Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is sometimes called the Lunar New Year, especially by people outside China. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first lunar month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: zhēng yuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festivl. Chinese New Year's Eve is known as Chúxī (除夕, abbr. for 年除夕 Niánchúxī, Chúxì in Taiwan). It literally means "Year-pass Eve". Celebrated in areas with large populations of ethnic Chinese, Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the new year celebrations of its geographic neighbours, as well as cultures with whom the Chinese have had extensive interaction.[citation needed] These include Taiwanese, Koreans, Mongolians, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Vietnamese, and formerly the Japanese before 1873. In Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and other countries with significant Chinese populations, Chinese New Year is also celebrated, largely by overseas Chinese, and has, to varying degrees, become part of the traditional culture of these countries. In Canada, although Chinese New Year is not an official holiday, many ethnic Chinese hold large celebrations and Canada Post issues New Year's themed stamps in domestic and international rates. Although the Chinese calendar traditionally did not use continuously numbered years, its years are now often numbered from the reign of Huangdi outside China. But at least three different years numbered 1 are now used by various writers, causing the year beginning in 2008 to be 4706, 4705, or 4645.
when i was young i heop everyday is Chinese new year,because during the Chinese new year all my unclel and auntie support to give me a lot money, and i can use the money to buy a lot of toys and food.
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14 comments:
‘Chinese New Year’ is the event for all Chinese people. Being a Chinese this celebration brings back many sweet memories when I was a kid. However, I guess, as time goes by and we grow up, there is less joy in it or I shall say that we enjoy it in a different perspective. We have learnt to understand the real meaning of the celebration. All we use to know when we were kids was to collect red packets called the “ang pao”. Now it is more than just a red packet. It is a brand new year to start a fresh and to leave the bad luck behind.
As any other celebration does, we do go visiting family and friend for the occasion. We have this dish called the “Yee Sang”. A dish that means to an increase in abundance, prosperity, etc. During the celebration, we wish our family and friends “GONG XI FA CAI” that means wishing you prosperity. All of this has been the Chinese culture during the Chinese New Year.
I know very little about the Chinese new year. Chinese new year is a festival which one they celebrate very gorgeously.The 15th day of the New Year is known as The Festival of Lanterns and marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations. All types of lanterns are lit throughout the streets and often poems and riddles are often written for entertainment.
Called "hong bao" in Mandarin, the red envelopes filled with money are typically only given to children or unmarried adults with no job. If you're single and working and making money, you still have to give the younger ones the hong bao money. The color red denotes good luck/fortune and happiness/abundance in the Chinese Culture and is often worn or used for decoration in other celebrations.
The Dragon is present in many Chinese cultural celebrations as the Chinese people often think of themselves as descendants of the mythical creature. On the fifth day of the New Year when many people have to start going back to work, they will also have the Dancing Dragons perform in the front of the office building. On the 15th day of the New Year (Yuan Xiao Jie), they will also have a lot of dancing dragon performances. The dragon represents prosperity, good luck and good fortune.
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=53326&display_order=2&mini_id=53324
Before Chinese Indonesian was not allowed celebrate Chinese New Year in Suharto government but after he forced resign as president in 1998 and Indonesia president changes to Abdurrahman Wahid (Gusdur) in 2000, he announced that the Chinese Indonesian can celebrate Chinese New Year. Since that time Chinese Indonesian starts to celebrate Chinese New Year openly in public because before they did it secretly in house.
References:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4312805.stm
Well, I really don’t know what to say but “kong chi fa chai” in advance ;) hope I spelled correctly ;). I remember I was just 10 when I went to china and I had the chance to be there at the eve of winter which was the late days of the year and people were getting ready to celebrate the Chinese new year, but since I’m talking about 14 years ago I can just remember the pretty cold whether of the great wall and nothing else more!!!
Well, I really don’t know what to say but “kong chi fa chai” in advance ;) hope I spelled correctly ;). I remember I was just 10 when I went to china and I had the chance to be there at the eve of winter which was the late days of the year and people were getting ready to celebrate the Chinese new year, but since I’m talking about 14 years ago I can just remember the pretty cold whether of the great wall and nothing else more!!!
As a muslim but living in Malaysia , our country is a multiracial country and there are a lot of races and religions here , but that doesnt mean all of us living here are distant to one anonther , in Malaysia any religion or race that has a holiday all of us would usually take part in a role of being nice to our family members , friends , neighbours and strangers , i like your article because Chienese new year and other holidays are times when everybody is together and that what makes the holiday is all about is spending time with your love one.
