History Chinese New Year

If you are interested in history, Chinese New Year is a fascinating subject. This annual event includes many of the elements of a great history story including monsters, traditions and rituals.

Happy New Year!

The Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for Chinese people. It is sometimes known as the lunar New Year Festival because the date is chosen based on the lunar calendar.

The origin of the Chinese New Year is centuries old. There are many opinions on how it started, but most agree that the holiday centered on a fifteen-day festival that celebrated the beginning of spring. The festival was timed to coincide with the lunar New Year. The festival usually lasted several weeks and gave hard working farmers a break before they planted their seeds for the next year.

In history, Chinese New Year has always been seen as a very joyous time when people take time to get together with family and friends.

In modern Chinese, the word "Nian" means year. Legend says that Nian was the name of a cruel beast that preyed on people the night before the lunar New Year. An old man was able to convince Nian to eat beasts of prey instead of people. This caused the beasts to be scared away from the people and into the forests with Nian close behind.

The old man told the people that Nian was afraid of the color red, the light of fire and loud noises. He advised the people to put up red paper decorations on their windows and doors, light torches and make loud noises like fire crackers to scare away the beast.

Preparation for the Chinese New Year starts a month before the actual date of the lunar New Year. The tradition is to clean houses by sweeping away any back luck that may have accumulated during the past year. Windows and doors are painted and then decorated with paper scrolls with blessings of "wealth", "good fortune" and "longevity."

It is believed that gods ascend to heaven at the beginning of the celebration period to pay their respect to the Jade Emperor and to report on household affairs. Families honor these gods by burning symbolic money to pay for their traveling expenses.

The actual celebration begins on the evening before the lunar New Year. Families gather to eat a meal that includes many foods only available during this time each year. Family members celebrate the ancient custom of "Hong Bao", which means red packet. Red envelopes filled with lucky money are given to children and unmarried adults. Tributes of incense and food offerings are made to family ancestors. People stay up all night in a belief that it will provide a longer life. The lights are kept on all night to drive away Nian and to let the families enjoy an extended time together. Some families hold a religious ceremony after midnight that ends with firecrackers to welcome the God of the New Year into their home.

The end of the New Year period is marked with the Festival of Lanterns which celebrates with singing, dancing and lantern shows.

The New Year's festivities only last for a few days, but the celebration continues for about three weeks.

Red "Good Wish" banners are hung on the walls. Visitors are given plants that symbolize good luck and fortune. Firecrackers are a key part of the celebration just as they were during the initial days of the New Year.

The San Francisco Chinese New Year parade is a particularly fun event, especially for kids. Chinatown comes alive with red decorations in the stores and special food items in the local restaurants and bakeries. Don't be surprised if you hear the snap and pop of firecrackers as local residents celebrate Chinese New Year in the streets of San Francisco.

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