CHINESE NEW YEAR – SPRING FESTIVAL

The Chinese Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, starts on January 23 in 2012 and millions of people in China and throughout the world will welcome the beginning of the Year of the Dragon (according to the Chinese zodiac).
The festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays and is celebrated not only in China but also in all Asian countries with large populations of ethnic Chinese such as Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, Bhutan and Vietnam.
Altogether about a quarter of the world population is celebrating the Chinese New Year around the globe, including countries like the USA, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and many other.
Chinese New Year is a 15 day celebration beginning on the first day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar, and ends with the Lantern Festival on the 15th day (February 6, 2012). It is observed as a public holiday in a number of countries and territories with a significant ethnic Chinese population. The public holiday period varies from 2 – 3 days in different countries and regions, in mainland China it lasts for seven days. Like in many other countries in the world, a statutory holiday is added on the following work day when the New Year falls on a weekend.
The Chinese New Year is based on the lunar and solar calendar, the date varies from late January to mid February on the Gregorian calendar. With adoption of the Western calendar in 1912, China joined in celebrating January 1 as New Year’s Day.
Origins of the Chinese New Year Festival can be traced back thousands of years through a continually evolving series of colorful legends and traditions. Originally it was a time to honor household and heavenly deities as well as ancestors, and up to the present day it is the most important holiday for family gathering, especially at the reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve, which is known as “Eve of the Passing Year”.

The SPRING FESTIVAL OVERTURE
is a Chinese orchestral work composed by Li Huanzhi between 1955 and 1956,
depicting the scene when folks in Shanbei region were celebrating the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival). The tune is widely heard primarily in Mainland China, where it appears frequently in school music textbooks, as well as being played on various festive occasions:

The Spring Festival is also called Guo Nian in Chinese. Guo means “pass over” and Nian means “Year”. Its celebrations include traditional ceremonies and days of rest.
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Chinese Calendar

The lunisolar Chinese calendar determines Chinese New Year dates. The calendar is also used in countries that have adopted or have been influenced by Han culture (notably the Koreans, Japanese and Vietnamese) and may have a common ancestry with the similar New Years festivals outside East Asia (such as Iran, and historically, the Bulgars lands).
The Chinese calendar is incorporating elements of a lunar calendar with those of a solar calendar. It is often referred to as the Chinese calendar because it was first perfected by the Chinese around 500 BCE.
In most of East Asia today, the Gregorian calendar is used for day-to-day activities, but the Chinese calendar is still used for marking traditional East Asian holidays such as the Chinese New Year, the Duan Wu festival, and the Mid-Autumn Festival, and in astrology, such as choosing the most auspicious date for a wedding or the opening of a building. Because each month follows one cycle of the moon, it is also used to determine the phases of the moon.
The Chinese calendar is based on exact astronomical observations of the longitude of the sun and the phases of the moon. The beginnings of the Chinese calendar can be traced back to the 14th century B.C.E. Legend has it that the Emperor Huangdi invented the calendar in 2637 B.C.E.
Although the Chinese calendar traditionally does not use continuously numbered years, outside China its years are often numbered from the reign of the Yellow Emperor, Huangdi. At least three different years numbered 1 are now used by various scholars, making the year 2011 “Chinese Year” 4709, 4708, or 4648; but this is not universally accepted; the calendar is traditionally cyclical, not continuously numbered.

In China, the traditional calendar is often referred to as “the Xia Calendar” following a comment in the Shiji (the Records of the Grand Historia), which states that under the Xia Dynasty, the year began on the second new moon after the winter solstice. (At times under some other dynasties in ancient China, the year might begin on the first or third new moon after the winter solstice.) It is also known as the “agricultural calendar” while the Gregorian calendar is known as the “common calendar” Another name for the Chinese calendar is the “Yin Calendar” in reference to the lunar aspect of the calendar, whereas the Gregorian calendar is the “Yang Calendar” in reference to its solar properties. The Chinese calendar was also called the “old calendar” after the “new calendar” i.e., the Gregorian calendar, was adopted as the official calendar.
Since the time of Emperor Wu of Han, starting the new year on the second new moon after the winter solstice has been the norm for more than two thousand years.

