Chinese New Year Festivities: The 15-Day Celebration of Chinese New Year - Traditions-Customs-Practice-Legends-Meanings
Chinese New Year starts with the new moon on the first day of the first lunar month and ends on the full moon 15 days later.
First day, zhengyue 1, ’Birthday of Chicken’
The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first lunar month (Traditional Chinese: 正月; Pinyin: zhēngyuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival.
The first day of the New Year is known as Yuan Dan (Chinese: 元旦; pinyin: yuándàn (First Morning of the year), New Year’s Day, First Day (or Duan Ri).
During the 15 day period new year visits (Traditional Chinese: 拜年; pinyin: bài nián, translated: pay respect, worship, salute the year) will be made to family and friends. On the first day, the oldest and most senior members will be visited, the visits serve to strengthen family kinship. Bài nián refers to both, pay a New Year's call as well as 'wishing somebody a Happy New Year'.
Chinese New Year is the beginning of a year, and the beginning of spring as well. The celebration of Chinese New Year can be traced back to more than 1000 years ago. Officially beginning at the midnight, this day is to welcome the gods of heaven and earth.
There is also the tradition of welcoming guests with tea and sweet treats, such as sugared fruits which are supposed to sweeten one’s upcoming year. Sweets and fruits are served on a round or octagonal tray - the form resembling togetherness and hence the tray is most commonly translated as the "Tray of Togetherness".
Most likely the amount of sweets will be arranged in eight units, as the number eight symbolises luck. At times, an arrangement of nine units can be found, the number represents wealth, good fortune and family unity (note that for the Chinese the number '8' is a lucky one and for the Thai- Chinese it is as well the number '9').
The visitor will bring a small gift to the household which will be visited- usually oranges, tangerines, mandarins or such alike, as the fruit symbolises gold, hence wealth and good fortune.
In the morning of Spring Festival, families will first set off some firecrackers before they go out according to the traditional customs. It is believed that the crackles of the firecrackers can drive out evil spirits. Besides, the red color of firecrackers also symbolizes good luck in traditional Chinese culture.
The day symbolises as well a new start in one’s life, refreshing hopes for prosperity, wealth and happiness.
The first day of the first lunar month is characterised by different names:
New Year: Traditional Chinese:新年, Pinyin: xīnnián
Spring Festival: Traditional Chinese: 春 節 Pinyin: chūn jié
Agricultural calendar new year, based on farmers' experiences (Traditional Chinese: 农历新年 , Pinyin: nóng lì xīnnián). Historically the calendar was sponsored by the Emperor. Not only did a calendar serve practical needs in agriculture as in when to plant to receive the best results, but even more did the calendar show the connection between the Heaven and the Imperial Court.
A traditional Buddhist vegetarian dish called "Jai" (Traditional Chinese: 羅漢齋 or 齋; pinyin: luóhàn zhāi) or Buddha's delight is prepared on the first day of Chinese New Year using eighteen different ingredients as the Chinese believe eighteen to be a lucky number signifying wealth and prosperity (Traditional Chinese: 羅漢全齋; pinyin: luóhàn quánzhā). Of course, each single one of the ingredient represents a certain symbolic meaning.
Abstaining from meat consumption on the first day is believed to enhance longevity. Additionally, a vegetarian dish helps to purify and cleanse out the body as well as it honors a Buddhist tradition that nothing living should be killed on the first day of the New Year.
According to a Chinese legend, Nüwa (Traditional Chinese: 女媧; Simplified Chinese: 女娲; Pinyin: nǚwā) is the goddess who created the world. She created certain animals on different days, hence each day is considered the birthday of the corresponding animal. Human beings were created from yellow clay on the seventh day after the creation of the world.
On this first day of the Chinese New Year, the most important thing for everyone to do is to visit the older and more senior members of their extended families, mostly their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and so on. "Bai Nian"
Lion Dances can be seen on the street, or a troupe might be invited to perform on private premises.
During the Chinese New Year Festivals, Chinese operas and Dragon Dances will be performed in the streets.
Second day, zhengyue 2, ‘Birthday of Dog’
People say that after being offered sacrifices, Tsai Shen, the God of Wealth, leaves for heaven on the second day of the lunar New Year. People will burn the picture they welcomed on the New Year’s Eve and see the deity off, wishing for a luckier and more prosperous year.
In honour of the deity, people will eat wonton, resembling the shape of a ingot
Traditionally married women will visit and pay respect to their birth parents.
On the second day, the Chinese pray to their ancestors as well as to all the gods.
Since the day is characterised by the birthday of the dogs, pets and strays will be fed well.
