The Spring Festival
Background
Spring Festival, also know as the Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year, is the
most important holiday in the Chinese culture. Chinese people in China, and
people of Chinese heritage all over the world celebrate this greatest festival
the year. It marks the beginning of a new year on the Chinese Lunar Calendar.
The majority of the working people enjoy seven days paid vocation. Although the climax
of the Spring Festival lasts only several days including the New Year's Eve
in China, the New Year season extends from the mid-twelfth month of the
previous year to the middle of the first month of the New Year. The next Spring
Festival will start on February 1st, 2003 (Date
of Spring Festival).
Some say that the Spring Festival celebration is originated from a legendary
story about a vicious animal called "Nian". He comes out on Chinese New Year's
Eve to eat anything that is alive, from smaller animals to people. Everybody
is too scared to go out at this time of the year. It is also known that Nian
is afraid of red color, which in the Chinese culture means good luck and
happiness. Therefore, people post paper cuts in red on their door and windows,
and put up red lanterns over their houses to scare this Nian away. Some family
even gives their kids new clothes in red. Another way to scare away this Nian
is to light firecrackers and fireworks. These ways to celebrate the Chinese New Year
has passed on from generation to generation.
The goal of this page is to introduce the Chinese culture through its most
important festival, Spring Festival. It is designed to provide some background
information and knowledge on how this special holiday is generally
celebrated according to the Chinese tradition. The links included cover various
aspects on the Spring Festival and the Chinese culture. Feast your eyes!
Image courtesy of Google.com image gallery
Celebration
Before the New Year, every family is busy giving their house a thorough
cleaning, hoping to sweep away all the ill fortune there may have been in
the family to make way for the wishful incoming good luck. There are also
lots of other decorations people prepare for the New Year. The popular theme
of paper cuts and couplets (another decoration on doors) would be "happiness,"
"wealth," "longevity," and "satisfactory marriage
with more children." Paintings of the same theme are put up in the house
on top of the newly mounted wallpaper. In the old days, various kinds of food
are served at the altar of ancestors.
At New Year's Eve, there would be a dinner banquet in every household. Food
varies from the North part of China to the South and from the East to the West,
but one of the most popular courses is Jiaozi, dumplings boiled in water. Family
members will try their best to get home where their parents live for a family
reunion, and together they will celebrate the New Year. It is a very happy occasion
for large households, for the kids of the third or forth generations would be
running around in the house.
Like all festivals, the Chinese New Year, is especially joyful for children,
since they get new clothes and money-gifts wrapped up in red paper packages
from their parents, family members, or friends of their parents when they
go greet those people. Then, families start out to greet their relatives and
neighbors from door to door and exchange gifts. Fifteen days after the New
Year's Day, there comes the Lantern Festival, an anti-climax. In the evening
of this day, there are lantern shows and folk dances everywhere. Tang Yuan,
another kind of dumpling made of sweet rice rolled into balls and studded
with either sweet or spicy fillings, is served on this day as the typical
food. The lantern Festival marks the end of the New Year season and afterwards
life becomes daily routine once again.
Image courtesy of Google.com image gallery
Internet Sources
Below are some nice general and comprehensive sites on China and the Chinese Culture:
The Complete Reference to China and Chinese-Related
Web Sites
Almost all of the major social, cultural, and other areas of China and the
Chinese cultural are covered, from weather to politics, from entertainment
to religion. Feast your eyes. The search engine provided makes your search
more efficient.
China: The Beautiful
A very good site on China. Three versions are available, English, traditional
Chinese, and simplified Chinese. Through the many links, you will be amazed
by the rich information covered on this site. Included is information on the
Chinese New Year, other background knowledge on the Chinese culture, such
as the silk road, poetry, Buddhism, history, dragon, and seal carvings, to
name just a few.
Chinese
New Year
Food, decoration, celebration, taboos, and superstitions of Chinese New Year
are very informative. Links to other useful sites are also available, such
as links to amazing Chinese Accomplishments, abacus, Moon Harvest Festival.
Chinese
New Year: site for educators and teachers
Good site for teachers and educators. It has detailed information about the
origin and background of the Chinese New Year.
Chinese
New Year
Chinese New Year poster, party, dumplings, distiches, Nian, New Year's Eve,
Gate Gods, Latern Festivalare are covered. In addition, you may also want
to check linked sites on literature, folk arts, history, entertainment, opera,
people. It is an informative and well-designed site.
Chinese New
Year
A great source to further your understanding and knowledge of the Chinese
New Year. Included are culture, history, paper cuts, calendar, animal sign,
abacus, good wishes, people, and fable, etc. Links are very informative and
helpful.
Chinese
New Year's Firecrackers
Nice site for adults and children who love firecrackers. With instructions on
how it is made and links to Chinese Festivals and history of firecrackers. Colorful
and interesting fun site. Enjoy and feast your eyes.
The
Mathematics of the Chinese Calendar
Curious about the Chinese lunar calendar? This is a comprehensive site to
satisfy your curiosity. You will understand the Chinese Calendar. It involves
heavenly mathematics, and covers information from date of the New Year to
software and calendar conversion.
Chinese
Food Recipes
What is special about this one? Well, if you love Chinese food, I bet you
want to take a tour on this site, because this is one delicious Chinese food
recipes site. Along with the information on Chinese New Year, you will read
many recipes of Chinese food. If that is still not enough for you, you can
take a few minutes using the search engine to find more.
Children's
site on the Chinese New Year
This is a fun site for kids, with all the information they need to know about
Chinese New Year. Included are fairy tales, crafts and other interesting information.
Chinese
Cultural Studies: picture archive
Nice archive with abundant images on and about China and Chinese culture. Included
are maps, archaeology, art, divinities, people, historical sites, historical
illustrations, technology, customs, stereotypes on and about China.
Last updated on October 20, 2002