Several foreign calendars were introduced to the Chinese during history, the Hindu calendar, for instance, during the T’ang (Tang) dynasty (618-907), and were once used concurrently with the native calendar. This situation also held true for the Muslim calendar, which was introduced during the Yüan dynasty (1206-1368). The Gregorian calendar was taken to China by Jesuit missionaries in 1582, the very year that it was first used by Europeans. Not until 1912, after the general public adopted the Gregorian calendar, did the Chinese calendar lose its primary importance.
Western (pre-Copernican) astronomical theories were introduced to China by Jesuit missionaries in the seventeenth century. Gradually, more modern Western concepts became known.
Following the revolution of 1911, the traditional practice of counting years from the accession of an emperor was abolished.

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Chinese Zodiac

According to legend Buddha invited all of the animals in the kingdom for a new year’s feast. But only 12 animals answered his invitation. And as their reward Buddha named a year after each one, creating the Chinese Animal Zodiac.

The Sheng Xiao, better known in English as the Chinese Zodiac, is a scheme that relates each year to an animal and its reputed attributes, according to a 12-year cycle. It has wide currency in several East Asian countries besides mainland China and Taiwan.
Identifying this scheme using the term “zodiac” reflects several similarities to the Western zodiac: both have time cycles divided into 12 parts, each labels at least the majority of those parts with names of animals, and each is widely associated with a culture of attributing influence of a person’s relationship to the cycle upon their personality and/or events in their life. Nevertheless, there are major differences: the “Chinese” 12-part cycle is divided into years rather than months; contrary to the association with animals implied in the Greek etymology of “zodiac”, actually four of the Western “signs” or “houses” are represented by humans (one such sign being the twins Gemini) and one is the inanimate balance scale Libra; the animals of the Chinese zodiac are not associated with constellations, let alone those spanned by the ecliptic plane.

The 12 Animals of the Chinese Zodiac are:
Rat – ox – tiger – rabbit – dragon – snake – horse – ram – monkey – rooster – dog – pig

In Chinese astrology the animal signs assigned by year represent what others perceive you as being or how you present yourself. It is a common misconception that the animals assigned by year are the only signs, and many western descriptions of Chinese astrology draw solely on this system. In fact, there are also animal signs assigned by month (called inner animals) and hours of the day (called secret animals).

Alongside the 12-year cycle of the animal zodiac there is a 10-year cycle of heavenly stems. Each of the ten heavenly stems is associated with one of the five elements of Chinese astrology, namely: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The elements are rotated every two years while a yin and yang association alternates every year. The elements are thus distinguished: Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire, etc. This produced a combined cycle that repeats every 60 years. For example, the year of the Yang Fire Rat occurred in 1936 and in 1996, 60 years apart.
2011 is the Year of the White Metal Rabbit.
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Mythology

The origin of the Chinese New Year Festival can be traced back thousands of years through a continually evolving series of colorful legends and traditions.
According to one of the most famous legends, in ancient China there lived a horned monster named Nian who was extremely ferocious. Nian lived deep at the bottom of the sea all the year round and climbed up to the shore only on New Year’s Eve to devour the cattle and kill people.
Thereupon on the day of every New Year’s Eve people from all villages would flee, bringing along the old and the young, to the remote mountains so as to avoid the calamity caused by the monster Nian. Then, one New Year’s Eve, the people of Peach Blossom village were getting ready to hide when there came from outside the village an old beggar with a stick in his hand and a bag hanging upon his arm. His eyes twinkled like stars and his beard was silver. Seized with panic, the villagers were in a great hurry to run away. Some were closing the windows and locking the doors, some were packing, and others were urging the cattle and driving the sheep.
At a time when the people were shouting and the horses were neighing no one was in the mood to care for the beggar.
Only a grandmother living in the east end of the village gave the old man some food and advised him to flee to the mountains to avoid the monster. But the old man fingered his beard and said with a smile, “If you allow me to stay at your home for the night, I’m sure the monster Nian will be scared away.”
The old woman was surprised to hear this. She looked at him unbelievingly only to find that, with white hair and ruddy complexion, the old man had a bearing out of the ordinary. She went on to persuade him to take flight. But he only smiled without reply. Thereupon the grandmother could not help but leave her home and flee to the mountains. Around midnight the monster Nian rushed into the villages. He found the atmosphere was quite different from that of the previous year. The house of the grandmother in the east end of the village was brilliantly illuminated, with bright red paper stuck on the doors. Greatly shocked, the monster gave a strange loud cry.
It stared angrily at the house for a moment then, howling furiously, made a charge at it. As he approached the door, there suddenly came the sounds of explosions. Trembling all over, the monster did not dare to take a step forward.
It turned out that the color red, flames, and explosions were what Nian feared most. And when the door of the grandmother’s house was thrown open and an old man in a red robe burst out laughing in the courtyard, the monster Nian fled helter-skelter.
The story was soon spread far and wide and everybody was talking about it. The villagers concluded that the old beggar was surely the celestial being who came to expel calamities and bless the people, and that red paper, red cloth, red candles, and exploding firecrackers were certainly the magic weapons to drive out the monster Nian. From then on, on each New Year’s Eve, families stick on their doors couplets written on red paper, display firecrackers, keep their houses brilliantly illuminated and stay up late into the night. Early in the morning of the 1st of the first lunar month they visit relatives and friends. (wiki.china.org.cn)

