Although the Chinese have long been living according to the Gregorian calendar along with the whole world, and they have a day off on January 1, the main holiday of the country is still considered the New Year's celebration according to the old chronology, lunisolar. The date of Chunjie - the Spring Festival - is constantly changing, but always falls between January 21 and February 21. This is the second new moon after winter solstice.
Like us, the Chinese love to celebrate New Year for a long time. Once upon a time, vacations lasted several weeks. The 21st century sets a new pace, and in 2018 the festivities were reduced to 15 days. Their 4716th Year of the Yellow Earth Dog did not begin until February 16th. On the last day of the old year (2 March in 2018), you can witness the closing of the holiday with the spectacular Lantern Festival.
Why go to China for the local New Year? To admire the elegant houses and squares, attend traditional street costumed lion or dragon dances.
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Traditions of the Chinese New Year. The Legend of Nanny
We are not talking about Mary Poppins or Arina Rodionovna, but about a monster named Nyan (Nen). Translated from Chinese it means “year”. According to legend, the beast came on the first day of the year and completely ate the peasants. To save their supplies, livestock and children from gluttons, people left some food on the doorstep of the house and went to the mountains. That was until one day it turned out that the monster could be scared away by bright colors and loud noise. Many important traditions are connected specifically with the myth of Nanny.
Red color
During the Spring Festival celebration, red color dominates everything. Red paint and decorations on the walls of the house, scrolls, lanterns and, of course, clothes (even panties). However, in costumes the tones of the zodiac color of the year encountered are also acceptable, in 2018 - yellow, respectively yellow dog. In any case, the shades should be as bright as possible to drive away the Nanny.
Noise, fire, incense
Crackers, fireworks, pyrotechnics, bright garlands and sparklers are indispensable attributes of Chunjie. Therefore, the New Year's celebration in the most populated country in the world takes place literally with sparkle and can scare not only the evil monster. Incense bamboo sticks are also quite popular these days.
Cleaning
The day before, you must thoroughly clean the apartment, clearing it of trash and “old energy.” But in the first days of the new year, on the contrary, there is no point in cleaning, because along with the dust, good spirits bring happiness and good luck into the house.
Meeting with the whole family
Chunjie is considered the most family-friendly of holidays. These days, the Chinese return home from all over the world (employers must provide migrants with official leave). It is believed that even the spirits of ancestors join the gathering at the common festive table. Over the next few days, everyone goes together to pay many visits to other relatives, acquaintances and neighbors.
Those who ever want to celebrate the Spring Festival in China should take into account that the entire large nation these days goes to their historical homeland to visit their parents. Transport is crowded and stuck in traffic jams, and tickets can no longer be bought. Therefore, it is better to prepare in advance.
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What do the Chinese cook for the New Year and what gifts do they give?
The table for crowded gatherings is always laden with food, even in poor families. One of the New Year's traditions is to make jiaozi, dumplings in the shape of gold bars, and bake a coin in one of them. Of course, the one who comes across it will find happiness. If only the tooth survived. You can also put yuan in niangao rice cakes, also a traditional New Year's dish.
Like us, the most New Year's fruit is the tangerine. They are even made into beads, and guests and hosts often give them to each other in exchange. Other popular gifts are sweets, amulets symbolizing prosperity, figurines in the form of the symbol of the year and other trinkets. Or vice versa, practical little things, milk packages, cigarettes. For the sake of family harmony, it is customary to make gifts in pairs, with an even number of items (just not 4, because in Asia this is the traditional number of death).
Very often the Chinese give hongbao - money in an envelope, but always in a red one! Most often this gift is given to children, the elderly and work colleagues. Nowadays gift certificates have also become fashionable.
When celebrating each New Year, we try to take into account the characteristics and characteristics of a certain patron animal. This tradition came to us from China. However, few people take into account that the Chinese New Year is celebrated somewhat later than ours. In the Celestial Empire, the date of everyone’s favorite holiday is floating, because it depends on lunar calendar. Traditionally, the Chinese New Year, which in this country is called Chun Jie, is celebrated on the 15th day of the first lunar month. In 2017, the New Year in China will begin on January 28th. Unlike our country, its celebration lasts for 15 days and is subject to ancient principles.
