Chinese New Years

Chinese New Years is based on a lunar calendar thus the exact day changes every year. This year it started on February 8th and lasted nearly two weeks. Unlike America’s New Years Chinese New Years is caked in mythology and traditions. It is Thanksgiving, New Years, and Easter all combined together with a ton of extras thrown in. To understand what exactly Chinese New Years is I stayed with a traditional family to observe them to see what this holiday is.

A MONSTER AND THE COLOR RED

So the mythology of Chinese New Years is that a mythical beast called Nian would come around at this time and eat villagers unless they put food out for him. However eventually a god told the people the monster was scared of the color red and of loud noises. So now people decorate everything in red. They put up red lanterns, wear red clothes, and even wrap potted plants in red paper. On top of this they shoot fireworks ALL THE TIME. I dont just mean every night….which they do do. I mean there are some always going off. They also buy long strings of fire crackers and place them at their front gates, in drive ways, etc…and set them off at the start of the Chinese New Years and at the end….all the time between. Going to bed is like trying to sleep in a war zone.

Other Traditions

There are many other traditions I have observed. The main one is everyone goes back home to spend time with family. Not for a day but like a week or two. The city of Shenzhen emptied out and businesses all closed up as everyone left to go stay with their parents or grandparents. The family I stayed with was actually on a visiting their parents. One day we had nearly 30 other relatives come over for dinner. On other days we visited many other relatives. In this regard it reminds me of Thanksgiving.

Chinese New Years is also called the Spring Festival. Right before Chinese New Years everyone has to clean up their house and yard, similar to spring cleaning in America. Everyone buys new clothes and gets haircuts too. They then wear their new clothes once Chinese New Years starts. This reminds me of America and how we treat spring. With spring cleaning, and people getting new haircuts and Easter dresses for Easter.

On one day the kids go up to all the elders and have to praise them, thank give, and give them blessings. The parents and grandparents in return give the kids red envelopes filled with money. On the last day of Chinese New Years, is the Lantern Festival where people light lanterns up and let them float away. They only do this near large bodies of water, so I was not able to see this.

Ancestor Worship

One of the strangest things I witnessed was ancestor worship. One day was designated to give honor to the patriarchal family line. All the families bring a basket with a chicken, fish, cups, and liquor. They then go t the ancestral home of the oldest known linage. There the family members surround the place with firecrackers (that leave red paper behind afterwards). They light the firecrackers off to leave what looks like red flowers circling the place. Inside the family members set the basket down and pour the liquor into cups. They then pour the cups out and ask for blessings from the ancestor. Some people will burn fake paper money to give the their ancestors. The family members than grab the baskets and go to the next ancestor down the lineage. With each one the group gets smaller as the family units get closer to closer till it is just first cousins pretty much. I ask if they believe in this, and the response I got back was no, but it is part of their tradition and culture that they want to hold on to. I will have to say there is something nice about reminding everyone where they came from on a regular basis.