The festival date was fixed in the Han Dynasty (202-220 AD) on the first day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar. Definite celebrations arose, like burning bamboo to make a festive crackling sound. Aside from the fact Chinese New Year is a way to commemorate the homeland’s Gods and ancestors, the people had begun to cause entertainment for themselves like having customs of a family. This includes cleaning their house together, having dinners, and staying up late on New Year’s Eve, which might have originated among ordinary folks.
In addition to entertainment, the economies and cultures of the Tang, Song, and Qing dynasties prompted the evolution of the Spring Festival. This slowly but surely became similar to the customs that we have today.
To illustrate, setting off firecrackers instead of burning bamboo for its cracking sound is now an alternative that people can use. Inviting visitors like relatives and friends became crucial to celebrating this occasion.
Recently, in 1912, the government of China decided to eradicate the functionality of the Chinese New Year and the lunar calendar, which this calendar has been followed for many millennia. They governed the Gregorian Calendar and made January 1 the start of the New Year. Due to the recent changes in modern times, traditional activities are fading. However, to compensate for the loss, such as Spring Festival Galas, shopping online, and overseas travel make Chinese New Year an eventful celebration every year.
Since the Lunar New Year is a cultural holiday worldwide, this does not imply that different types of traditions are most typical in China. These would be the following: New Year’s Eve Dinner, Fireworks, Shou Sui, Red Envelopes, New Year Markets, Cleaning, and lastly, Decoration.
Let’s begin defining these traditions one by one. New Year’s Eve Dinner is the most crucial tradition in every Chinese family. In general, these types of gatherings include family invites for relatives. They usually eat at their house, where homemade food is prepared, which could take 1-3 days before the day takes place.
Chinese people have this belief that using fireworks can ward off evil in their homeland. In traditional Chinese culture, dry bamboo was used to scare away monsters, but only when it changed when fireworks were invented. Using fireworks has become the central celebration for every New Year.
If translated into English, Shou Sui is “After the New Year’s Eve dinner.” Initially, Chinese family members would not go to sleep after having their gathering because, according to Chinese anecdotes and legends, a mythical beast named the Nian (Year). So, on New Year’s Eve night, the Year would create casualties to humans, animals, and properties. However, people discovered that Year feared fire and loud sounds, making fireworks a great combo to dispel the monster. So we can conclude that people on New Year’s Eve will set off fireworks to defend themselves from the Year. Just like in the Philippines, Chinese people use a red envelope to put money in it, but here in our country, we call it “Ampao.” Red envelopes are most likely to be given to children by older people, such as young adults, married couples, aunts, and uncles, to name a few. In addition, Chinese people also apply their critical creativity to design these red envelopes.
During Chinese New Year, festivals are held across the country. These festivals are only temporary markups for the holiday. Typically, these markets are designed with New Year’s objects. The goods sold in these markets are clothing, lanterns, fireworks, decorations, food, and minor arts like paintings. Before the Chinese New Year starts, usually a few days before the occasion, Chinese families systematically clean the house and their wares. This is to signify that they are extracting the essence of the souls of these wares and welcoming what’s to come.