Besides the mythological background, in ancient China the year in general was something to be feared – much like the Nian beast -, as flood, famine and sickness took many lives.

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Customs & Traditions

Chunyun

The period around Chinese New Year is also the time of the largest annual migration in the world, when migrant workers in China, as well as overseas Chinese around the world travel home to have reunion dinners with their families on Chinese New Year’s Eve. This period is called Chunyun, also referred to as Spring Festival travel season, which usually begins 15 days before the New Year’s Day and lasts for about 40 days.
The number of passenger journeys during the Chunyun period has exceeded the population of China, hitting 2.26 billion in 2008. Rail transport experiences the biggest challenge during the period.

Chinese New Year Travel Rush 2012:

Air transportation is less affected as most travelers are workers who cannot afford air transport, but nevertheless the Chunyun impact is increasing.
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Preparations

On the days before the New Year celebration Chinese families give their home a thorough cleaning. There is a Cantonese saying “Wash away the dirt on ninyabaat”, but the practice is not usually restricted on nin’ya’baat, the 28th day of month 12. It is believed the cleaning sweeps away bad luck of the preceding year and makes the homes ready for good luck. Brooms and dust pans are put away on the first day of the new year, so that the newly arrived good luck cannot be swept away. Some people give their homes, doors and window-frames a new coat of red paint. Homes are often decorated with paper cutouts of Chinese auspicious phrases and couplets.
Purchasing new clothing, shoes, and receiving a hair-cut also symbolizes a fresh start.

In many households where Buddhism or Taoism is prevalent, home altars and statues are cleaned thoroughly, and altars that were adorned with decorations from the previous year are also taken down and burned a week before the new year starts, and are replaced with new decorations. Taoists (and Buddhists to a lesser extent) will also “send gods”, an example would be burning a paper effigy of Zao Jun the Kitchen God, the recorder of family functions. This is done so that the Kitchen God can report to the Jade Emperor of the family household’s transgressions and good deeds.

Markets or village fairs are set up as the New Year is approaching. These usually open-air markets offer new year related products such as flowers, toys, clothing, and even fireworks.

A street market in Chinatown, Singapore, during Chinese New Year holidays. (photo by Calvin Teo, Febr. 2006)

At some places, the practice of looking for the perfect plum tree is not dissimilar to the Western tradition of buying a Christmas tree.Plum blossoms and narcissus are the two most important flowers for the Chinese New Year, both blooming during the Spring Festival season. Plum blossoms represent courage and hope, while narcissus symbolizes good fortune, especially when the flower blooms on New Year’s Day.
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Nianhua Paintings

Nianhua (Spring Festival Picture) is a special type of painting in China. It is used during the Spring Festival. It originated in the Pre-Qin Period (before 221 B.C.), a brief record of which can be found in Zhanguo Ce (Strategies of the Warring States Period).
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, xylographic nianhua reached a new height of development and nianhua came into the homes of ordinary people. In the Qing Dynasty, most of the provinces had their own workshops for making nianhua.
The main producers included Taohuawu of Suzhou, Yangliuqing of Tianjin, Weifang of Shandong, Foshan of Guangdong, Mianzhu of Sichuan, Wuqiang of Hebei, Zhu-xianzhen of Henan, Shaoxing of Zhejiang, and others.