New Year in China - history and traditions of celebration
Let's start with the history of the Chinese New Year. Read the story of our New Year. According to legend, more than two thousand years ago, the Chinese believed that on New Year's Eve, a terrible monster called Nian came to earth from the depths of the sea. The monster devoured everything around, so for many years the people of China celebrated the New Year by locking themselves in their houses and turning off the lights. One day, before the next New Year, someone forgot to remove the red blanket from their yard. When the monster was released, it, as usual, went in search of victims, but at the sight of the red blanket, Nian lost control and disappeared. Since then, the Chinese have celebrated the New Year by wearing red clothes and hanging red lanterns around the city.
New Year in China - what are the traditions of celebration
Chinese New Year is usually celebrated with a wide family circle. The day before the holiday, numerous relatives gather in the house of the older generation and begin to prepare for the event.
Preparing for the holiday begins with general cleaning. Moreover, it is customary to sweep the floor from the door to the center of the room. After cleaning, all brooms, brooms and mops are hidden in a secluded place and taken out only after the end of the holiday. This tradition is associated with an interesting legend, according to which during the New Year the Gods gift the people of China with magic dust, which brings happiness. But if someone wants to clean up during the holiday, this dust will turn into ash, which, instead of happiness, will bring trouble to the residents of the house.
With the onset of the first twilight, the whole family sits down at the table. The main New Year's dish in this country is jiaozi - boiled dough with meat, reminiscent of dumplings. This dish symbolizes the health and prosperity of the inhabitants of the house. Also, the festive meal must include broth with noodles, symbolizing longevity and meat dumplings, as a sign of strength and endurance.
In addition to the feast itself New Year's table gifts are exchanged. The younger generation gives fruits and sweets to relatives, and the older generation pleases their descendants with red envelopes with banknotes. It is believed that money given on New Year's Eve, regardless of the amount, will bring happiness.
After midnight, an interesting ritual of the first exit takes place. All family members leave the house and take ten steps in the direction recommended in their horoscopes. This is how the Chinese pay tribute to the God of Joy.
The morning after the New Year, it is customary to visit your friends and acquaintances. It’s interesting that instead of gifts, Chinese people give each other two tangerines. It turns out that in the Chinese language the character “mandarin” is consonant with the character “gold”, and by giving such a gift, people wish each other to increase their wealth.
New Year Festival in China
Throughout the fifteen days of the holiday, massive festivals are held on the main streets of Chinese cities, marking the beginning of the New Year. During this period, China literally lights up with fireworks, sky lanterns and bright lights. In addition to the procession itself, various entertainment activities– dancing, national costume shows, sweets fairs, etc. At the end of the action, the residents march, carrying in their hands a huge red dragon, symbolizing the strength and greatness of the Chinese state.
Some festival days are celebrated as separate holidays. For example, the fifth day of the New Year festival is considered the birthday of the God of Prosperity. On this day, it is customary to shower passers-by with gold coins. The eighth day of the festival is a family holiday. Lonely Chinese on this day must give some nice gift to a stranger of the opposite sex, and family residents of the Middle Kingdom must spend time with their family. There are also interesting traditions associated with the celebration of the ninth and tenth days of the festival. These days, the people of China pray to the Heavenly Jade Emperor and ask him to help all those who suffer. In addition, during this period it is customary to ask for forgiveness and make peace with your enemies. The final fifteenth day of the festival is considered the Sky Lantern Festival. On this day, a bright lantern is hung on every city building, and a lit candle is placed on the windowsill. This is done so that souls who want to visit the human world quickly find their way home.
Spring Festival (Chunjie) is a traditional Chinese New Year according to the lunar calendar, the main holiday of the year in China.
New Year is celebrated twice in the country: on January 1 according to the solar calendar, as in most countries, and during the new moon. However, the Chinese people traditionally celebrate the Spring Festival more solemnly and with greater joy than the New Year according to the solar calendar. This is due to the fact that most of the country's population are peasants who, by tradition, continue to live according to the lunar calendar, and all field work and holidays are closely intertwined with the lunar calendar.
Chinese New Year is also celebrated as Public Holiday in a number of countries and territories where significant numbers of Chinese live, primarily in East Asian countries.
