Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the most important family holiday in China. Each person is thought to have a birthday celebration.
According to the legend there was a demon named Nian was once a threat to villages on New Year’s Eve. Nian was terrified of the lights and noisy noises, and the red.
Origins
A number of Chinese rituals are aimed at ushering in wealth, happiness good health, and prosperity for the coming year. The season also marks a fresh start and it is also a time to get together with their families and friends.
Cleansing the house is done in preparation for the gods’ or ancestors their arrival. Lau chuen, or spring cleaning (simplified Chinese) is the term used to describe this procedure. ; traditional Chinese: The l U chun) The Chinese believe that it can remove evil and wash off bad luck in the coming year.
The entire family is expected to stay in the comfort of their home for the evening prior to the New Year’s Eve and spend quality time together generally watching television as well as eating sunflower seeds and talking. Families will visit a temple and offer offerings of paper to pray for good luck. A Chinese New Year’s Day is sometimes referred to “Chinese Valentine” due to the fact that elderly couples bring their children out to play using eight pieces of copper coins, which are a symbol of longevity on the day of.
According to legend, thousands of years back the time, there was a beast that was named Nian. (attacked villages ) each year in the new year. Chinese folk used loud noises and flashing lights to scare away the monster. Presently, fireworks and firecrackers, which are often covered in red — the colour that symbolizes prosperity and luck, are used to commemorate the start of the new year.
The Chinese make their homes, windows, doors, as well as their clothes, with red. This is to deter evil spirits and ensure luck. They also wish for the best health, prosperity longevity, prosperity, and peace. Many people display paper-cuts or couplets in windows and doors, hang a big Chinese symbol for LUCK on the door of their front garden or hang a scroll of red that contains blessing words on the door.
The meats that were cured from sheep (or the pig) was a popular meal in the New Year’s celebration called Layue. Chinese: Traditional Chinese: ). Traditionally, the family offered a bowl of the porridge to their relatives and gods at first light to symbolize a sacrifice prior to the beginning of the meal. The porridge is consumed in the family home, and the remainder is given as gifts to members of the family.
Celebrations
The Chinese New Year celebration is vast and full of customs. It’s a time when we eliminate the past and welcome in the fresh. It is also a time to honor ancestors, cleanse evil spirits, and pray for a good harvest. It is also a time for reuniting with family. The holiday is widely regarded as one of the major holidays in China and is celebrated worldwide by groups of Chinese heritage. The celebrations during Chinese New Year, lion dances, dragon dancing, temple fairs and shopping in flower markets are a lot of fun.
This celebration lasts for sixteen days long, and it is it is a time to renew relationships and wish good luck for the coming year. Families are busy cleaning and decorating their residences. They place couplets in red, which is the color of luck, on their doors and windows. They also hang cut-paper on the walls, and place folk art on their door frame. The houses are also adorned with lanterns in red lights, firecrackers that light up, and buy a lot of foods.
In the spring Festival It is common to offer money to families with less. It is an act of respect for the elderly and helps them to get through this difficult period. The money-based gift is generally wrapped in envelopes of red.
The most significant aspect of Chinese The Chinese New Year is preparing for the arrival of the God of Wealth (Cai Shen) and the God of Agriculture (Wu Shen). It involves cleaning the household, dressing in clean clothing, fixing broken items and going to the local temple to pray.
Another tradition is to stay all night on New Years Eve to watch the fireworks and burn an incense to start the new year, known as shousui. It’s a tradition that’s been around for centuries that helps increase the longevity of parents.
This is an opportunity to look back at the past and review one’s accomplishments and failures. It is a great time for apologizing to your friends or colleagues. That’s why a lot of people are looking for old friends or acquaintances to reconnect with them.
Symbols
Many Chinese New Year dishes, decorations, and other traditions hold special symbolism. In particular the traditional fish meal eaten at the time of Chinese New Year is a symbol of prosperity due to the pronunciation of it, Yu or yu, is exactly like surplus ( ). Dumplings are also on the menu during this holiday. Their pleats as well as shape appear to be money. They are packed with things representing luck and wealth, such as chestnuts, dates and even coins.
Fu upside down decoration for doors could also be an indication of luck because of the Chinese characters that mean “upside-down” as well as “arrive” are similar ( ). Affixing the figure upside down is a means to express a wish for luck and peace to arrive to one’s door at the beginning of the year.
It is common for people to visit family and friends around the Chinese New Year. It is the perfect opportunity to reminisce on the past year and evaluate the accomplishments as well as goals. This is also the moment to let go and forget any differences or enmity with others.
It’s an ideal moment to get rid of clutter and start fresh. It’s customary to purchase new footwear, clothing, and other household goods such as towels, furniture, and the utensils. In addition, paying off debts are crucial prior to the Chinese New Year, since it’s bad luck to start a new year with debt.
In addition, it is commonplace to present children with small quantities of cash in red envelopes, also known as the hong bao as a symbol of luck. This practice was first introduced in the past in order to repel evil spirits and to protect children.
The color red is often linked to Chinese New Year since it represents joy as well as sincerity, virtue, and purity. It also represents of prosperity, good luck and endurance. In order to welcome the New Year the red lanterns are decorated with Chinese lucky words are placed everywhere around the house. It’s also a custom to give gifts of money in envelopes of red to elderly as well as married couples.
Traditions
It is believed that the Chinese new Year is associated with many different traditions. Each unique religion and culture that exists in China has its own mythology and customs, however the majority are centered around pleasing ancient deities and celebrating the end of harvest and the start of the new year. Chinese New Year festivities occur in a variety of locations all over the world, ranging from Hong Kong to Beijing and Shanghai, as well as in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.
The night prior to the Chinese New Year has traditionally been a time of prayer and reflection. Family members often get together for meals at reunions and then they tidy their homes to sweep away the bad luck and plan for luck. There are many who visit local temples, and they use firecrackers to repel negative spirits. In a Chinese practice known as Kaicaimen, a lot of households lock their doors at night. ; traditional Chinese: This Chinese New Year is a time to give gifts or offer talismans as an indicator of luck. click here! is also known to be “opening up the doors of luck.” Chinese New Year is also the time to give gifts and offer talismans to friends and family members as a sign of luck.
In celebration of Chinese New Year, some families serve certain foods like longevity noodles sweet glutinous ball of rice as well as spring rolls. Each food item has its own significance, and is a symbol of health, wealth, longevity, as well as good luck. The longevity noodles, as an example, are thin, long, and symbolize a desire to live indefinitely. Tangyuan, however, on the opposite, are golden circular, large, and bear an golden hue. They’re also thought to represent wealth, as they sound delicious when eaten.
A few families also offer their children cut-outs of red paper that have couplets written on them, and place them in their beds for protection from a creature called sui ( ( ) ( ) out in the night to touch the heads of children who are asleep and causes them to develop a fever which leads to mental disability. Additionally, parents are able to prolong their life by staying awake until the morning of New Year’s Eve, which is known as shousui. ).