Judging from their development, there are two schools of nianhua: the southern school and the northern school.
The representatives of the northern school are those from Yangliu-qing of Tianjin and Weifang of Shandong. Nianhua produced in Yangliuqing originated in the late Ming Dynasty and reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty. The subjects were mainly images from traditional operas, fat and healthy babies, and fairy New-Year celebrations. A rich composition and refined drawing style showed its artistic characteristics. Nianhua produced in Weifang mainly dealt with fairy tales, legends, and auspicious designs. A style of simplicity, with bold and vigorous lines and bright colors, showed its characteristics.

The most famous nianhua of the southern school were those from Taohuawu of Suzhou and Foshan of Guangdong. Both originated in the Ming Dynasty and reached their peaks in the reigns of Emperor Yongzheng and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1723-1796 A.D.). While influenced by traditional styles, it also reflected certain features of European copper plate printing. After the introduction of lithographic and offset printing into China, xylographic nianhua was under great pressure and almost on the brink of decline. However, after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, traditional xylographic nianhua was reborn. Many new nianhua that were excellent in both content and form were produced and the theme focused mainly on the real life of the people.

A child plays at nianhua workshop in Zhuxianzhen, Jan. 26, 2010

Along with the improvement of printing technology, there are more and more new materals for nianhua. The traditional artistic form of nianhua is full of vigor now and widely loved by the people.
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Red Packets

A red packet (Cantonese: lai sze or lai see, Mandarin: ‘hóng bāo’) is simply a long, narrow, red envelope with money in it, which is given during holidays or special occasions.
The red color of the envelope symbolizes good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits.
Other envelope colors are used for other occasions, for example, white enveloped are used for funerals.
The money, literally, is also used to suppress or put down the evil spirits.
Traditional red envelopes are often decorated with gold Chinese characters like happiness and wealth. Variations of the red envelope include red envelopes with cartoon characters and red envelopes from stores and companies that contain coupons and gift certificates inside.
Red envelopes are handed out to younger generations by their parents, grandparents, relatives, and even close neighbors and friends during Chinese New Year. At some companies, workers may also receive a year-end cash bonus tucked inside a red envelope. Red envelopes are also popular gifts for weddings and birthdays.
Unlike a Western greeting card, red envelopes given at Chinese New Year are typically left unsigned. For birthdays or weddings, a short message, typically a four character expression, and signature are optional.

When giving someone a red envelope, use both hands to present the red envelope to the recipient. Giving and receiving red envelopes, gifts, and even business cards is a solemn act. Therefore, red envelopes, gifts and name cards are always presented with both hands and also received with both hands.
The recipient of a red envelope at Chinese New Year or on his or her birthday should not open it in front of the giver. At Chinese weddings, the procedure is different. At a Chinese wedding, there is a table at the entrance of the wedding reception where guests give their red envelopes to attendants and sign their names on a large scroll. The attendants will immediately open the envelope, count the money inside, and record it on a register next to the guests’ names.

Traditionally, the amount of money in the red packets should be of even numbers, as odd numbers are associated with cash given during funerals (Bai Jin). The number 8 is considered lucky (for its homophone for “wealth”). The number six (liù) is also very lucky as it sounds like the Chinese word for ‘smooth’, in the sense of having a smooth year. Sometimes chocolate coins are found in the red packets.
Odd and even numbers are determined by the first digit, rather than the last. Thirty and fifty, for example, are odd numbers, and are thus appropriate as funeral cash gifts. However, it is common and quite acceptable to have cash gifts in a red packet using a single bank note – with ten or fifty yuan bills used frequently.

In addition to red envelopes small gifts (usually of food or sweets) are also exchanged between friends or relatives (of different households) during Chinese New Year celebrations.
Common gifts include fruits (typically oranges, and never pears), cakes, biscuits, chocolates, candies, or some other little presents.
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Lion Dance

Lion dance is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture, in which performers mimic a lion’s movements in a lion costume. The lion dance is often mistaken as dragon dance. An easy way to tell the difference is that a lion is operated by two people, while a dragon needs many people. Also, in a lion dance, the performers’ faces are covered, since they are inside the lion. In a dragon dance, the performers can be seen since the dragon is held upon poles. Basic lion dance fundamental movements can be found in most Chinese martial arts.

Lion dances can be broadly categorised into three styles, Chinese Northern, Chinese Southern, and Taiwanese.

