Chinese New Year
The ancient Chinese calendar is a
“lunisolar” calendar, in that it is a hybrid calendar based both on the
location of the Moon and the location of the Sun relative to the Earth. In
contrast, the Gregorian calendar that is widely used today is primarily a solar
calendar, which is derived from the fact that it takes approximately 365 days
for the Earth to make one complete orbit around the Sun. As Chinese New Year is
an ancient Chinese holiday based on the lunisolar calendar, it doesn’t fall on
the same Gregorian calendar day each year – it falls within a range of
Gregorian calendar days instead. This range spans from January 21 – February
20.
When is Chinese New Year?
January 25, 2020 (Saturday)
Chinese New Year, also known as
Spring Festival, is one of the most important, if not the most important,
celebrations in Chinese culture. The celebrations surrounding the holiday last
15 days, and there are a myriad of festivities and observed traditions that
occur within those 15 days. Many of these festivities revolve around the
origins of the holiday and the mythical beast called Nian, which means “year”
or “years” in Chinese.
History and Mythology
A long time ago in China, a
monster called Nian (?) came down from the mountains once a year and terrorized
villagers – small children in particular. The villagers were very afraid of the
Nian, so they attempted to use any method possible to frighten the monster away
or get it to leave. One of the tactics involved making food for the monster and
leaving it on the doorstep so that it would be full and go back to the
mountains. At another time, the villagers noticed that it was afraid of a small
child who was wearing red. They realized that the Nian was afraid of the color
red, and began wearing red at that time of year to keep the beast away. In
addition to wearing red, they found that loud noises and fireworks helped
frighten the monster.
Celebrations
As legend has it, the Nian still
lives in the mountains of China. It is customary to wear red and shoot
fireworks each year during the Spring Festival, to help keep the Nian and other
evil spirits away. The traditional “Lion Dance” involves several of these
customs and many others. According to Wikipedia, each day has its own unique
celebration. For example, on the first day of the Spring or New Year Festival,
people will gather together for large feasts and spend time with family. On the
fourth day, people begin returning to work. The eighth, ninth and tenth days
involve celebrating the birth of the Jade Emperor, who is considered to be the
head of the heavenly bureaucracy. The festival ends on the fifteenth day which
is also known as the Lantern Festival.
http://www.holidayscalendar.com/event/chinese-new-year/
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