The Chinese New Year does not have a fixed date; it is calculated according to the Far Eastern lunisolar calendar. Start chinese year falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice and therefore moves between January 21 and February 21.
The year 2018 (year 4716 according to the Chinese calendar) falls on February 16, 2018.
Chunjie is a family holiday. Millions of Chinese return to their hometowns to celebrate the New Year with their families. The New Year's travel season in China is specially called "Chunyun" and is considered the world's largest migration phenomenon.
Lunar New Year celebrations in Yangon, Myanmar
According to scientists, the history of the holiday goes back more than a thousand years.
It has always been rich in a variety of customs, some of which still exist today.
On the eighth day of the last month according to the lunar calendar, many homes prepare aromatic porridge - "labazhou", which includes 8 types of products: glutinous rice, chumiza, grains of willow's tears (bead), dates, lotus seeds, red beans, longyan fruits ", ginkgo seed.
The twenty-third day of the last month according to the lunar calendar is popularly called “xiaonian” (i.e. “small New Year”). People who strictly follow traditions make sacrifices to the deity of the hearth.
Before the holiday, the country literally blooms with red. There are posters everywhere with the hieroglyphs “fu” (happiness) and “si” (joy) gracefully written on them, garlands of lanterns and other decorations, and all of them are exclusively red, meaning prosperity, good luck and prosperity.
Before the holiday, the house must be thoroughly cleaned, all clothes and blankets washed and cleaned. After the house is cleaned, all brooms, dustpans, and rags are put away in a place where no one can see them during the holiday. The reason for this strange behavior lies in the legend: during the New Year celebrations, the gods fly around the houses of the Chinese and give them dust, which symbolizes happiness. Therefore, if you tidy up during the New Year, you may accidentally sweep all the happy moments of the future out of your home along with the dust.
Houses that are cleaned to a shine take on a festive look. Paired calligraphic inscriptions made in black ink on red paper are pasted onto all door frames. The content of paired inscriptions comes down to expressing the life ideals of the owner of the house or good wishes for the new year. Images of guardian spirits and the deity of wealth are pasted on the doors in the hope that they will bring happiness and prosperity to the house.
Two large red lanterns are hung in front of the entrance to the house, and the windows are decorated with paper patterns. The walls of the rooms are decorated with bright New Year's paintings, which symbolize the wishes of happiness and wealth.
The night of Chinese New Year is also called “the night of meeting after separation.” For the Chinese this is the most important point. The whole family gathers at the festive table for New Year's dinner, which is distinguished not only by the abundance and variety of dishes, but also by numerous traditions. For example, New Year's dinner is not complete without dishes made from chicken, fish and “doufu” - soybean curd, called “tofu” in Russia, because in Chinese the names of these products are consonant with words meaning “happiness” and “prosperity”.
According to tradition, on New Year's Eve people do not sleep and stay awake until the morning so as not to miss their happiness. If someone does lie down to rest on New Year's Eve, they should get up early. There is a popular belief: “If you get up early on New Year’s Day, you will also get rich early.”
With the coming New Year's morning people wear smart clothes. The young congratulate the elderly on the holiday and wish them longevity. It is customary to give children red envelopes containing pocket money. This money is supposed to bring them happiness in the new year. In ancient times, money was given not in envelopes, but in the form of necklaces, which were made up of one hundred coins. This was a kind of congratulation, wishing a person to live to be a hundred years old. Hundred coin necklaces are still very popular in China today.
In the north of China, it is customary to eat dumplings for the New Year, and in the south - “niangao” (slices made from glutinous rice). Northerners prefer dumplings because, firstly, in Chinese the word “jiaozi”, i.e. “dumplings” is consonant with the words “seeing off the old and welcoming the new”; secondly, dumplings resemble traditional gold and silver bars in their shape and symbolize the desire for wealth. For the same reason, southerners eat "niangao", symbolizing the improvement of life every year.
A joyful festive atmosphere fills not only every home, but also reigns on every street of every city and village. During the Spring Festival, noisy folk festivals and fairs are held for several days in a row, where lion and dragon dances are performed.
