, it is also forbidden to cut into a mountain for rock and build a house with rocks, or bad things will happen to the crops

eleventh Day

eleventh Day

• Father in laws treat their son in laws; also the day they welcome Zi Gu, goddess of the toilet. She was a concubine of a rich man but the jealous wife killed her. The Heavenly God had compassion towards her so she was made into the Goddess of the Toilet. She represents the groans of women under the feudal society

twelfth Day

twelfth Day

• Preparations for latern festivals are done on this day
• People buy or make their own decorations in preparation for the festival

fourteenth Day

fourteenth Day

• People now buy lanterns for the celebration the following day, dragon dances are also prevalent around China on this day

LANTERN FESTIVAL

LANTERN FESTIVAL

• Otherwise known as Chap Goh Mei Chinese: 十五暝; pinyin: Shíwǔmíng; literally: "the fifteen night" in Fujian dialect
• Rice dumplings "tangyuan", a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, are eaten this day..
• Candles are lit outside houses as a way to guide wayward spirits home. Families walk the street carrying lighted lanterns

LANTERN FESTIVAL

• This day is celebrated by individuals seeking for a romantic partner, akin to Valentine's Day. Normally, single women would write their contact number on mandarin oranges and throw it in a river or a lake while single men would collect them and eat the oranges. The taste is an indication of their possible love: sweet represents a good fate while sour represents a bad fate.

PRACTICES

Red Envelopes

• Traditionally, red envelopes or red packets are passed out during the Chinese New Year's celebrations, from married couples or the elderly to unmarried juniors. It is also common for adults or young couples to give red packets to children.

Gift exchange

• Small gifts (usually food or sweets) are usually brought when visiting friends or relatives at their homes. Common gifts include fruits (typically oranges, and never pears), cakes, biscuits, chocolates, and candies.

Markets

• Open-air markets feature new year related products such as flowers, toys, clothing, and even fireworks. It is convenient for people to buy gifts for their new year visits as well as their home decorations. In some places, there is a practice of shopping for the perfect plum tree.

icons

lanterns

• These lanterns differ from those of Mid Autumn Festival in general.
• They are red in color and tend to be oval in shape, the traditional Chinese paper lanterns.
• Used on the fifteenth day for the Lantern Festival and are bright, colorful, and in many different sizes and shapes.

decorations

• Decorations generally convey a New Year greeting. Chinese calligraphy posters show Chinese idioms. Other decorations include a New year picture, Chinese knots, and papercutting and couplets.

Dragon/ lion dance

• Dragon and lion dances are common during Chinese New Year. It is believed that the loud beats of the drum and the deafening sounds of the cymbals together with the face of the Dragon or lion dancing aggressively can evict bad or evil spirits. Lion dances are also popular for opening of businesses in Hong Kong and Macau.

FORTUNE GOd

• Cai Shen Ye
• Che Kung

FIREWORKS

• Bamboo stems filled with gunpowder that were burnt to create small explosions were once used in ancient China to drive away evil spirits.
• The burning of firecrackers also signifies a joyful time of year and has become an integral aspect of Chinese New Year celebrations

MUSIC

• "Happy New Year!" is a popular children’s song for the New Year holiday. The melody is similar to the American folk song, Oh My Darling, Clementine.

NIANHUA

• Nianhua can be a form of Chinese colored woodblock printing, for decoration during Chinese New Year.

clothing

• Red or bright colors are commonly worn throughout the Chinese New Year because it was once believed that red could scare away evil spirits and bad fortune. Red is a color of good luck.
• People typically wear new clothes from head to toe to symbolize a new beginning in the new year.

FAMIly portrait

• The taking of a family portrait is an important ceremony after the relatives are gathered. The photo is taken at the hall of the house or taken in front of the house. The most senior male head of the family sits in the center.