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hinese New Year is celebrated on the first day of the first month
of the lunar calendar. According to the lunar calendar, this year is 4709 -- the
Year of the Dragon. Each year in the 12-year cycle is assigned a different
animal. If you're wondering why certain animals are used, one legend has it
that Buddha called to all the animals of the world promising to name a year
after each animal that came to him. Of all the animals, only 12 came. Each
received a year in the order it arrived. Buddha gave some of its characteristics
to that particular year.
 Another legend says that once upon a time, the Emperor of the gods came up
with the idea of the Chinese Zodiac to represent the 12 most powerful and wisest animals in the world. Twelve animals
quarreled as to who would head the Chinese Zodiac. It was very difficult for the Emperor to choose who would get to lead because
all the animals were special in their own way. Therefore the Emperor held a race or contest to decide who would get to be in
the Chinese Zodiac Calendar. Whoever reached the opposite bank of the river first would be head of the first cycle, and the
rest of the animals would receive their years according to their finish.
All the animals gathered at the riverbank and jumped in. The tiny little rat,
afraid of getting squashed by the other huge animals, jumped up on the ox's back. The huge, strong ox raced across the river
and was about to jump ashore; the very wise rat jumped off the ox's back and won the race. The pig, who was very lazy, ended
up last. That is one of the reasons why the rat is the first year of the animal cycle, then the ox, then tiger, rabbit, dragon,
snake, horse, sheep/ram, monkey, rooster, dog, and last, but not least, the pig.
The Year of the Dragon is a time of grandiose schemes, of outrageous fortune and stunning disasters. Expect
spending and speculation on a grand scale, and the hot tempers of individuals and even nations to be triggered by revolution against constrictions and
injustices of all kinds. This is an auspicious time for new beginnings, be they related to business, marriage or children, as the powerful Dragon is
the omen of happiness and good luck.
The Week Before Chinese New Year
Families work hard to clean the house thoroughly,
careful to sweep out the evil spirits of the past year, but also sweeping
inward to make sure not to sweep away the family's wealth.
All debts are paid
to save face for the borrower and bring good fortune to all. Cutting of
food and hair must be done before midnight on New Year's Eve since cutting
anything on New Year's Day will cut off good luck.
One can't say any foul language or negative words. For good fortune
in the Lunar New Year, one must always say positive, good luck words.
A picture of the
kitchen god hangs in the kitchen year-round in the belief that he goes to
heaven at the end of the year to tell the almighty jade god all the good
and bad things about the family. On the 24th day of the 12th month, the
family performs a ceremony in which honey is smeared on the kitchen god's
mouth to ensure he will say "sweet" things and wine is poured on his mouth
to intoxicate him so that he will forget the bad things. Then the Kitchen God is
dispatched to deliver a message to the Sky God. The picture is taken down, placed on a paper horse
and brought into the backyard with much ceremony, then burned to send the kitchen god on his way to
heaven. A new kitchen god is hung for the subsequent year to look over the family. Joss paper marked
with wishes for good health, longevity and prosperity is burned, the smoke carrying the messages to
heaven.
Signs of the New Year are everywhere. In
produce sections of grocery stores, tangerines and oranges are displayed with leaves attached. The
pomelos, full and round as suns, practically give off their own light. Sometimes known as the Chinese
grapefruit, the pomelo, topped with a tangerine or orange will soon appear at household thresholds as
offerings to the door god.
Shelves are packed to the edges with joss
money, clothing and poems, banners with wishes for prosperity, health and more prosperity hangs low
from the ceiling, and on the counters, so you don't forget, red envelopes to hold money -- Li See -- for new year's gifts. The almanac for the year of the dragon, listing auspicious
days, less-auspicious days and not-so-auspicious days, is there for the asking. In it there's some
fortune telling, three or four types of dream interpretations and some papers that can be burned to get
rid of evil spirits. It doesn't help to get the almanac later rather than sooner; you need to know
which direction to walk when/if you leave your house on New Year's day to bring prosperity.
New Year's Eve
To avoid washing and cutting on New Year's Day, people
get haircuts earlier. On New Year's Eve, they bathe in water boiled with the pomelo leaves. Considered
a purifier, the leaves are also used in shadowed areas of the house or where someone lay sick in bed.