The lion dance, according to legend, traces its history back to the events of the era of the Southern and Northern dynasties, when in a decisive battle one of the sides disguised itself as lions (which were never found in China) and won the battle because the enemy’s war elephants were frightened by the terrible masks and ran, throwing off their riders. Since then, Chinese soldiers have performed the lion dance on special occasions. In the 14th-16th centuries, this dance spread throughout China and began to be performed during the Chunjie festival. It is designed to scare away all the evil forces that can bring misfortune in the coming year.
The dance of dragons also has a long history. It was included in festive rituals back in the 12th century and expressed people’s admiration for the dragon and requests for it to tame the wind and shed rain to obtain a good harvest. The dragon, made of paper, wire and willow twigs, can reach 8-10 meters. His body is flexible and consists of a different, but always odd number of parts (9, 11, 13). Each part is controlled by one dancer using a pole; the undulating, writhing movements of the dragon require great coordination among the participants.
The first five days of the new year are meant for meetings. Relatives, friends, classmates, colleagues visit and congratulate each other on the New Year and give gifts.
New Year's festivities end after the Lantern Festival (Yuanxiaojie or Dengjie), on the fifteenth day of the first month of the Lunar calendar. Today, lantern exhibitions and competitions organized in large city parks are very popular in the capital. Lantern exhibitions last for several days and form an integral part of the New Year's holiday.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
Happy New Year, dear friends!
Oddly enough, but now the Chinese lead a normal, measured life and do not prepare in any way for the New Year. This is because for them it will come next year, and December 31 and January 1 are the most ordinary working days for them, on which they simply change the old calendar to a new one. In China, most holidays are celebrated according to the lunisolar calendar, be it Mid-Autumn Day or Spring Festival, also known as New Year. New Year celebrations in China will begin on the first day of the new moon and will last 15 days until the full moon, i.e. 2017 will begin on January 28, the symbol of this year will be the Fire Rooster. Of course, since we are located on the border of two states, here, to please tourists, they are already trying to transform the city, they even installed a couple of Christmas trees in places where visitors gather. But that’s not about that now. Our good-natured colleagues and real Chinese told us several important traditions that are passed on from generation to generation.
Cleaning
A few days before the onset of the Chinese New Year, the Chinese do a thorough cleaning of the house, which symbolizes getting rid of the old and welcoming the new. By the way, it’s a tradition very close to us to give the premises a complete makeover before the holidays. It is also customary to celebrate the New Year with a clean body and soul, put things in order in your head and begin the celebration with positive thoughts.
Room decoration
After cleaning is completed, people decorate their homes to welcome the New Year. Most of the decorations are red. The most popular of them are lanterns, New Year's paintings, and various symbols of the New Year sign. This year there will be cute roosters everywhere. It is customary to hang red ribbons or paper with hieroglyphs on the front door indicating the “five types of happiness”: luck, honor, longevity, wealth and joy. As you can see, the Christmas tree is not in fashion among the Chinese.
Small year
A tradition completely unfamiliar to us. The minor year begins on the 23rd or 24th of the last month of the year. It is said that on this day the god of food leaves the family to go to heaven and report to the Emperor of Heaven about the family's activities. On this day, the Chinese hold a religious ceremony to bid farewell to the god of food, which includes burning a painting of the god. In Chinese new year holidays people buy a new painting of the food god and hang it in the kitchen.
New Year's fireworks
In ancient times, fireworks were set off to drive away evil spirits from China. Since then, it has become a tradition and immediately after 12 o'clock at night on New Year's Day, fireworks are launched, which symbolizes the onset of the New Year. There is a belief that people who set off fireworks on New Year's Day will have good luck in the coming year. But the tradition of expelling evil spirits existed in China even before the advent of firecrackers and firecrackers. To create noise, any household items that were at hand were used. From the 14th century n. e. In China, on New Year's Eve, a custom arose of throwing bamboo sticks into the oven, which, when burned, made a strong crackling noise and thereby scared away evil spirits. Later, these sticks were replaced with firecrackers and pyrotechnics, but the meaning of the tradition remained the same.
New Year's Eve dinner
New Year's dinner is of great importance to the Chinese. During the feast, a family reunion occurs, which is especially important for those whose loved ones have left home and live separately. Seats at the table are also provided for those family members who, for one reason or another, are absent from the New Year celebration. The holiday dinner usually includes fish. And in northern China, dumplings are an integral dish, in the preparation of which the whole family takes part. Dumplings are a figurative embodiment of one of the main wishes: the birth of sons. These two dishes symbolize prosperity. Other dishes depend on personal preferences. The Chinese are careful to festive table was bursting with a variety of treats. And New Year's dinner must be held at home, and not in a restaurant.
