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HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!

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  • HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!

    Chinese New Year (Chinese: 春節, 春节, Chūnjíe; or 農曆新年, 农历新年, Nónglì Xīnnián), also known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It consists of a period of celebrations, starting on New Year's Day, celebrated on the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar, i.e. the day of the second new moon after the day on which the winter solstice occurs, unless there is an intercalary eleventh or twelfth month in the lead-up to the New Year—in such a case, the New Year falls on the day of the third new moon after the solstice. (The next time this occurs is in 2033.) The Chinese New Year period ends with the Lantern Festival, on the fifteenth day of the festival.

    Legend has it that in ancient China, Nian ("Nyan") was a man-devouring predator beast that could infiltrate houses silently. The Chinese soon learned that Nian was sensitive to loud noises and the color red, and they scared it away with explosions, fireworks and the liberal use of color red domestically. These customs led to the first New Year celebrations.

    Celebrated internationally in areas with large populations of ethnic Chinese, Chinese New Year is considered to be a major holiday for the Chinese as well as ethnic groups such as the Mongolians, Koreans, the Miao (Chinese Hmong), the Vietnamese (see Tết), Tibetans, the Nepalese and the Bhutanese (see Losar) who were influenced by Chinese culture in terms of religious and philosophical worldview, language and culture in general. Chinese New Year is also the time when the largest human migration takes place when Chinese all around the world return home on the eve of Chinese New Year to have reunion dinners with their families.

    The New Year season lasts fifteen days. The first week is the most important and most often celebrated with visits to friends and family as well as greetings of good luck. The celebrations end on the important and colourful Lantern Festival on the evening of the 15th day of the month. However, Chinese believe that on the third day (年初三) of the Chinese New Year it is not appropriate to visit family and friends, and call the day "chec hao" (赤口), meaning "easy to get into arguments".

    DAYS BEFORE THE NEW YEAR


    On the days before the New Year celebration, Chinese families give their home a thorough cleaning. It is believed the cleaning sweeps away bad luck and makes their homes ready for good luck to arrive. All brooms and dust pans are put away on New Year's Eve so that good luck cannot be swept away. Some people give their homes, doors and windowpanes a new coat of red paint. Homes are decorated with paper cutouts of Chinese auspicious phrases and couplets (short phrases) that speak of "happiness", "wealth", "longevity".

    REUNION DINNER

    A reunion dinner is held on New Year's Eve where members of the family, near and far, get together for celebration. The New Year's Eve dinner is very large and traditionally includes chicken. Fish (魚, yú) is included, but not eaten up completely (and the remaining stored overnight), as the Chinese phrase 年年有餘; (nián nián yǒu yú, or "every year there is fish/leftover") is a homophone for phrases which could mean "be blessed every year" or "have something leftover every year" or phrases to that effect, since "yú" is also the pronunciation for "leftover". A type of black hair-like algae, pronounced "fatt choy" in Cantonese, is also featured in many dishes since its name sounds similar to "prosperity". Hakka will serve kiu nyuk (扣肉) and ngiong tiu fu. Because certain things and/or food sound alike to the certain Chinese well-wishes, the belief is that having one will lead to the other, like the old child's aphorism "step on a crack, break your mother's back".

    CHINESE GOLD NUGGETS

    Most Northerners serve dumplings as the main dish on this festive season, although most Chinese around the world would do the same because it is believed that [[dumplings] (饺子--jiǎo zi) 饺子 is wrapped in the semblance of Chinese gold nuggets (illustrated) a long time ago in ancient China. This gold nugget is called 金元宝 (jin yuán bǎo).

    FIRST DAY OF THE NEW YEAR

    The first day (初一 or """chu yi""") is for the welcoming of the gods of the heavens and earth. Many people abstain from meat consumption on the first day because it is believed that this will ensure long and happy lives for them.

    New Year's day is also celebrated within the family. Usually family members gather on the morning of New Year's Day. It is at this gathering that red envelopes are given to unmarried members of the family, usually and invariably by married members of the family. The age of the recipient is immaterial to receiving the envelope. Married couples usually give out two red envelopes on the first new year after being married. This is because the wife presents one and the husband presents one. In subsequent years they may give one as a couple.