Third day, zhengyue 3, ‘Birthday of Pig’ (Kai Nian)
Families who had an immediate relative deceased in the past 3 years will not go house-visiting as a form of respect to the dead. The third day of the New Year is allocated to grave-visiting instead. Some people conclude it is inauspicious to do any house visiting at all, as it is believed that evil spirits roam the earth this day and hence it would be bad luck to be outdoors.
Businesses which had been closed during the prior festivities will be reopened and prayers will be held in order to be blessed with prosperity in the upcoming year. Conservative Chinese businesses do not open until after the fifth day due to priviously mentioned roaming ghosts.
On the third day of the Chinese New Year, people usually don’t go out for visiting, because this day is believed to be “Chi Kou Ri” (the day of red mouth). It is generally accepted that this day is not a good day to socialize or visit relatives and friends, because “red mouth” in Chinese culture is easy to cause quarrels and fights. This day is also known as “Chi Gou Ri” (the day of Red Dog). The Red Dog is the God of Blazing Wrath. Bad things will happen if people run into the Red Dog. So, on this day, older people who believe in superstition will stay at home all day long.
The third day of the Chinese New Year is an ominous day, so there are many other things people are forbidden to do according to the traditional custom. For example, on this day, people are not allowed to clean the house, make a fire, draw water and so on. In some regions, people are also forbidden to eat rice because they believe this can lead to reduction of rice’s and other crops’ output. However, with time progress, fewer and fewer people believe in the superstition. More and more people take this day as a precious opportunity for family reunion.
Fourth Day, zhengyue 4, ‘Birthday of Sheep’
The fourth day is basically a continuity of the third day.
The fourth day of the Chinese New Year is quite an auspicious day. This day is commonly referred to as “Yang Ri”(the Day of Goat), and goat is a symbol of good luck in Chinese culture.
The fourth day of the Chinese New Year is the day to welcome the kitchen god, the god of fortune and other gods. Families should stay at home to prepare abundant fruits, burn incense and light candles to welcome the gods. The sacrifices provided to the god of fortune should include goat head and carp.
On the fourth day of the Chinese New Year, families can finally clean their house. They collect all the rubbish to one place and throw them all, which symbolize that they throw away all the bad luck and possible poverty of this year. And in some rural areas in North China, people will light a fire on a stick and throw the stick into a river to put off the fire. This shows that there will not be any fire disaster in this family in the whole year.
This day is the last day that shops are closed. In the midnight of this day and before the dawn of the fifth day of the Chinese New Year, all businesses will return to normal.
Fifth day, zhengyue 5, ‘Birthday of Ox, Cattle’
The day is regarded as the birthday of the God of Wealth and hence respect is payed to the god. Also, it is considered not too wise to leave the house for too long, just in case the God of Wealth should pay a visit to the family's house.
All businesses will be reopened on that day.
Sweeping the floor is not considered bad luck anymore.
In northern China, people eat Jiǎozi (dumplings) on the morning of pò wǔ (Traditional Chinese: 破五, Pinyin: pò wǔ, translated: break five).
Friends and classmates will be visited.
The day is as well considered to have a connection to the five basic colors, hence to the Five Elements Theory
SIx day, zhengyue 6, ‘Birthday of Horse’
The sixth day marks a time to visit temples, relatives and friends.
The sixth day of the Chinese New Year is also known as “Ma Ri” (the day of horse). According to traditional customs, families usually send away the ghost of poverty on this day. Different regions in China have different ways to send away the ghost of poverty, their wishes are the same, which is to send sway poverty in the past and welcome the beautiful days in a new year.
According to the legend, the ghost of poverty is a son of Zhuan Xu (an emperor among the Three Emperor and Five Sovereigns in ancient China). He was short and weak, and liked wearing ragged clothes and eating poor porridge. Even when people presented him with new clothes, he would not wear it until he ripped it apart or burn it. So, he got the name of “the man of poverty”, and with time passing by, he gradually became the ghost of poverty.
So, how to send away the ghost of poverty? Usually, people will throw away their ragged clothes, rubbish and other dirty things. In addition, they will also light some candles to lighten the road for the ghost of poverty. Last but not least, families should clean their toilets because the god of toilets will come to check the sanitation of the toilets.
Seventh day, zhengyue 7, ‘Birthday of Men’
The seventh day of the first lunar month is named renrì (Traditional Chinese: 人日, Pinyin: rén rì), literally Human Day and is considered to be the birthday of ordinary, or common men. The day is also called Day of Men or Men Day.