Families hang scrolls in
doorways for good luck, health and prosperity. A family reunion meal takes
place, and food offerings are made to gods and ancestors. In the past,
families stayed up all night in the belief that the longer one stays up, the
longer one's parents will live. At midnight, firecrackers are exploded to
scare away lazy or evil spirits.
As part of the annual tradition, every door and window
is supposed to be wide open on the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. That lets out the spirits
of the old year and lets in the new ones.
New Year's Day and the Week Following
No cleaning, especially sweeping, will be done on New
Year's Day when the Kitchen God takes his place by the stove again. No washing, for fear of washing
luck away. Cooking for the New Year's feast is completed the day before and knives put away so luck
won't be cut but instead will flow.
It is believed that what you do on
New Year's is what comes for the rest of the year. People try to take off from work, so the year won't
bring constant toil; yelling, cursing, chastising children, unkind words and gossip are avoided, so the
year won't bring disharmony and tears.
Red and pink flowers and
blossoms are displayed, signifying a fresh and invigorating hope for the new
year. Other plants and their symbolic
meaning include: narcissus, good fortune and prosperity; camellia, springtime;
evergreens, everlasting life; peach blossoms, longevity; and Buddha hand
citron, happiness.
Friends and family visit one
another. Married callers bring red Li See envelopes with money
inside to give to the children. Visitors also bring bags of oranges and
tangerines with their gold color signifying "golden prosperity." The visits reconfirm family ties
and by extension community ties, but the new year begins with a reverence for the ancestors.
The ancestors have their own table with plates, bowls
and chopsticks by the altar. Incense is lit and paper money is burned for them to spend in the afterlife.
But what's most important is the example the ritual sets. The elders set up the altar to show their
respect for the people who went before them, and they thank their elders for their blessing. Then when
the parents get older, the kids understand that they give money to their parents. And just as new
clothes in joss paper are burned as offerings to the ancestors so they will be well turned out in the
afterlife, new clothes, from the skin out if possible, are proper wear on New Year's Day.
Red is the preferable color for clothing as it is an auspicious color during the New Year, meant to
convey good cheer and frighten away the demons. According to legend, the
horrible beast called nian (the same word for "year") only had three
weaknesses: it was frightened by noise, sunshine, and the color red. So villagers
built fires, set off firecrackers, and painted the doors to their houses red.
The hostess brings out her
tray of eight immortals, which consists of eight different sweet foods,
each symbolizing a particular good fortune for the person who eats it.
Watermelon seeds signify wealth, coconut candy represents closeness to
family; candied melon means good health and physical strength; ginger
represents sharp mind and intelligence; cookies mean sweetness of nature and
good disposition; oranges signify gold and wealth; and red candies mean good
luck.
Lion dancers, led by a drummer,
come to homes and businesses that put out heads of lettuce hanging from a long
rope to entice the lion to their houses. Once there, he cavorts around the
yard, eats the lettuce, spits it out, and "eats" a red envelope given by
the household to signify that he has scared away evil spirits and brought
good luck to their home. Firecrackers noisily end the fête.
Other New Year's Foods
A dark brown sweet, New Year's
cake called Go, which means "high" in Cantonese, is served as well
as a vegetarian dish called Jai or Monk's Stew, prepared in the
belief that a new year should be started with a pure dish made entirely of
vegetables. Incense and candles are lit to pay homage to ancestors. Sprays
of an evergreen plant are displayed, signifying long life, and golden oranges
are stacked on plates in a pyramid to ask for prosperity for the coming year.
On the 15th day of
the New Year, the celebration ends with a lantern and dragon parade. Lanterns
help people find the heavenly spirits who are believed to be flying around
the full moon. The Lantern Festival also was said to usher in light and
warmth after the cold winter and was a prayer for plentiful spring rains for
the farmers. Some households lit as many lanterns as family members, and if
they wanted more children, they displayed many more lanterns.
A block-long dragon, a
mythical creature symbolic of vigor and fertility, is manned by as many as 200
men who swirl in its body around to scare any remaining evil spirits. The
Chinese New Year celebration ends after about three weeks of festivities,
food and family togetherness.
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