Lee 1 Marcus Conrad Lee Miss Lacey College Writing 111 07 November 2012 Chinese New Year Chinese

New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, is a popular holiday for Chinese all around the world. It typically begins on the first day of the month in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th day, which makes it the longest and most significant holiday for Chinese people. Chinese New Year does not fall on a specific day of the year- another name for Chinese New Year is Lunar New Year because the New Year is determined by the cycles of the moon, which cause the dates to be different every year. Each New Year begins with the new moon in late January or Early February. For instance, Chinese New Year in 2012 fell on the 23rd of January but Chinese New Year will fall on the 10th of February in 2013. Every New Year is represented by one of twelve zodiac animals- for example, 2012 was the Year of the Dragon and 2013 will be the Year of the Snake. It is unclear when the celebration of Chinese New Year began, but just as Chinese history dates back thousands of years, Chinese New Year has been celebrated since the Qin Dynasty. Ancient legend tells a story of a demon called Nian that lived deep in the sea throughout the year but came up to the surface every year on the eve of Chinese New Year. The demon would terrorize the Chinese people, feeding on livestock, harming humans and even devouring little children. The people lived in terror and every year they would hide in their homes when the

demon came out. The legend goes that the villagers discovered that the Nian was frightened of the colour red and even more afraid of loud noises. Henceforth, the villagers would set up red banners on their doors and light firecrackers to scare the Nian and it never caused them problems again. Even to this day, Chinese celebrate Chinese New Year with firecrackers and believe that red symbolizes joy and good luck. People also hang red banners with auspicious sayings outside their doors. The Chinese character Fu means, luck and fortune has come. However, the Chinese word for come can also mean, to fall. As a result, the Chinese character Fu is usually hung on doors upside down in a play on the word. Apart from the colour red, there are many other traditions or rituals that symbolize the welcoming of the New Year, fortune, luck and health and many more that are believed to be auspicious. Spring-cleaning of the home before the New Year is believed to clear out bad luck from all corners of the home to make space for good luck and families also buy new clothes, which signify a new beginning. On top of all the beliefs and traditions, Chinese New Year has a deeper meaning to the people who celebrate it because family plays a great role in the significance of Chinese New Year. In any case, as in most cultures, they (Chinese People) still try to visit their relatives and acquaintances to give them their best wishes for the New Year- an activity known as bai nian, zou chun or tan chun. New Year visits are very important and are one of the main highlights of the holiday, thus there are a lot of emphasis on reunion dinners (also known as tuan yuan fan) and family visits. On New Years Eve, families meet up for reunion dinner either in a relatives home or at a restaurant. Reunion dinners usually happen on both the maternal and paternal side of the family and as a result, celebrations can begin a lot earlier than New Years Eve itself to

avoid conflicting schedules. Chinese dishes are all about symbolism; serving whole chicken signifies family togetherness and spring rolls (which supposedly look like gold bars) symbolize wealth and the list is endless. Chinese children and taught to wait for their seniors to start eating before they can begin as a mark of respect and it is common to see children patiently waiting for the elders to partake of the best parts of the meat and dishes before taking their share. Younger relatives visit the homes of older relatives in order to pay respects and convey their good wishes; as mentioned before, this is one of the most important aspects of Chinese New Year. Oranges, symbolizing wealth and good luck are usually exchanged between the visitors and the host and auspicious blessings are exchanged too. Shen ti jian kang, for instance, is a wish for good health and longevity and wan shi ru yi wishes for success in all endeavours. The highpoint for most children and unmarried younger individuals during visitations is the receiving of red packets called ang baos which contain money and of course, gorging on all the Chinese New Year sweets and goodies that hosts have for their visitors. Family visits and reunions are incredibly important in a society where thanksgiving is not a big deal. Some relatives do not see each other much till Chinese New Year comes around and the holiday gives them the opportunity to do so. As Chinese New Year comes around in Singapore, festive music fills the shopping malls and the streets resound with the reverberations of traditional music. This is especially so for Chinatown where the streets are decorated with bright lights and street performers participate in a street procession. Lion dances are very common during Chinese New Year and the performers are usually martial artists. A lion dance consists of two dancers, a lion head with blinking eyes, a mouth that can open and close and a decorated drape that covers the dancers. The dancers must