“Southern vs Northern Lion Dance”
scene from the Hong Kong martial arts action film “Dreadnaught” (1981):

The Chinese Northern Lion Dance was used as entertainment for the imperial court and elsewhere. The northern lion is usually red, orange and yellow (sometimes with green fur for the female lion), shaggy in appearance, with a golden head. During a performance, northern lions resemble Pekingese or Fu Dogs and movements are very life-like. Acrobatics are very common, with stunts like lifts or balancing on a giant ball. Northern lions sometimes appear as a family, with two large “adult” lions and a pair of small “young lions”.
Ninghai, in Ningbo, is called the “Homeland of the Lion Dance” of the northern area.

Northern Lion Dance Singapore Zoo – (new year 2010)

The Chinese Southern Lion Dance originated from Guangdong, the homeland of the Chinese southern style lion. The Chinese southern horned lions are believed to be Nians, the mythological creature.
The Chinese Southern dance is more symbolic. It is usually performed as a ceremony to scare away evil spirits and to summon luck and fortune. The Chinese southern lion exhibits a wide variety of colour and has a distinctive head with large eyes (of an eagle), a mirror on the forehead (demons are supposedly scared of their own reflection), and a single horn at center of the head (the horn of a unicorn mentioned earlier). Lion dance costumes are considered to be spiritually protective when used as they are traditionally blessed before usage.

Southern Lion Dance, Chinese New Year 2008 Hong Kong

The Taiwanese Lion Dance integrates with martial arts. The focus on martial arts is very different from the Chinese southern dance whose fancy style is more suitable for circuit shows. In addition to dance steps, the differences between the Taiwanese and the Chinese Southern dances lie in the lion appearance and music. Unlike the Chinese Southern lion whose eyes and mouth can be moved, the Taiwanese lion is less elaborate and can be roughly divided into two categories: open-mouth lion and closed-mouth lion.

Taiwanese Lion Dance, 2010 Flora Expo
The Taiwanese Lion Dance is rarely seen today in Taiwan, usually the Chinese Lion Dance is performed.

In Korea, the lion dance survives in a tradition called Saja-nori. Although there are several other lion dances as part of Korean mask plays, Bukcheong Saja-nori is peculiar as it is exclusively composed of lion dance, unlike other mask play traditions. In addition, it requires special attention because it is not at all similar in shape or technique with those of other Asian countries, such as China and Japan.
The Korean lion, or saja, is performed by two or three performers in one costume. The head of the lion consists of a flat, round, grotesque-looking mask with bells hanging from it. Like its Chinese and Japanese counterparts, it is performed during the lunar new year celebration to scare away evil spirits and beckon good luck.

Excerpts from a performance of Bukcheong Saja Noleum,
the Lion Play from Bukcheong in Hamgyeong Province in North Korea

During the Chinese New Year, lion dance troupes from Chinese martial art schools or Chinese guild and associations will visit houses and shops of the Chinese community to perform the traditional custom of “cai ching” ,literally “plucking the greens”. The ‘lion’ tries to pluck the auspicious greens, normally ‘vegetables’ like lettuce, which is called ‘cái’ in Chinese, and also sounds like the Chinese word for fortune, as well as auspicious fruits like oranges, everything tied to a “Red Envelope” containing money, either hang highly or just put on a table in front of the premises. The “lion” will dance and approach the “greens” and “red evelope” like a curious cat, to “eat the greens” and “spit” it out but keeping the “red envelope”. The lion dance is believed to bring good luck and fortune to business and the dance troupe is rewarded with the “red envelope”.
Different types of vegetables, fruits, foods or utensils with auspicious and good symbolic meanings, for instance pineapples, pomelo, bananas, oranges, sugar cane shoots, coconuts, clay pots or even crabs can be used to be the “greens”, creating different challenges for the dancers to reach them.
The bigger the challenge the bigger the reward in the red envelope should be.

