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China: The year 4700 (according to the Chinese calendar; we know it as 2002). This is the Year of the Horse, and there will be big ceremonies in Beijing and throughout China. Millions of Chinese people will clog trains, planes and highways to get home in time for the celebrations. This holiday is the most important for many Asians, a bit like rolling Christmas, New Year's and the American Fourth of July into one. The lunar New Year is also celebrated in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam (where it is called Tet) and South Korea (where it is called Sol). However, most people still refer to the celebration as Chinese New Year even though its official name has been Spring Festival since 1911.
The Chinese New Year, Yuan Tan, begins on the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar, which falls between January 10 and February 19. (In 2002, Yuan Tan falls on February 12.) The celebration lasts for 14 days, ending with the Yuan Shaw, or Festival of Lanterns. The first five days are when many people will have time off, and businesses will be closed.
There are many well-known customs in observing the lunar New Year. Mothers tell children to avoid using all vulgar or bad words, quarrels are forgiven and debts settled. People try to buy new clothes, and children receive gifts, perhaps coins wrapped in red paper or money in a red envelope (hung poo). Red is revered as a lucky color, and red paper decorations inscribed with good-luck phrases hang over doors, windows and gates. Red candles are burned for good luck and special flowers decorate homes: white narcissus (good luck), peach or plum (long life), peonies (wealth) and any red flowers (happiness).
The New Year marks a time to turn over a new leaf so, days before the new year begins, all floors are swept and washed and must not be swept again until the celebration is over. This is a symbolic way to avoid misfortune, as the sweeping of floors in this period means the sweeping away of all good luck in the New Year. Many cities, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, also clear the streets of junk and debris.
On the social side, families visit the homes of relatives and friends for great banquets, taking gifts of fine teas, nuts and fruit. Special fruits for this festival are oranges and tangerines, red apples (red and orange are colors of joy), preserved lichees and sugar cane. Candied melon, sugared plums, lotus seeds and roots, melon seeds and preserved ginger are favored delicacies. Food is one of the most important aspects of Chinese festivals, and huge amounts are prepared for the lunar New Year. Many of these foods have symbolic value. For example, the Chinese word for "fish" (yu) rhymes with the word for "surplus." By eating half a fish on New Year's Eve and keeping the rest for the next day, families hope to transfer their surplus luck to the new year.
On New Year's Eve, Chinese families celebrate at a reunion dinner and make offerings to family ancestors. Children stay awake as long as they can, because it is said that the longer one stays up, the longer one's parents will live.
This is a bright and noisy time. Sounds of gongs, clashing cymbals and drums fill the air and exploding red firecrackers and whistling rockets call up the gods and scare away evil devils. Colorful parades and lion dances fill the streets. Folk dancers, musicians and singers entertain. Stilt walkers strut up and down. And booths make and sell long noodles, sweet dumplings and steamed shrimp. The streets are alive with color and activity, sounds and wonderful smells.
The Lantern Festival, on the night of the full moon, is a beautiful event. Many colorful lanterns in elaborate shapes -- balls, boxes, animals, fish, airplanes -- decorate houses and buildings, and are used in parades and marches, often carried by children. The final night marks the Night of the Dragon, when the serpentine creature goes up and down the streets in a long red velvet train ornamented with embroidery and jewel-like sparklers. The dragon, symbol of strength and goodness, has a wonderful paper-mache or wooden head, painted red, gold and silver, and often has a green beard. The head is then attached to a cloth and bamboo body, and may be made up of as many as 50 men, who weave back and forth. Crowds, watching the parade, carry their lanterns and throw firecrackers to scare away evil spirits.
Celebrations the World Over
The earliest observance of Chinese New Year in the United States was in the 1850s, during an influx of Chinese immigrants. There are many hundreds of thousands of people of Chinese ancestry in the US today, and most large cities have a Chinatown, where Chinese traditions and culture still hold strong. Many other world cities with Chinatowns have their own celebrations, including Brisbane and Sydney in Australia; Montreal, Canada; and Yokohama, Japan.
In the United States, the biggest celebrations occur in San Francisco and New York, but Los Angeles and St. Louis also have remarkable parades. San Francisco has a very glamorous parade of colorful floats, marchers in wonderful costumes and a 125-foot Golden Dragon, handmade of Chinese silk and velvet. As he performs his classic dance, the Golden Dragon blazes with lights powered by a portable generator. The Golden Dragon is one of four Divine Creatures for the Chinese, the others being the Unicorn, Phoenix and Tortoise, all of which dispel bad spirits. The dragon, which is the most favored, is worshipped as ruler of rivers, lakes and seas.
The San Francisco parade is a noisy, colorful affair that winds through the streets in and around Chinatown. The streets are filled to overflowing (estimated attendance 700,000), the shops bright with lights and delicious Chinese foods. You'll hear as much Chinese as English spoken by the excited onlookers. Don't even think of driving in the city that night -- catch public transport.
When Were You Born?
According to tradition, Buddha promised gifts to all animals who paid homage to him. Only 12 animals came to honor Buddha, so he gave each of them one of the years in the Chinese zodiac, each of which repeats every dozen years. People born during an animal's year supposedly inherit its characteristics. For example, Years of the Horse occurred in 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990 and now again in 2002. A person born in this year is described as attractive and popular, cheerful, quick to compliment others, and hardworking. However, the same people need others around and tend to be impatient. Horses are advised to marry a Tiger or a Dog, but never a Rat.
Places and Dates: San Francisco, California:
February 9-10, 16-17 Chinatown Flower Fair, Miss Chinatown USA Pageant
February 23 Chinese New Year Parade
February 23-24 Chinatown Community Street Fair, with Chinese opera and ballet, traditional dances and martial arts, plus booths with cooking demos, calligraphy, arts and crafts. www.chineseparade.com
Los Angeles, California:
February 16 Traditional colorful parade
February 16-17 Street fair, carnival and stage show
Chinese Chamber of Commerce 213-617-0396
Baltimore, Maryland:
February 17 Dragon/Lion performance, indoor program with song and Chinese culture traditions
410-539-1395
JustSayGO Travel Show
The Chinese New Year, Yuan Tan, begins on the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar, which falls between January 10 and February 19. (In 2002, Yuan Tan falls on February 12.) The celebration lasts for 14 days, ending with the Yuan Shaw, or Festival of Lanterns. The first five days are when many people will have time off, and businesses will be closed.
There are many well-known customs in observing the lunar New Year. Mothers tell children to avoid using all vulgar or bad words, quarrels are forgiven and debts settled. People try to buy new clothes, and children receive gifts, perhaps coins wrapped in red paper or money in a red envelope (hung poo). Red is revered as a lucky color, and red paper decorations inscribed with good-luck phrases hang over doors, windows and gates. Red candles are burned for good luck and special flowers decorate homes: white narcissus (good luck), peach or plum (long life), peonies (wealth) and any red flowers (happiness).
The earliest observance of Chinese New Year in the United States was in the 1850s, during an influx of Chinese immigrants. There are many hundreds of thousands of people of Chinese ancestry in the US today, and most large cities have a Chinatown, where Chinese traditions and culture still hold strong. Many other world cities with Chinatowns have their own celebrations, including Brisbane and Sydney in Australia; Montreal, Canada; and Yokohama, Japan.