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Comes the Year of Monkey and passes the Year of
Sheep.
This year we celebrate the
Year of the Monkey, and it's definitely a celebration
as the Monkey spirit lends everybody nutty energy and
charm to burn. Parties and good times will be the rule
rather than the exception, and there'll be lots of --
yes, indeed -- monkeying around as the whole world
seems curious, funny and ready for love (or at least
lust!). The curiosity of the Monkey will also carry
over into other areas of life; people will be keen on
figuring things out this year, and then on showing off
their new knowledge.
While under the influence of
the original party animal, enjoy both your busy social
life and your practically hyperactive romantic one --
but don't get too carried away. The Monkey can make us
feel like it's playtime all the time, so be sure
you're not more concerned about your own fun than you
are about others' feelings. Don't blow off your
responsibilities and be sweet to your friends and/or
your sweetie, and you'll get the best out of doing the
funky Monkey.
The Origin of Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year, pronounced in Chinese as "xin nian",
always falls on the date of marking the beginning of the spring and thus
it is also called the "Spring Festival". "xin" means
"new" and "nian" means "year". There are
many stories told about the origin of "nian", which actually
is a name of animals.
The old story says that the beast "nian" with a very big
mouth was so fierce and could swallow many people in one single bite.
People were very scared. An old man offered to subdue "nian"
and said to "nian": "I hear that you are very capable,
but can you swallow the other beasts instead of people who are by no
means of your worthy opponents?" So "nian" swallowed many
of the other beasts that hurt people and their domestic animals. The old
man turned out to be an immortal god and riding the beast "nian"
flied to the heaven. Now that "nian" is gone and other beasts
were also scared into forests, people began to enjoy their peaceful
life. Before the old man left, he had told people to put up red paper
decorations on their windows and doors at each year's end to scare away
"nian" in case it sneaked back again, because red is the color
the beast feared the most.
From there on, the term "guo nian" has the meaning of
"pass-over" or "survive" the "nian". By
tradition, Chinese businesses had to pay off all debts by the year-end
and thus if they could get it over, it is worth for the celebration of
the New Year.
Today people still put up red paper and firing firecrackers as way of
celebration. "guo nian" becomes a tradition of celebration for
thousand of years.
Traditions of Chinese New Year
The celebration of the Chinese New Year may last only a few days
including the New Year's Eve, the New Year season actually starts from
the 15th of the last month and ends at the 15th of the first month of
the new year. By tradition, Chinese will be busy in buying presents,
decorating their houses, preparing food and making new cloths for the
New Year. During that period, all transportation, in particular railway,
will be busy in bringing Chinese back to their own home town for a
family reunion on the Chinese New year Eve.
Days before the New Year, every family is busy giving its 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 in-coming good luck.
People also give their doors and windowpanes a new paint, usually in red
color. They decorate the doors and windows with paper-cuts and couplets
with the very popular theme of "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 tributes to the ancestors.
The Eve of the New Year is very carefully observed. Supper is a
feast, with all members coming together. One of the most popular courses
is jiaozi, dumplings boiled in water. "Jiaozi" in Chinese
literally mean "sleep together and have sons", a long-lost
good wish for a family. After dinner, it is time for the whole family to
sit up for the night while having fun playing cards or board games or
watching TV programs dedicated to the occasion. They also go to flower
market for last moment shopping for flower and foodstuff. Light will be
kept on the whole night. At midnight, fireworks will light up the whole
sky and firecrackers make everywhere seem like a war zone. People's
excitement reaches its zenith.
Very early the next morning, children greet their parents and receive
their lucky money in red wrapping. Then, the family starts out to say
greetings from door to door, first their relatives and then their
neighbors. It is a great time for reconciliation. Old grudges are very
easily cast away during the greetings. The air is permeated with warmth
and friendliness. During and several days following the New Year's day,
people are visiting each other, with a great deal of exchange of gifts.
The New Year atmosphere is brought to an anti-climax fifteen days away
where the Festival of Lanterns sets in. It is an occasion of lantern
shows and folk dance everywhere. One typical food is the Tang Yuan,
another kind of dumplings made of sweet rice rolled into balls and
stuffed with either sweet or spicy fillings.
The Lantern Festival marks the end of the New Year
season and afterwards life becomes daily routines once again. Customs of
observing the New Year vary from place to place, considering that China
is a big country not only geographically, but also demographically and
ethnically. Yet, the spirit underlying the diverse celebrations of the
Chinese New Year is the same: a sincere wish of peace and happiness for
the family members and friends.
New Year Food
Chinese food, especially during the New Year, is rich with symbolism
and is an immensely important part of Chinese social culture. No Chinese
celebration can be considered complete without a focus on food. The
Chinese shop will offer seasonal specialties and typical New Year
favorites. You will see a lot of Chinese New Year Cake, sesame balls,
almond cookies and other irresistible sweet and savory treats, dim sum,
noodles, seafood, Chinese Herbs and medicinal products, B.B.Q. meats,
Bubble Teas and other treats.
Flower Market
Plants and flowers are often exchanged during Chinese New Year to
express good wishes, and a large Chinese Flower Market will inspire
and enchant the celebration with a beautiful array of traditional and
contemporary flora. Whether it is a 'money' tree, cherry blossoms, or
sweet olive plumes, plants and flowers signify the blossoming of the
New Year. This is an area of strong visual impact and cultural
significance for the market visitors. Most of the family will go to
visit the flower market after the reunion New Year Eve dinner and the
market will be crowded with buyers until after mid-night. In the
market, there will be traditional Chinese performances, face painters,
painting and calligraphers.
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