CHINESE NEW YEAR

A lengthy read but hopefully of interest . . .

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Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar* Chinese calendar. Marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring, this festival takes place from Chinese New Year's Eve (the evening preceding the first day of the year) to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February.

In 2025 the first day is Wednesday 29 January 2025.

* A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, incorporating lunar calendars and solar calendars. The date of lunisolar calendars indicates both the Moon phase and the time of the solar year, that is the position of the Sun in the Earth's sky.

Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture. It has influenced similar celebrations in other cultures, commonly referred to collectively as Lunar New Year, such as the Losar of Tibet, the Tết of Vietnam, the Seollal of Korea and the Shōgatsu of Japan.

It is also celebrated worldwide in regions and countries with significant overseas Chinese or Sinophone populations, especially in Southeast Asia including Singapore,[6] Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand. It is also prominent beyond Asia, especially in Australia, Canada, France, Mauritius, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as in many European countries.

The Chinese New Year is associated with several myths and customs. The festival was traditionally a time to honour deities as well as ancestors. Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the New Year vary widely. The evening preceding New Year's Day is an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. Traditionally, every family would thoroughly clean their house, symbolically sweep away any ill fortune to make way for incoming good luck. Windows and doors may be decorated with red paper-cuts and couplets representing themes such as good fortune or happiness, wealth, and longevity. Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red envelopes.

Lion dancers often take part in Chinese Lunar New Year Lion Dances in business districts, shops and businesses making an offering of a lettuce and money in a red envelope. Accompanied by drumming. the lion eats and spits out the lettuce, keeping the envelope. This is followed by fire crackers. The lion dance is believed to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck and fortune.

By the way:

Lions don’t eat lettuce so why this new year custom? The tradition stems from language. In Chinese and Cantonese, a word for leafy greens sounds a lot like a word for becoming wealthy. When the lion eats the lettuce and spits it back out at the business owners and audience, it symbolises blessing them with wealth and prosperity in the new year.

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According to legend, Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian (a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains) during the annual Spring Festival. The Nian would eat villagers, especially children in the middle of the night. One year, all the villagers decided to hide from the beast. An older man appeared before the villagers went into hiding and said that he would stay the night and would get revenge on the Nian. The old man put up red papers and set off firecrackers.

The day after, the villagers came back to their town and saw that nothing had been destroyed. They realised that the old man was a celestial being who had come to help them. He also told them the three secret “weapons” to drive Nian away – “items that are red in colour”, “bright lights” and “firecrackers”.

The tradition grew as New Year approached, and the villagers would wear red clothes, hang red lanterns, and red spring scrolls on windows and doors, and use firecrackers and drums to frighten away the Nian. From then on, the Nian never came to the village again.

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Chinese Zodiac signs:

This year is the Year of the Snake.

There are 12 Chinese zodiac signs, in the following order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Each sign is named after an animal, and each animal has its own unique characteristics.

Zodiac Years and Personality Traits

Rat:

Quick-witted, resourceful, versatile, kind

Ox:

Diligent, dependable, strong, determined

Tiger:

Brave, confident, competitive

Rabbit:

Quiet, elegant, kind, responsible

Dragon:

Confident, intelligent, enthusiastic

Snake:

Enigmatic, intelligent, wise

Horse :

Animated, active, energetic

Goat:

Calm, gentle, sympathetic

Monkey:

Sharp, smart, curiosity

Rooster:

Observant, hardworking, courageous

Dog:

Lovely, honest, prudent

Pig:

Compassionate, generous, diligent

Why the 12 Chinese zodiac animals are in the sequence above is due to a story which reveals legendary reasons, and some of the characteristics of the 12 animals:

The Heavenly Gate Race Story - Reasons for Zodiac Rankings

Long, long ago, there was no Chinese zodiac. The Jade Emperor wanted to select 12 animals to be his guards. He sent an immortal being into man's world to spread the message that the earlier one went through the Heavenly Gate, the better the rank one would have.

The next day, animals set off towards the Heavenly Gate. Rat got up very early. On his way to the gate, he encountered a river. He had to stop there, owing to the swift current. After waiting a long time, Rat noticed Ox about to cross the river and swiftly jumped into Ox's ear.

The diligent Ox did not mind at all and simply continued. After crossing the river, he raced towards the palace of the Jade Emperor. Suddenly, Rat jumped out of Ox's ear and dashed to the feet of the Emperor. Rat won first place and Ox was second.

Tiger and Rabbit came third and fourth because both are fast and competitive, but Tiger was faster. (Rabbit got across the river by hopping on stepping stones and a floating log.)

Good-looking Dragon was fifth and was immediately noticed by the Jade Emperor, who said Dragon's son could be sixth. But Dragon's son didn't come with him that day. Just then, Snake came forward and said Dragon was his adoptive father; so Snake ranked sixth.

Horse and Goat arrived. They were very kind and modest and each let the other go first. The Jade Emperor saw how polite they were and ranked them seventh and eighth.

Monkey had fallen well behind. But he jumped between trees and stones, and caught up to be ninth. Last were Rooster, Dog, and Pig.

These 12 animals became guards of the Heavenly Gate.

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The metaphors and meaning of the Snake in Chinese literature and mythology are polar opposites.

On the one hand, the snake belongs to the yin, associated with darkness, dampness and femininity. Poisonous snakes are often associated with evil women who seduce men and suck their yang to nourish their yin.

However, snakes also have positive symbolism. For example, they are regarded as little dragons and the skin snakes shed is referred to as the dragon’s coat, symbolising good luck, rebirth and regality.

The snake also symbolises the pursuit of love and happiness and can also represent wealth and wisdom In traditional Chinese culture, they are often grouped with the turtle and the crane as a symbol of longevity