Stories Behind the Traditions
The most elaborated celebration of all Chinese festivals, Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, marks not only the beginning of another year but also a chance for renewal, a clean slate and all the optimism that goes with a new beginning. The preparation starts about two weeks before with a ceremonial devotion to the deities and the ancestors. Then comes the first big task of a proper send-off of the deities who usually take their posts among the humans. It is believed that the deities depart from their posts about a week before the New Year to report back to the court of the Jade Emperor, the boss of all deities and the dispenser of good fortunes. The deities are observers of our behaviors and their annual reports greatly influence our lucks in the coming year.
The Bribery of the Kitchen God
Among the deities, one is feared most, the Kitchen God. His post is above the stove right in our kitchen and he knows every misconduct that happens within our home. For him, we offer sweet soup to sweeten his view and lots of glutinous rice goodies. These treats have the caramel-like texture and the Kitchen God likes them. We know he will eat a lot of them and we hope that he will have so much that the sticky treats bind his mouth shut and he won’t be able to utter a single bad word about us.
After the deities are taken care of, it is time to clean the household, out with the old and in with the new, settle old debts and put up the decoration. Red strips of paper with rhymes written on them are placed around door and window frames, a long braid of firecrackers hung right outside the house. A feast is being prepared for the New Year’s Eve. On New Year’s Eve, family gathers for the feast as darkness settles in. Children are allowed to stay up on this last night of the year. To pass time, games are played, usually a little gambling among members of the family. At midnight, the New Year is brought in with loud pops by igniting the firecrackers.The Challenge of Nien
In folktales, Nien is a fierce animal. Every year, on New Year’s Eve, it comes out of its hideout, prowls around villages and preys on villagers. To defend themselves, villagers of ancient times sealed the windows and doors of their home with red paste because it is said that Nien fears the color of blood. They also lit firecrackers to scare away the animal. When Nien was on the prowl, the whole family huddled around inside their home, passing the long New Year’s Eve, keeping vigil and hoping to survive another year. At the break of dawn of the New Year, when Nien retreated back to its hideout, villagers came out of their home and congratulated one another for living through another year.
“Gung hay fat choy” or “gong shi fa tsai”, in different dialects, people congratulate one another and wish one another a prosperous year when they meet for the first time in a new year. This year, 2006, Chinese New Year arrives on January 29th of the Gregorian calendar. Each year, Chinese New Year falls on a different date because it is a different calendar from the one accepted worldwide, the Gregorian calendar, a solar-based calendar. The Chinese calendar relies on both the moon and the sun and their relationship with the earth.The Making of the Chinese Calendar
In the Chinese calendar, the seasons are determined by the sun and there are 24 markings of the seasonal changes, each about 15 days apart. Going through one cycle of the 24 milestones takes the same amount of time for the earth to go around the sun one time, which is about 365 days, 365 ¼ days to be exact. A month in this calendar follows the cycle of the moon going around the earth one time, which is about 29 ½ days. Thus each month has alternately either 29 days or 30 days. The first day of the year is the first new moon closest to the beginning of spring. Spring in the Gregorian calendar starts on the Vernal Equinox, which is in late March but spring begins early in February for the Chinese. Each year, the Chinese New Year falls in a window from January 20th to February 20th.
There are discrepancies that need patching up. Twelve moons (29 X 6 + 30 X 6) add up to 354 days, 11 days short of a year. From time to time, about every three years or so, an extra month is needed in the Chinese calendar. In fact, 7 extra months are needed every 19 years. Amazingly enough, ancient cultures, including the Greek and the Chinese, had observed that there are exactly 235 lunar cycles (moons) in 19 solar cycles (years) and the pattern repeats every 19 years. The 235 moons pan out be 12 years with 12 moons and 7 years with 13 moons (12 X 12 + 13 X 7 = 235).
The festivities of the New Year continue on from the first day to the first full moon. On the second day of the New Year, married daughters return to their maiden home, bearing gifts showing off what a good match they have made. On the fourth day of the New Year, the deities return to their posts on earth. On the fifth day, most businesses open for the first time in the New Year. The ninth day into the New Year is the Jade Emperor’s birthday and offering to appease this mighty God is a must. Finally on the fifteenth night with the full moon, children parade with lanterns in hand while sea of lanterns hung from the eaves of temples and buildings. This is the Lantern Festival and the end of the New Year celebration.