Before when I was in India I dint had much knowledge about Chinese New Year as in India we have very few Chinese population, but after coming to Malaysia I came to know also I read articles about it from which I came to know following things:- Chinese New Year is most important holiday on the calendar. Legend has it that in prehistoric time, when the Chinese had already settled in the basin of the Yellow River, their peaceful life was disrupted one wintry night when a mysterious monster attacked the citizens destroyed their crops and homes. According to sages of the time, the appearance of this monster occurred after the sun had shown 365 times. It was found that this ferocious creature, called Nien, was afraid of three things: noise, illumination and the coloured red.
Thus, on the 365th evening, vigilant Chinese had their houses brightly lit and made sure that 100 solid objects had been painted red. In addition, they struck drums and gongs and performed lion dances. As a result of these precautions, the monster disappeared. This tradition of celebration, now essentially a gesture of thanks giving, has since been faithfully observed by Chinese on the 365th evening of every lunar year.
"Kung hay fat choi": Traditionally, celebration of the New Year lasts 15 days.
It is customary for married couples to give lai see, a red envelope containing lucky money, to children. The amount is theoretically insignificant, because it is a gesture believed to bring luck and prosperity is kung hay fat choi, meaning "wishing you prosperity," and it is heard reverberating through homes and streets at this time.
Article source:- http://www.regit.com/hongkong/festival/cnewyear.htm
Reading your article reminds me of my festival Diwali which is celebrated as “Lord Rama” (Hindi God) brought the end of evil “Ravana”. Similarity here is that both festivals are celebrated for the end of evil and start of new fresh life.
Before, i cared less of this chinese new year. But since in this country, i always receive some money (ang pau) every chinese new year, and now i love it!! You guys can even make a chinese old year, no problem!! gambateh!
The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.
Chinese New Year!!! A very common thing for me. Here in Malaysia, Malay celebrate Hari Raya and Indian celeebrate Deepavali. Chinese New Year is a common as i am a chinese. Just like others, we celebrate it once a year. For many other people,celebrating the Chinese New Year is taking angpao(money given by people that have married). But for me, it is like a reunion of our family members.
Chinese New Year!!I would love to celebrate Chinese New Year in China because as a Malaysian I have the chance to celebrate together with my other Chinese friends.See how freedom is Malaysia whereby you can celebrate your festival freely and openly in public.Moreover, Chinese New Year is where the time all the small children will get 'And Pao' and sometimes not only Chinese people but also other races. Nevertheless,this is time where the town of Kuala Lumpur is QUITE!!Because all the shops that belongs to Chinese is closed.Other than that,this is the longest holiday that all the Chinese take to gather with family,friends and to rest.
You know what I really like about Chinese New Year? The duration of celebration...Chinese people have 15 days to have fun and enjoy the new year unlike others who have only 1 day to celebrate the New Year.
Albert just to inform you, the next Chinese New Year falls on Monday, January 26, 2009 so be prepared to treat us with your traditional food!!
Source:
http://herongyang.com/chinese/festivals/chinese_new_year_spring_festival.html
Before I came in Malaysia i had no idea about the Chinese New Year but now I know something about it, this is the biggest festival for the Chinese people as I know as like Christian do at 1st January. In my country Muslim people celebrates their new year at the month of Muharram and Hindu people does at the month of Baishakhi in Bengali. I don’t know about Chinese New Year but I heard Chinese New Year starts 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, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade. The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.
http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/chinese_new_year.html
Its when i came to Malaysia i experienced my first Chinese new year. I liked it and liked their celebrations also but mostly liked the holiday we get!!!
Chinese New Year is the most important of the Chinese holidays, and is a time of feasting with the family, celebration, fireworks, and gift-giving. It is a 15-day holiday, beginning on the first day of a new moon and ending with the full moon on the day of the Lantern Festival.
The Chinese calendar is based on the lunar year, so the date of Chinese New Year changes every year. The Chinese calendar follows a 12-year pattern with each year named after an animal. There are various stories which explain this. The simplest is that Buddha (or the Jade Emperor) invited all of the animals to join him for a New Year celebration, but only 12 animals turned up. To reward the animals that did come, Buddha named a year after each of them in the order that they arrived, starting with the Rat, followed by the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat (or Sheep), Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.
Reference:
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/chinese_new_year.htm
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