Happy Chinese New Year, y’all! 恭喜發財 (Kong-shi-fa-tsai)、 鼠運亨通 (Shu-yun-hung-tong)!
The Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival, is the most important holiday for Asian countries such as Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, North Korea, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, and—Taiwan! It’s usually around January~February, but the exact date differs a bit year by year. The celebrations usually last for 6 days. Students’ winter breaks always cover the Chinese New Year instead of Christmas. For example, this year the Taiwanese government officially states that Jan 24~29 is the New Year holiday and our winter break is Jan 17 till Feb 9.
You might have heard of the Chinese Zodiac. The animals in order are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. This year is going to be the Year of Rat. Our ancestors believed that the Jade Emperor held a swimming competition for 13 animals in order to select 12 zodiacs. The Rat and the Cat weren’t good at swimming, so they asked the honest old Ox to carry them on his back. The Ox promised them because he thought that he himself will cross the finish line before them anyway. However, when they almost arrived at the finish line, the sly Rat pushed the Cat off into the water and jumped off Ox’s back and arrived at the finish line first, making him the first of the 12 zodiacs. Other animals followed, while the cat arrived the last and didn’t get to become a zodiac. Some say that that’s why Cats and Rats became nemeses. If you are interested in more about Chinese Zodiac Signs, watch this video:
Finally, our traditions! Days before New Year’s Day, family members will work together to clean their houses all over. Our culture believes that by doing so, we are leaving the unclean to the passing year, and we will invite the New Year into a clean house. People will also stick vermillion spring couplets to the frames and thresholds of their doors. On New Year’s Eve, every single family member, living near or far, will gather together to have a feast of reunion dinner, cherishing the time everyone is together.
On New Year’s Day, people will wear their newest clothes, set off firecrackers, and perform/watch the dragon & lion dance. The most highly anticipated event by us is always when the elders give out the red envelopes, which contains pocket money. Before that, it’s only polite that children say lucky blessings, while their elders say the same in return. Such blessings usually include meanings of wealth, great fortune, success, safety, and longevity. These traditions are said to be based on an ancient tale of Nian, the Chinese demon of New Year. Watch an animation of Nian’s story:
The traditions of Chinese New Year have a history of millennials and is an extremely precious and valuable piece of our culture. Quite a bit fortunate isn’t it—to have double New Year holidays and pocket money as a bonus! Anyway, 一元復始 (Yi-yuan-fu-shi)、萬象更新 (Wan-shiang-ken-shin)—happy new year, y’all!
References & Works Cited
https://media.chinahighlights.com/video/zodiac-rat-2020-pc.mp4
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