Shou Sui
Shou Sui is a festive family time after the New Year. Family members usually party all night, watching holiday shows on TV, talking, playing games and setting off fireworks. Although some may only stay until the middle of the night when the fireworks stop.
Red envelope
At the end of dinner, it is time to give gifts. Chinese New Year red envelopes usually contain between one and several thousand yuan. The amount of money must be even, they must be freshly printed, since everything New Year's must be new and bring good luck and wealth. But an odd amount is given for funerals. Sometimes chocolate coins are also included. Usually they are given by adults to children on New Year's days. There is a belief that a red envelope drives evil out of children, makes them healthy and increases their life expectancy.
Gift exchange
In addition to red envelopes, it is customary to give small gifts (usually food or sweets), usually given by elders to younger ones, or between friends or relatives. Typical gifts are fruits (usually tangerines, oranges, but pears are excluded), pies, biscuits, chocolates, candies, sweets, etc. Also in China, on New Year’s Day it is customary to give gifts of paired items that symbolize unity and family harmony: two vases, two mugs, etc. Usually new Year gifts Guests give them to the owners before leaving, sometimes even leaving them secretly. And in the morning, people with their entire families go to congratulate relatives and neighbors, following the main rule: the time has come for reconciliation and forgiveness of all grievances. In China, there is also a tradition that originated in ancient times: during the New Year celebration, when you come to visit, you present your hosts with two tangerines, and when you leave, you receive two other tangerines from your hosts. The emergence of this tradition is associated with the fact that in Chinese the pronounced “para mandarin” is consonant with the word “gold”.
Family photo
A very important Chinese New Year tradition is taking a group photo of all the gathered relatives. The oldest man, the head of the family, sits in the center.
End of the New Year celebration
On the fifteenth day of the new year, the Lantern Festival (元宵節, yuan xiao jie - literally the first night festival) is held. On this day, another family dinner is held. Launching lanterns and oranges are an integral part of the holiday. Special sweet dumplings called tangyuan are also prepared in the shape of a full moon. These round balls are made of glutinous rice and sugar, symbolizing reunion. It is said that during such a festival, the direction of lost bad spirits to their home occurs and at the same time, celebration and cultivation good relations between people, families, nature and more, bringing light every year. This day is usually considered the end of the Chinese New Year holidays.
Spring (New Year's trip)
As I already said, Chinese people in various cities in China return home for family dinners on New Year's Eve. Usually this movement begins 15 days before the New Year. This 40-day period is called Chunyun - "spring transport", which is known as the world's largest annual migration. There are so many internal movements during this period that the number is greater than the entire population of China.
No matter how different our customs and traditions may be, the New Year for everyone and always remains the most important and family holiday. This is the time of miracles, the time of fulfillment cherished desires, a moment of happiness. May everything be fine with you!
Your Snow Maiden Alyonka!
New Year in China is considered the most important holiday of the year; it has been celebrated on a grand scale for several millennia. Once upon a time, in ancient times, celebrations lasted more than a month, because there was no agricultural work in winter. Now that the rhythm of life has changed, the weekend has been shortened to a week and a half. However, this fact does not exclude general fun.
The most ancient, the most important
Due to the great popularity of the “international” New Year, celebrated on the night from December 31 to January 1, the Chinese decided to rename their national New Year, the celebration of which often falls in the second half of a not too cold winter in this region, into the Spring Festival. This happened more than a hundred years ago.
By the way, Chinese New Year has another one distinguishing feature– he doesn’t have a fixed day. The specific date of the celebration varies from January 21 to February 21 and depends on the lunar calendar: in Chinese, the New Year starts on the second New Moon after the winter solstice. It is difficult to realize this, but over so many years the Chinese have learned to understand dates without much difficulty. So, for example, the year of the White Metal Rat will actually begin on January 26th.