coordinate in a realistic way to portray the lion- the dancer in front raises and shakes the head in beat to a rhythm made by drummers while the dancer behind acts as the tail and hind legs. It is a difficult skill to perfect and coordination is key as there are often big jumps in the air, leaps on wooden stilts and the dancer in front may even leap onto the shoulders of the other dancer. Many stall owners also take advantage of the festive season to set up shop along the streets of Chinatown selling home made traditional delicacies such as dried persimmon and roasted chestnuts. Many tourists and locals alike come down to Chinatown during Chinese New Year to catch the gleaming bright lights and cacophony of celebratory music. Chinese New Year is a big event in the United States because Chinese people are the largest Asian ethnicity here and even represent the third largest immigrant group. Chinese New Year celebrations in the United States differ from Asia, but hold many similarities, Chinese New Year in North America is not a direct transplant of Chinese traditions; most celebrations are shortened and simplified in the New World. Parades have come to epitomize Chinese New Year in the New World- a blending of the symbols, colors, and spirit of Chinese lantern festivals with the very American ritual, the parade. The San Francisco Chinese New Year Celebration is a good example of such a parade and is even ranked among the worlds top ten parades. Not only is it the largest Asian event in the United States, it is also the biggest celebration of its kind that has extended beyond the scope of Asia. The parade showcases extravagant costumes, exhilarating lion dances and blasting firecrackers. National Geographics blog further points out the differences in the traditional festival that arise due to western influence when they say that the San Francisco parade will, include a flower show, a Miss Chinatown USA Pageant, and even a basketball jamboree. However, (according to my cousin in Loma Linda) Chinese people

here do try their best to stick to traditional practices to the best of their ability- they usually come together as a big group in church and exchange ang baos and oranges. Nevertheless, the Western environment does have its limitations and customary Chinese New Year goodies are not always easy to find. Chinese New Year was not always a big deal for me because it merely meant visiting relatives that I do not ever see throughout the year and receiving free money that I would eventually squander. I come from a very small family with strange ties- my father was an adopted child and his relationship although decent was strained by his adopted parents divorce when he was very young. My mother has two sisters and they have lived overseas for nearly thirty years, which leaves me with my grandmother and some of my moms cousins to visit on Chinese New Year. My family is also very westernized and they made feeble attempts to teach us about traditions. As a result, I grew well into my teenage years following a tradition out of habit and convenience. However, when I met my girlfriend, things changed. She comes from a big family and they live within walking distance of each other that forced an intimacy and warmth as a family that I have never experienced. Tradition also weighed greatly with my girlfriends grandmother and they celebrated Chinese New Year with a gusto that was foreign to me. As I spent year after year visiting my girlfriends family, not only did they teach me the importance of tradition, but I also began to appreciate the beauty of a close-knit family coupled with togetherness. As a result, the meaning of Chinese New Year to resonates to me in a unique manner. On top of the fancy food, New Year goodies, ang baos and festive lights, Chinese New Year means family and reunion. The feeling that I get from sitting down as a family for tuan yuan fan can be akin to the warmth and comfort that a family feels on thanksgiving when the

whole family comes congregates once again from all over the country. The feeling that we are together as family, that everyone is safe and sound; that is Chinese New Year for me.

Works Cited

Roy, Christian. "New Year's Day." Traditional Festivals: a multicultural encyclopedia. Volume 2. Santa Barbara: 2005. Weaver, Meg. "Chinese New Year Celebrations in North America." Blogs.nationalgeographic.com. National Geographic, 04 Feb. 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2012.