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I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the reader a Happy Chinese (Lunar) New Year 2019! It is one of the most celebrated occasion in the world, predominately in China. Having said that, oversea Chinese people who are in countries that have no holiday for the event celebrate it as well. Although one might say it is probably two weeks too late with the greeting, I am actually not. Below are some 10 interesting facts that you probably do not know about Chinese New Year!
Various terms for this festival
Other than the term Chinese New Year this event is also being called as the Spring Festival, That being said, people are celebrating the day as it marks the end of winter season despite the chilly wind is still present. The real celebration is perhaps about welcoming the spring as a new beginning for planting season to be initiated. Aside from that, Chinese New Year is also often being regarded as the Lunar New Year as the festival goes according to the lunar calendar which brings us to the next point.
Celebrates for more than a day
Chinese New Year is actually being celebrated for 15 days according to the Lunar calendar! It starts with the New moon on the first day of the lunar month and ends on the full moon which is 15 days later. It has dates of its own and does not follow the solar calendar which explains the confusion as why the date for Lunar New Year always changes in the Gregorian calendar each year! Even though Gregorian calendar is the standard that is used throughout the world, Lunar calendar still plays a vital role as traditional holidays such as Winter Solstice and Dragon Boat festival are still being celebrated worldwide.
Praying to Gods and Fending Off Monsters
On this eventful day, people are praying to gods with food and joss-sticks in hope for a splendid planting and harvest season. Additionally, ancestors are also being prayed along side to gods as they as a way to portray their filial piety. There are myths saying that Chinese New Year is actually much more than just a mere celebration.
Legend says there was a monster named Nian that would come about on New Year's Eve each year and people would hide in their homes for being afraid of the monster. Until one day, a brave boy fought the monster by setting firecrackers at it. Fortunately the monster was terrified of the firecrackers and from that day onward, people celebrated their survival by setting off more firecrackers until it became a tradition that was passed down generations after generations.
Specific Zodiac Each Year
There are 12 Chinese zodiac animals that are used to represent years and 2019 is the Year of Pig. These zodiacs included (named in order) Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and lastly Pig. These zodiacs play significant roles in the Chinese culture as they are used to predict one's fortune, marriage compatibility, health, career fit and wealth for the year.
The zodiac cycle will repeat itself every 12 years. While you may think that you will be lucky during your zodiac year, unfortunately it is the exact opposite way! More often than not, these unlucky lads and lasses would go to temple to avert evil by making donations and also praying to gods. These good deeds will ensure them to be safe from misfortunes and bad incidents.
No Sweeping or Throwing Rubbish
People will be refrained from any labour activities such as sweeping and throwing rubbish during the first three days of Chinese New Year. These measures have been done in order to prevent the good luck from being swept away from the house. Another explanation for not doing labour work is to avoid people from starting the year by working which means they will not have loads the work for the rest of the year.
On the contrary, most families will spend most of their time cleaning their houses before Chinese New Year Eves. During these times, fellow mothers will unleash their housekeeping powers and overhaul the normally messy houses into squeaky clean one. They will be very meticulous in doing everything, and that include commanding their children to help them with the chores; judging at their sloppy works and also scolding them for not helping at all.
These are some of the interesting facts that everyone should know about Chinese New Year. Furthermore, the children and single adolescents will receive red envelopes that include money from married couples (including parents) during the festival.
Other than being the last day of Chinese New Year, the 15th day is also known as the Chap Goh Mei. It is a Hokkien (Mandarin dialect) term and also known as the Lantern Festival (Yuan Xiao Jie in Mandarin). Chap Goh Mei is also made equivalent to Valentine's Day. Instead of using social dating app, our ancestors are not that technology savvy and Tinder has yet to exist back then, the bachelors and spinsters would write their names and contact details on mandarin oranges and toss them into the river. The opposite sex would then scoop the mandarin oranges and contact the names written on them.
Having said that, I hope you have had a blast during this year's Chinese New Year! As I have mentioned in previous post, I will start my UK blog posts series and hopefully I will be able to constantly upload new blog post every Tuesday. Stick around!
- February 19, 2019
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