The lion dance, sometimes along with the dragon dance, is also performed at many other important grand occasions, including Chinese traditional, cultural and religious festivals, business opening events, birthday celebrations, guest of honour welcoming, and wedding ceremonies by Chinese communities.
Lion Dance is accompanied by music of drums, cymbals, and gongs, which are synchronized to the lion dance movements and actions.
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Fireworks

Black powder (gunpowder) was invented, documented, and used in ancient China where the Chinese military forces used gunpowder-based weapons technology (i.e. rockets, guns, cannons), and explosives (i.e. grenades and different types of bombs) against the Mongols when the Mongols attempted to invade and breach the Chinese city fortifications on the northern borders of China. After the Mongols conquered China and founded the Yuan Dynasty, they used the Chinese gunpowder-based weapons technology in their invasion of Japan. Chinese also used gunpowder to fuel rockets. However, it has also been argued that, like the wheel, gunpowder was “coinvented” or “co-discovered” prior to, simultaneously or slightly after the Chinese, by cultures separated from the Chinese by vast distances, with minimal direct contact between one another.

Beijing fireworks (filmed by The Guardian)

Bamboo stems filled with gunpowder that were burnt to create small explosions were once used in ancient China to drive away evil spirits. In modern times, this method has eventually evolved into the use of firecrackers during the festive season.
Firecrackers are usually strung on a long fused string so it can be hung down. Each firecracker is rolled up in red papers, as red is auspicious, with gunpowder in its core. Once ignited, the firecracker lets out a loud popping noise and, as they are usually strung together by hundreds, the firecrackers are known for their deafening explosions that are thought to scare away evil spirits. The burning of firecrackers also signifies a joyful time of the year and has become an integral aspect of Chinese New Year celebrations.

Hong Kong Chinese New Year Fireworks 2009

While fireworks and firecrackers are traditionally very popular, some regions have banned them due to concerns over fire hazards, which have resulted in increased number of fires around New Years and challenged municipal fire departments’ work capacity. For this reason, various city governments (e.g., Hong Kong, and Beijing, for a number of years) issued bans over fireworks and firecrackers in certain premises of the city. As a substitute, large-scale fireworks have been launched by governments in cities like Hong Kong to offer citizens the experience.
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New Year’s Eve
“Eve of the Passing Year”

The biggest event of any Chinese New Year’s Eve is the reunion dinner where members of the family from far and wide get together for celebrating. The venue will usually be in or near the home of the most senior member of the family. New Year’s Eve dinner is very sumptuous and traditionally includes chicken and fish. Chicken represents good luck, a whole fish abundance. Many Families may also serve uncut noodles, which represent longevity and long life, though this practice is not limited to the new year.
Mandarin oranges are the most popular and most abundant fruit during Chinese New Year. There is a varity of traditional new year’s dishes, often differing by recipe, country or region.
Yusheng

Yusheng , yee sang or yuu sahng (pinyin: yúshēng), also known as lo hei (Cantonese) is a Teochew-style raw fish salad. It usually consists of strips of raw fish (most commonly salmon), mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments, among other ingredients. Yusheng literally means “raw fish” but is interpreted as a homophone for the word Yúshēng, meaning an increase of abundance. Therefore, yusheng is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor.
While versions of it are thought to have existed in China, the contemporary version is created and popularised in Singapore in the 1960s amongst the ethnic Chinese community and its consumption has been associated with Chinese New Year festivities in Singapore as well as in neighbouring Malaysia.
In Singapore, government, community and business leaders often serve the dish as part of official functions during the festive period or in private celebrity dinners. Some have even suggested that it be named a national dish.

Nian Gao & the Tradition of the Kitchen God

While food plays a major role throughout the Chinese New Year season, one food-related tradition takes place before the old year has even come to a close:

Nián gāo, Year cake or Chinese New Year’s cake is prepared from glutinous rice. It is most popular in eastern China (Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai) because its pronunciation is a homophone for “a more prosperous year”. Nian gao is also popular in the Philippines because of its large Chinese population and is known as tikoy there.According to legend, one week before the Spring Festival begins, the Kitchen God returns to heaven to report on a family’s behavior throughout the previous year. In order to ensure a favorable report from the Kitchen God, the custom evolved of feeding him Nian Gao, both as a bribe and as a means of ensuring his mouth was too full of cake to pass on a negative report.
It is considered good luck to eat nian gao during this time, because “nian gao” is a homonym for “higher year.”

Jiǎozi – Chinese Dumplings

Dumplings Jiaozi are one of the major foods eaten during the Chinese New Year, and year round in the northern provinces. They look like the golden ingots yuan bao used during the Ming Dynasty for money and the name sounds like the word for the earliest paper money, so serving them brings the promise of wealth, good luck and prosperity. Many families eat these dumplings at midnight on Chinese New Year’s Eve. Some cooks will even hide a clean coin in one for the most lucky to find.