According to Chinese legends, Nüwa (Traditional Chinese: 女媧; Simplified Chinese: 女娲; Pinyin: nǚwā) is the goddess who created the world. Two legends refer to her creations.
Nüwa and her brother Fuxi survived a devastating calamity, which had wiped out all other life. Retired to Kunlun Mountain they prayed for a sign from the Emperor of Heaven. The divine being approved their union and the siblings set about procreating the human race.
Note: in some texts or according to other legends, Nüwa is considered to be Fuxi’s wife.
According to a different legend Nüwa created certain animals on different days as she was lonesome and wanted the animals as company. On the seventh day after the creation of the world, Nüwa created human beings from yellow clay. With the divine power entrusted to her, Nüwa made the clay figurines to become alive.
Renri is the day, when all common men are growing a year older and the day is celebrated with certain foods according to the origin of the people.
The ingredients of the dishes have a symbolic meaning and they should enhance health.
To honour Nüwa's creation of animals either vegetable dishes will be eaten or a raw fish and vegetable salad called yusheng (simplified Chinese: 鱼生; pinyin: yúshēng).
Yusheng literally means "raw fish" but since "fish (鱼)" is commonly conflated with its homophone "abundance (余)", Yúshēng (鱼生) is interpreted as a homonym for Yúshēng (余升) meaning an increase in abundance. Therefore, yusheng is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor.
Traditional Chinese: 余, Pinyin: yú, translated: extra; surplus; remaining)
Traditional Chinese: 升, Pinyin: shēng, translated: to raise; to hoist; to promote)
Eighth day - The Completion Day
On the eighth day the Fujian people have another family reunion dinner, and at midnight they pray to the Jade Emperor.
The eighth day of the Chinese New Year is 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.
Although millet is no longer among the staple food in China, the celebration of this day is still of great significance. The aim of this day, which is to attach importance to agriculture and cherish food, still matters today. This is especially important to children to form a good habit to cherish food. So, on this day, parents can take their children to the villages or the fields, and introduce some basic agricultural knowledge to the children. They can also encourage their children to take part in the cultivating of the crops, which can help children experience the difficulty of agriculture work. After going back home, parents can ask their children to make a supper with the grains with their own hands. This can help children know the preciousness of food. In some regions, families free captive animals on this day.
Ninth day
The birthday of the Jade Emperor, highly revered in taoist believe. The Jade Emperor is also known as the Yù Huáng or Yù Dì, and is identified as the God of Heaven, the Ruler of all Heavens (of which the Chinese have over 30), Earth and the Underworld/ Hell, Creator of the Universe, later the Emperor of the Universe, and Lord of the Imperial Court. He is said to have been born several millennia before our era as the offspring of the King of the Pure Felicity Kingdom of Lofty Heavenly Majestic Lights and Ornaments and of the Empress of Precious Moonlight.
The ninth day of the Chinese New Year is 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.
Ordinary families also have their own way to celebrate the birthday of the Jade Emperor. Beginning from the midnight of the eighth day of the Chinese New Year to 4 o’clock before the dawn of the ninth day, people will keep setting off firecrackers.
So, how to celebrate this day? On this day, people usually offer sacrifices to the Jade Emperor. Before the sacrifice, the whole family will take a shower first, to show their respect to the Jade Emperor. On this day, families should not hang our wet clothes or dump the trash, because this is believed to be ominous. The sacrifice offered to the Jade Emperor should be a cock, rather than a hen. In some rural area North China, the traditional customs require people to take the statue of the Jade Emperor through the village. In the evening, young people will gather under a tree and sing lucky songs to celebrate the birthday of the Jade Emperor.
From the Tenth to the Twelfth Day
of New Year there is more feasting with friends and family.
The tenth day of the Chinese New Year is 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. On this day, families will burn incense and candles for the stones, and offer pancake to the god of stone.
n the ancient times, the tenth day of the Chinese New Year is the day to celebrate the marriage of the mouse. According to the legends in the regions south of the Yangtze River, mouse is a harmful and unlucky animal, so people have to get the mouse married off to ensure a peaceful and lucky new year. On this day, families should not open any boxes or cabinets, and will go to bed early, in case that they may disturb the mice. Children will put some candies and peanuts in the corners of the house as the dowry for the mouse. New Year pictures and paper-cutting about the marriage of mice are popular among folk people in China.
The eleventh day of the Chinese New Year is for fathers-in-law to entertain sons-in-law. There is a lot of food left on the ninth day of the Chinese New Year when celebrating the birthday of the Jade Emperor, so the left over of that day can be used to entertain the sons-in law.
