Niccijade Reeves-Alhark
Staff Reporter
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is a 15-day long celebration that starts with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends with the first full moon on the calendar. This holiday is celebrated by Chinese, Vietnamese, Tibetan, and Korean people worldwide , and has their variant traditions for the New Year. The non-local name for the Chinese variation is called the Chinese New Year.
As stated in an article by China Highlights, the Chinese New Year's origins trace back to about 3,500 years. The holiday was initially for winter sacrifices for the gods and ancestors. Since the actual beginning of the celebration of the Chinese New Year was not recorded, most assume that it started sometime during 1600-1046 BC (Shang Dynasty). This is because there were recordings of large sacrificial ceremonies near the end of the year during this time. The calendar that the Lunar New Year is based on was created in the Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC) when these sacrifices had become a custom of the Chinese. The celebration’s date was fixed to be on the first day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar by the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). Traditions such as house cleaning, having dinner, and staying up late were developed in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. The Spring Festival concept started in the Tang and Qing dynasties, following this was the creation of more traditions. Some of the practices made were the burning of bamboo, which made crackling noises that were believed to scare off monsters and evil spirits; this led to the use of fireworks and firecrackers today.
The Lunar New Year is celebrated publicly with large festivals that consist of many performances, like dragon and lion dances. People decorate their houses with the festival's primary color, red, which symbolizes good fortune and joy as said in an article by Ahoy. They also hang red lanterns on their doors to ward off bad luck and evil spirits. Families reunite and have dinners to celebrate the new year, handing out red envelopes to children and other gifts to offer good luck and happiness. Staple foods of the festival are spring rolls, dumplings, fish, and tangyuan (sweet rice balls), just to name a few. Each of these foods has a different meaning of luck for the celebration. For example, dumplings are expected to bring wealth.
The calendar that the Lunar New Year has a repetition of 12 years has a symbolic animal that represents its zodiac. This year is the year of the Ox, the Ox is the second animal in the Chinese zodiac cycle after the Rat, and it symbolizes, according to studycli.org, hard work and diligence. The year of the Ox predicts that hard work will pay off more than usual, and there will be less chaos this year.
Here at Ironwood’s Eagle’s Eye, we encourage you to do your own research on this topic and learn about how other cultures celebrate the Lunar New Year all over the world. You can do this by reading articles, watching videos, or asking someone you know who recently celebrated it.
Photo Credits: Mae Mu, Ridwan Meah, Hiep Dai, Macau Photo Agency, Dyana Wing So, China Highlights, NBC News
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