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In
1912, the Republic of China officially adopted the Gregorian calendar
used in the West, but the traditional Chinese festivals continued
to be calculated in the old lunar calendar which goes back more
than four thousand years.
The
way the Chinese calculate each month is called "first moon", "second
moon" and so on. In
the Chinese calendar each day and each month represent something,
which might happen on each day of each month.
Today
many Chinese still strongly believe the predictions that are written
down on the calendar. As
we all know the Chinese horoscope has twelve animals: Rat, Ox, Tiger,
Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.
Each
animal represents the year the person is born. At the beginning
of each year, most Chinese will buy an almanac, inside it works
out the future for each animal for that year.
Chinese
New Year
Chinese
New Year is the most important festival of the year. It is the first
day of the full moon, it means the renewal of life, the new beginning,
new hope, new prospects.
The
traditional way of welcoming the New Year, is to spend New Year's
Eve with the whole family having a meal together, then the whole
family would go out to a special market (called flower market) and
walk around there till early morning.
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| Chinese
New Year celebrates the renewal of life |
This
is very important, especially for the children to stay up late till
the early morning; it means they wish their parents longevity.
In
the morning the children have to give their parents good wishes,
and in return their parents will give them lucky money placed inside
a red packet.
The
start of the Chinese New Year usually takes place sometime in February.
There
are a number of different beliefs as to how the lunar new year started,
but one of the more colourful Chinese legends involves a beast with
an enormous mouth that could swallow people whole.
There are a number of different beliefs as to how the lunar
new year started, but one of the more colourful Chinese legends
involves a beast with an enormous mouth that could swallow people
whole.  |
| Our
Untold Stories |
This
beast, named Nian, terrified people until an old man (an immortal
god in disguise) tamed it, riding Nian into the sunset. Before the
old man left, he suggested that people hang red paper decorations
on their windows and doors at each year's end. The coloor red was
the coloor the beast feared most - and thus it would scare Nian,
if the beast ver came back.
And
so the tradition of Guo Nian started. Guo, which means "to pass"
or "to observe," and Nian, which means "year," was once used to
mean "survive the [beast] Nian" but is now used to "celebrate the
[New] Year."
In
particular, the Chinese believe New Year festivities, is a time
for renewal, family reunion, eating rich foods and paying respects
to ancestors and elders. In addition, the Chinese believe that what
you do and how you act during this period will determine what kind
of year you have.
Ching
Ming and Chung Yeun
The
next festival is Ching Ming (third lunar month) when people go to
their ancestors' graves to pay their respects. Later
on in the year at around September there is another festival called
Chung Yeun, which is very similar.
On
these two occasions, the whole family gather in front of their ancestors'
graves, tidy the graves and leave some fresh flowers and food, and
burn paper money, cars, and houses for use by the deceased person.
Dragon Boat Festival
In
the middle of the year, there is a festival known as the Dragon
Boat Festival, perhaps this is one of the best known festivals in
the west.
Held
in Hong Kong every year, they have boats for foreign devils (our
name for Westerners), and the Chinese. It is always good humoured
and friendly.
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| Dragon
boat racing is a huge Chinese tradition |
The
original story is about a poet and scholar in 277 BC whose advice
was ignored by the Emperor and as a result the country was in decline.
He
felt that was the only honourable thing left for him to do was to
end his life, so he drowned himself on the fifth day of the fifth
lunar month.
The
peasants tried to rescue him in vain, and in order to preserve his
body, they wrapped rice in lotus leaves and threw them in the river;
hoping the sea creatures would eat the food and leave the body alone,
they also decided to beat drums to frighten them away.
This
tradition has lasted to the present day. Every year in May, when
we have boat racing, we eat sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves.
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