The eleventh day of the Chinese New Year is also the day to welcome Zi Gu (the Purple Lady). According to the legend, Zi Gu was a concubine of a rich man in ancient China. The wife of the rich man killed her in the toilet due to her jealousy. The Heavenly God had compassion for her, so he made her the god of the toilet. Zi Gu represents all the females who groan under the oppression in the feudal society. So women worship her and regard her as the guardian angel of weak females.
The twelfth day of the Chinese New Year does not have much significance. From the Chinese New Year’s Eve to the eleventh day of the Chinese New Year, the food that people eat is mostly greasy and rich. So, from this day on, people start to take a light diet and moisturize dryheat by clearing the bowels.
Because it will be Lantern Festival three days later, so, preparing work should start on this day. Families will buy some lanterns and build the lantern shack.
Thirteenth day
A time to diet a bit after so much rich food, vegetarian food like rice and mustard greens are eaten to cleanse the digestive systems.
In the northern part of China, the thirteenth day of the Chinese New Year is an ominous day. It is said that this day is the death anniversary sons of an old man—Mr. Yang. He had thirteen sons who all died in a row within one year. And the first son died on the thirteenth day of the Chinese New Year. So, this day became the death anniversary sons of Old Yang, and became an ominous day. On this day, it is not good for marriage, and people seldom go out on this day. In addition, large ceremonies will not choose this day either.
However, in the southern part of China, especially in Nantong City of Jiangsu Province. This day is the day to appreciate lanterns. On the thirteenth day of the Chinese New Year, people in an endless stream will go to town god's temple to appreciate lanterns. And this is only the prologue of the lantern show of Lantern Festival. There are also riddles written on some lanterns for people to guess, adding to happy atmosphere of the festival.
Forteenth day, The Lantern Decoration Day
Preparations will be made for the Lantern Festival.
To most parts of China, the fourteenth day of the Chinese New Year is all for the next day — Lantern Festival. On this day, the lantern fair is officially open for citizens to buy lanterns.
Performances like dragon dancing and lion dancing for Lantern Festival begin to practice in the streets. Families prepare lanterns, “Yuan Xiao” or “Tang Yuan” (rice glue balls) and some candles for the use of the next day.
Fifteenth day, Lantern Festival
(Traditional Chinese: 元宵節 , Pinyin: yuán xiāo jié, literally: first night festival)
The 15th day marks the first full moon after the Spring Festival and of the New Year, also known as yuán xiāo jié meaning "first night of the full moon". The day is as well known as Lantern Festival day.
Another reunion dinner is held with lanterns and oranges being a large part of the celebrations.
It is customary to eat special sweet dumplings called yuanxiao resembling the shape of the full moon. These round balls are made of glutinous rice flour stuffed with sugar fillings, symbolizing reunion.
Yuanxiao are also called tāngyuán (Traditional Chinese: 湯圓, Simplified Chinese: 汤圆 ) or tāngtuán (Traditional Chinese: 湯團, Simplified Chinese: 汤团).
Tāngyuán literally means "round balls in soup", tāngtuán translates to "round dumplings in soup". Yuan Xiao (rice glue ball) is essential on Yuan Xiao Jie. Yuan Xiao is a kind of traditional food in China. It is a symbol of reunion in Chinese culture.
During this festival lanterns are displayed, at times as lantern fairs, and children are carrying lanterns to temples.
The festival is associated with guiding lost and ill bred evil spirits home, while celebrating and cultivating positive relationship between people, families, nature and the higher beings as they are believed to be responsible for bringing and returning the light each year.
Another legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism. Tian Guan is the Taoist 'Ruler of Heaven' and the god responsible for good fortune, bestowing wealth and good luck. His birthday falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It is said that Tian Guan likes all types of entertainment, so followers prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for good fortune.
The happiest moment comes in the evening of this day. In the evening, people will light many colorful lanterns, and families will go out together to enjoy the glorious full moon. There are riddles on some lanterns for people to guess. In some places of China, people even fly Kongming Lantern, on which their beautiful wishes are written.
Lantern Festival, which provides an opportunity for young people to get acquainted, is also a romantic festival. In ancient times, young ladies are not allowed to go out freely except on some festivals. And with the beautiful full moon fancy lanterns, Lantern Festival is romantic enough for young ladies to meet their lovers. |
發表於 2012-1-20 11:04 PM
| 
發表於 2012-1-20 11:32 PM
| 
Kimmi寫緊英文版中國新年習俗
chun jie hao, xin nian kuai lei, wan xe ru ye, sin xiang xe chen, sheng ti jian kang, an kang ru ye
發表於 2012-1-24 08:46 AM
| 
祝Kimmi 