Jiaozi typically consist of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by pressing the edges together or by crimping. Jiaozi should not be confused with wonton: jiaozi have a thicker, chewier skin and a flatter, more oblate, double-saucer like shape (similar in shape to ravioli), and are usually eaten with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce (and/or hot chili sauce); while wontons have thinner skin, are sphere-shaped, and are usually served in broth. The dough for the jiaozi and wonton wrapper also consist of different ingredients.
Chinese dumplings (jiaozi) may be divided into various types depending on how they are cooked.

The Nepali dumpling version is known as Momo.Flour. It is filled, most commonly with ground water buffalo meat. Often, ground lamb or chicken meats are used as alternative to water buffalo meat. Finely chopped onion, minced garlic, fresh minced ginger, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander/cilantro, etc are added to the meat for flavoring. Sauce made from cooked tomatoes, flavored with timur (Szechwan pepper) and minced red chilies is often served along with momo.

Turnip Cake

Turnip cake is a Cantonese dish made of shredded radish (typically Chinese radish or daikon) and plain rice flour. Despite the name, turnip is not an actual ingredient, hence the less commonly-used but the more accurate name of daikon cake. It is sometimes also referred to as radish cake. During yum cha, turnip cake is usually cut into square-shaped slices and sometimes pan-fried before serving. Each pan-fried cake has a thin crunchy layer on the outside from frying, and soft on the inside. The non-fried version is soft overall. It is one of the standard dishes found in the dim sum cuisine of Hong Kong, China, and overseas Chinatown restaurants. It is also common in Chinese New Year festivals.

After the reunion-dinner, some families go to local temples, hours before the new year begins, to pray for a prosperous new year by burning the first incense of the year.
Majority however, is just enjoying private parties at home or other places, including celebrating the countdown to the new year.

1982, CCTV New Year’s Gala started to broadcast a special New Year’s show, lasting about four hours on New Year’s Eve, which is watched by millions of people each year.

Opening of the 2010 CCTV Spring Festival Gala:

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The 15 Days of the Chinese New Year Period

First day of the New Year

The first day is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth, officially beginning at midnight. Many people, especially Buddhists, obstain from meat consumption on the first day because it is believed that this will ensure longevity. Some consider lighting fires and using knives to be bad luck on New Year’s Day, so all food to be consumed is cooked the day before. For Buddhists, the first day is also the birthday of Maitreya Bodhisattva (better known as the more familiar Budai Luohan), the Buddha-to-be. People also abstain from killing animals.

Most importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time when families visit the oldest and most senior members of their family, usually parents, grandparents or great-grandparents.
Some families may invite a lion dance troupe as a symbolic ritual to usher in the Lunar New Year as well as to evict bad spirits from the premises. Members of the family who are married also give red envelopes containing cash to junior members of the family, mostly children and teenagers. Business managers also give bonuses through red envelopes to employees for good luck and wealth.

Second Day

The second day of the Chinese New Year married daughters will visit their birth parents. Traditionally, daughters who are married may not have the opportunity to visit their birth families frequently.
The day is also for praying to the ancestors as well as to the gods.
Business people of the Cantonese dialect group will hold a ‘Hoi Nin’ prayer to start their business on the 2nd day of Chinese New Year. The prayer is done to pray to get blessed with good luck and prosperity in business for the new year.

Third and Fourth Day

The third and fourth day are generally accepted as inappropriate days to visit relatives and friends. It is also the day for the sons-in-law to pay respect to their parents-in-law.

Fifth Day

This is also the birthday of the Chinese god of wealth. People stay at home to welcome the God and no one visits families and friends on this day because it would bring both parties bad luck.

Sixth Day

On the sixth to the 10th day, people may visit their relatives and friends. They also may visit the temples to pray for good fortune and health.
In Taiwan, business traditionally re-opens on the next day (the sixth day), accompanied by firecrackers.

Seventh Day

The seventh day, traditionally known as renri, is the common man’s birthday, the day when everyone grows one year older. It is the day when tossed raw fish salad, yusheng, is eaten. This is a custom primarily among the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Singapore. People get together to toss the colourful salad and make wishes for continued wealth and prosperity.
In many regions also noodles are eaten to promote longevity.
For many Chinese Buddhists, this is another day to avoid meat, the seventh day commemorating the birth of Sakra, lord of the devas in Buddhist cosmology who is analogous to the Jade Emperor.