Don't sleep - you'll freeze
Unusual traditions of celebrating the New Year are present in every country: in Catalonia they plant logs at the table, in Austria they chase a mythical monster, but in China you can’t go to bed the night before the significant date. After all, judging by the legend, on the last day before the start of the New Year, all troubles and misfortunes go on the hunt to attack the Chinese who are gaping in the literal sense of the word. So if you want to spend a year without encountering big problems, don’t go to bed. Especially if you live in China.
And the Chinese do not advise buying before the holiday new shoes and cutting hair - all for the same reason. In their opinion, those who violated the rules will face continuous failures next year.
No fireworks? Make some noise!
Traditions require: the holiday must be noisy. Nowadays there are no big problems with this, because the Chinese are real masters in the production of fireworks, and the roar from them is more than enough (even too much). By the way, some time ago, during the celebration of the International New Year (no less beloved by modern Chinese), even a local landmark, a tower that was almost 600 years old, was damaged by fireworks. The version that it was caused by firecrackers that it caught fire still remains unproven, but if you consider that the fire happened in the midst of the holiday, the conclusions suggest themselves...
But here’s what’s interesting: at the time of the birth of the “loud” tradition of fireworks, fireworks simply did not exist, but it was still necessary to make noise. The resourceful Chinese were not at a loss - after all, by and large, noise can be created using the most common household items.
It is also customary for the Chinese to burn bamboo sticks in ovens: when burned, they emit a peculiar crackling sound that scares away evil spirits. Today, firecrackers and sparklers have replaced sticks.
Mythical Nian
One interesting myth is associated with the celebration of the New Year in China - about a magical monster, whom the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire nicknamed Nian. The monster is especially angry and hungry on the first day of the year and, according to legend, is not at all averse to feasting on not only livestock, but also its owners (and things obviously didn’t work out with the good Grandfather Frost in the Middle Kingdom). Nian especially loves young children who have behaved inappropriately in the past year. To appease the monster, villagers leave food and drinks on the doorsteps of houses and temples - this is the only way to avoid a sad fate and avoid being eaten.
Hiding brooms and mops
Another fun tradition associated with the Chinese New Year celebration is hiding all cleaning items. The day before the celebration, the house must be put in perfect order, and on the eve of New Year's Eve, it is customary to hide all brooms, rags and brushes so that they do not catch the eye. This ritual is associated with the legend that on New Year's Eve the gods bring happiness and good fortune to families for the entire next year. This luck settles in the house in the form of dust, so in order not to sweep away the luck, you cannot clean for some time immediately after the New Year. In addition, to avoid bad luck in the coming year, the festive night should not be spent in one's own bedroom - so even the elderly leave their rooms to join their family at the festive table.
Pair of tangerines
In addition to traditional sweets and other pleasant gifts, in China on the National New Year it is customary to give two tangerines upon arrival. And when leaving the hospitable home, you need to take with you the other two tangerines, which have already been accepted as gifts from other participants in the celebration. The solution to the strange ritual is simple: it turns out that in Chinese, “a couple of tangerines” sounds exactly the same as the word “gold,” so a gift in the form of delicious fruit symbolizes a wish for wealth and prosperity in the coming year.
If wishes are not shouted out, they will not come true
Chinese is one of the most difficult languages in the world. And not only thanks to the record number of hieroglyphs, which a European seems unable to remember, but also to the unusual pronunciation. Have you ever noticed that the Chinese talk too loudly? Sometimes such behavior seems like a manifestation of bad manners and is even annoying. In fact, in this language, some words really need to be shouted, because if you say them quietly, there is a risk that no one will understand you. The story is the same with wishes for the Chinese New Year: they need to be shouted, the louder, the greater the chance that everything will come true in the very near future.
Tree of Light instead of a Christmas tree
Red is one of the most beloved colors in China. It is believed to bring good luck, and since in China it is traditional Christmas tree does not happen, then the most ordinary tree, which in China is called the Tree of Light, is decorated with red balls and lanterns.
Dragons are the main guests
One of the most important events that takes place annually in all cities and villages of China is the Dragon Dance. For the first time, judging by research, the Dragon dance appeared in the 12th century - for the Chinese it is of great importance, because it has long been believed that certain body movements protect against grief and misfortune in the New Year. Dragons are made from paper and wire: the long body can be up to 10 meters long. The dragon's body segments are made separately, each with a pole attached to it, which is controlled by the performers.