    Red envelopes traditionally consisted of amounts which were considered multiples. Amounts like $2 (two pieces of $1), or $20 were acceptable. Similarly "multiples" such as $1.10 and $2.20 were also acceptable. However, this is not strictly adhered to. The gift was originally a token amount but these days it is not uncommon to receive large sums in affluent families. In some families this tradition has evolved into the practice to substituting money-like instruments (stocks, bonds, unit trust) in place of large sums of cash.

    Red envelopes are also given to unmarried visitors but the sums are often smaller than the envelope given to family members or close friends. Employers may also give red envelopes to their employees on the first working day after the festival.

    Most importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time where family members, in order of their seniority, will pay a visit to their oldest and most senior member of their family, usually their parents or grandparents, or even great grandparents. The venue of the aforementioned Renunion Dinner is usually, if not always, at the eldest and most respected member of the family. This has been in practice for already many centuries.

    TRADITIONS

    Traditionally, red packets (Mandarin: 'hong bao' (紅包); Hokkien: 'ang pow' (POJ: âng-pau); Hakka: 'fung bao'; Cantonese: 'lai see' (利是)) are passed out during the Chinese New Year's celebrations, from married couples to unmarried people (usually children). Chinese New Year is celebrated with firecrackers, dragon dances and lion dances. Typically the game of mahjong is played in some families.
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    GREETINGS

    The Chinese New Year is often accompanied by loud, enthusiastic greetings, often refered to as 吉祥話 (Jíxiánghùa), or loosely translated as auspicious words or phrases. Some of the most common examples may include:

    * Traditional Chinese: 新年快樂; Simplified Chinese: 新年快乐; pinyin: Xīnnián kuàilè; Hokkien POJ: Sin-nî khòai-lo̍k. A more contemporary greeting reflective of western influences, it literally translates from the greeting "Happy new year" more common in the west.

    * Traditional Chinese: 恭喜發財; Simplified Chinese: 恭喜发财; pinyin: Gōngxǐ fācái; Hokkien Keong hee huat chye (POJ: Kiong-hí hoat-châi); Cantonese: Kung hei fat choi (also spelled kung hei fat choy or kung hey fat choi); Hakka: Kung hee fat choi, which loosely translates to "Congratulations and be prosperous." Often mistakenly assumed to be synonymous with "Happy new year", its usage dates back several centuries, with the Cantonese transliteration said to have first entered English usage in the 1800s, for instance. While the first two words of this phrase had a much longer historical significance (legend has it that the congratulatory messages were traded for surviving the ravaging beast of Nian, although in practical terms in may also involve surviving the harsh winter conditions), the last two words were added later as capitalism and consumerism ideas took greater significance in Chinese societies around the world.

    The saying is now commonly heard in English speaking communities for greetings during Chinese New Year in parts of the world where there is a sizeable Chinese-speaking community, for instance in Australia, Canada and America among others. In other English-speaking communities with a larger Chinese-speaking population, the Mandarin version tend to prevail especially when multiple dialect groups exist, particularly in Malaysia and Singapore.

    Numerous other greetings exist, some of which may be exclaimed out loud to no one in particular during specific events or actions. For example, as breaking objects during the new year is considered inauspicious, one may then say 歲歲平安 (Suìsuì píngān) immediately, which means everlasting peace year after year. 歲 (Suì) sounds phonetically similar to the word 碎 (Suì), the latter of which refers to the action of shattering, in a demonstration of the Chinese love for utilising phonetical patterns in coming up with similar auspicious phrases. Hence, 年年有余 (Niánnián yǒuyú), meaning a wish for surpluses and bountiful harvests every year, plays on the word yú to also refer to 魚 (meaning fish), thus using it as a catch phrase for fish-based Chinese new year dishes or writtern on paintings or graphics of fish and hung on walls or presented as gifts.

    Other circumstances which may trigger the use of these greetings or phrases may be when children greet their elders just before receiving their red packets, when gifts are exchanged, during visits to the temples, or even when tossing the shredded ingredients of Yusheng particularly popular in Malaysia and Singapore.


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    Happy new year everyone!!

    祝你天天開心,天天順利平安!
    Attached Files
    ZhongwenMovies.com

  • #2
    Happy new year!

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    • #3
      I appreciate the cultural notes...the food sounds soo good. mmm dumplings...there's a good chinese restaurant in NYC that has like soup dumplings. A dumpling that has soup into it. They were good.......
      "What is barely legal?" - Ali G

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      • #4
        Happy New Year everyone!

        Personally, I don't care much for jai...but wuh ev.
        Becoming what I've dreamed about.

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