Eighth Day

This is another day for family dinners to celebrate the eve of the birth of the Jade Emperor. However, everybody should be back to work by the 8th day. All government agencies and business will stop celebrating by the eighth day.

Ninth – Thirteenth Day

The ninth day of the New Year is a day for many Chinese people to offer prayers to the Jade Emperor of Heaven in the Taoist Pantheon. The ninth day is traditionally the birthday of the Jade Emperor. This day is especially important to Hokkiens (Han people whose traditional Ancestral homes are in southern Fujian of China)
At midnight of the eighth day of the new year, Hokkiens will offer thanks giving prayers to the Emperor of Heaven. Offerings will include sugarcane as it was the sugarcane that had protected the Hokkiens from certain extermination generations ago. Incense, tea, fruit, vegetarian food or roast pig, and paper gold is served as a customary protocol for paying respect to an honored person.
The celebrations continue on the tenth days.

In general, the 10th till the 12th are days where friends and relatives should be invited for dinner. After so much rich food, people should have “light food” on the 13th day, like simple rice congee and mustard greens (choi sum).

The Fourteenth Day

The 14th day should be for preparations to celebrate the Lantern Festival which is to be held on the 15th day .

The Fifteenth Day – holiday of the Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival or Yuanxiao Festival (“Yuan Xiao Jie” or “Teng Chieh” in Chinese) is a special holiday concluding the new year season. The word yuan means “first” while “xiao” means “night.” With the two characters combined, the word refers to the first time that the full moon is seen in a new year.

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Overseas Parades

(Chinese New Years Parade in Vancouver, Canada, 2005)

Origins

In 1849, with the discovery of gold and the ensuing California Gold Rush, over 50,000 people had come to San Francisco to seek their fortune or just a better way of life. Among those were many Chinese, who had come to work in the gold mines and on the railroads. By the 1860’s, the Chinese were eager to share their culture with those who were unfamiliar with it. They chose to showcase their culture by using a favorite American tradition – the Parade. They invited a variety of other groups from the city to participate, and they marched down what today are Grant Avenue and Kearny Street carrying colourful flags, banners, lanterns, and drums and firecrackers to drive away evil spirits.
The current San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade traces its lineage back to those early parades, and still incorporates Grant and Kearny Streets into its street festival and parade route, respectively.

San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade 2010

Today

Today, Chinese New Year parades are annual traditions in many western cities with significant Chinese populations. Among the cities with such parades are San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Wellington and Vancouver. However, even smaller cities that are historically connected to Chinese immigration, such as Butte, Montana, have recently hosted parades.

London Chinese New Year Parade 2010

Both London and San Francisco claim to host the largest New Year celebration outside of Asia. Sydney also claims to have the largest Chinese New Year Celebrations outside of Asia with over 600,000 people attending the celebrations in Chinatown in 2009. The events there span over three weeks including the launch celebration, outdoor markets, evening street food stalls, Chinese top opera performances, dragon boat races, a film festival and multiple parades. The festival also attracts international media coverage, reaching millions of viewers in Asia.
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Gong Xi Fa Cai
literally: congratulate you with prosperity

“Gong Xi Fa Cai” is a traditional new year’s song, composed by Yao Ming (1917 – 1967),
a popular Chinese songwriter and singer.

I wish all who celebrate it

Happy New Year!
Happy Spring Festival!
Gong Xi Fa Cai
Gong Hey Fat Choy

Best wishes,

Angela Nilsson
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Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-01/19/content_359389.htm
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/holidays/spring-festival.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Lunar_Calendar
http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-chinese.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_zodiac
http://wiki.china.org.cn/wiki/index.php/Spring_Festival
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chunyun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_dance
http://chinesefood.about.com/b/2011/01/20/bribing-the-kitchen-god-with-chinese-sticky-cake-nian-gao-2.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusheng
http://www.uen.org/utahlink/activities/view_activity.cgi?activity_id=5279
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nian_gao
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiaozi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnip_cake
http://chineseculture.about.com/od/chinesefestivals/p/Chinese-New-Year-Red-Envelope.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpowder
www.chinesecalligraphystore.com

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