As the year of Dragon departs and the year of Snake draws
near, the Chinese is ushering in their grandest traditional festival -- the
Spring Festival. Here we would like to extend our New Year greetings to all
Chinese at home and abroad!
The origin of the Spring Festival
The Spring Festival is the first traditional
festival during the year. It was called "New Year" in the past
because according to the lunar calendar long used in Chinese history it is the
first day of the first lunar month, marking the beginning of a year.
The celebration of the Spring Festival has a
history of more than 4,000 years, which is originated from Emperor Yao. One day
around 2000 B.C., Yao took the throne and led members of his court to worship
the heaven and the earth. Since then, people began to take that day as
beginning of the year and marked it the first day of the first lunar month.
After the 1911 revolution, China adopted the Gregorian calendar, and changed
the lunar New Year into "Spring Festival", which, according to the
Gregorian calendar, falls between late January and mid February.
The night before the Spring Festival is called
chuxi, or New Year's Eve. This is an important moment for family reunion
accompanied by a rich "New Year dinner"; many people stay up all
night to see the Old year out and the New Year in. The next day, people begin
to visit relatives and friends to exchange greetings. During the festival, the
most popular celebration activities include lion dance, dragon dance, boating
race and walking on stilts.
The legend of "Nian" beast
Legend has it that there once lived in ancient
China a ferocious horned beast called "Nian" (literally means
"year" in Chinese). The beast stayed in deep sea throughout the year
but surfaced on the New Year's Eve to eat cattle and people. So, at every New
Year's Eve, all people, bringing along the old and the young, fled into deep
mountains.
Another New Year's Eve, an old man, who looked
radiant with health, entered the Peach Village. After asking some food from an
old lady living at the eastern end of the village, he insisted on staying
overnight at her house despite warning of danger.
At midnight, the "Nian" beast broke
into the village, but smelled a different atmosphere: the old lady's house was
brilliantly lit, with red paper pasted on the door panels. The beast pounced
forward with a roar, but stopped short and shivered, as the sound of crackling
and spluttering suddenly came from the courtyard. In fact, the beast feared
most the red color, fire and sound of explosion. Just at that time the door
opened and out came the old man in a bright red cloak, laughing heartily. The
beast was so scared that it ran away in panic.
This gives rise to the habits of pasting
red-paper couplets and letting off firecrackers at every household, as well as
the lighting up of candles and staying up all night.
Six major activities during the Spring
Festival
Dusting.
This refers to yearend cleaning, which also carries the meaning of sweeping all
"bad lucks" or "evil spirits" out of one's house.
Pasting.
To paste New Year couplets, pictures and the character of "Fu"
(bliss) on gateposts, door panels and windows.
Inviting.
To invite the gods of kitchen and fortune.
Staying
up. In the past, for the old, staying up all night on the New Year's Eve meant
to cherish fleeting time, and for the young, it meant to pray for a longer life
for parents.
Greeting.
Greetings must be given to older generations and exchanged among the same generation.
Spring
Festival just around the corner
Playing.
By playing the dragon dance people pray to the god of dragon for good weather
and rich harvests.
Two important things during the
festival
Money
wrapped in red paper. This is meant for unmarried children (in traditional
Chinese ideas one can only be counted "adult" when he marries), to
convey best wishes and good luck.
Eating
Jiaozi (boiled dumplings). This is a habit popular as early as in Ming
(1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) times. Jiaozi must be prepared before 12 pm
and put on table when the New Year bell is rung at midnight.（via：peopledaily）
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