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Jay Ung
PHOTO COURTESY OF LINGOACE.COM
When you hear drums beating, people laughing, and firecrackers crackling, that’s Lunar New Year settling in.
Lunar New Year, or also known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is a traditional holiday which commemorates entering the new year on the Chinese lunisolar calendar for a time period of 15 days. In those 15 days, many people celebrate new beginnings into the new year wishing for good to enter, and for bad to leave.
“Usually, we go to our grandparents house and receive red envelopes ( hóngbāo 红包) and eat lots of traditional food,” eighth-grader Aaron Quac said.
Before the new year, people must follow strict taboo rules and superstitions and usually tidy up beforehand in order to sweep out the old and to bring in the new luck and prosperity.
“What I do know about Chinese New Year is that it is taboo to clean on the day of. It’s known as sweeping out all the good luck away from your home,” seventh-grader Olivia Lam said.
Although despite these rules and morals to follow, you can still have a good year full of luck, many achieve this by going out to temples to pray for prosperity, luck, and success in their families.
“Me and my family eat hotpot and we also call our grandma back in Hong Kong,” eighth-grader Malachi Stolee said.
Many families do different things to honor the new year entering and the last leaving. Most go to watch ceremonial dances such as lion dance, dragon dance, or simply to the temple to participate in different cultural activities and events.
“My family usually goes out to the temple to pray for luck for us,” Lam said.
When this time of year arrives, lots of families go out and watch the different traditional dances and ceremonies such as lion dance, festival parades, and temple fairs.
“I want my year to be lucky and prosperous so I can get that bread,” eighth-grader Justin Fiesta said.
Luck, prosperity, and happiness are by far one of the most wished upon things that many families want for their kids, themselves, and for the people they truly care about. Lunar New Year isn’t just about receiving money, it's about the value of caring, bringing luck and happiness into one’s lives to live happily with their families.
“Chinese New Year to us is about spending time with family and connecting with friends,” Lam said.
Taboos
Taboos
1. Sweeping the Floor
Sweeping the floor during the Chinese New Year is considered to drive away good fortune. It is also associated with sweeping away wealth. Throwing out the garbage is also forbidden as it symbolizes throwing away good luck or fortune from inside the house.
2. Taking Medicine or Herbal Remedies
The tradition of avoiding medicine or seeking medical treatment on the first day of Chinese New Year is believed to prevent illness throughout the year. In some regions of China, people intentionally break herbal medicine pots when the New Year bells toll. Drinking herbal medication is also prohibited, as it is believed to bring sickness for the entire year.
3. Eating Porridge and Meat
Eating porridge is not allowed during Chinese New Year. Since this dish is associated with poverty, and starting the first day of the new year with anything that symbolizes poverty is considered inauspicious and driving away money. Meat dishes are also prohibited as a way of honoring Buddha.
4. Washing or Cutting Hair
Chinese people are prohibited from washing their hair on the first day of the Chinese New Year. This is because the pronunciation and character of the word "hair" in Chinese are similar to "fa" in "facai", which means to become wealthy. In other words, washing hair is seen as washing away wealth. Meanwhile, cutting hair is also believed to bring bad luck to uncles.
5. Doing Laundry
Washing clothes is prohibited on the first and second days of Chinese New Year, as it coincides with the birthday of Shuishen, the God of Water. In ancient times, water was believed to symbolize wealth. It is also believed that pouring water after washing clothes would result in the pouring away of wealth.
6. Using sharp objects
During the Chinese New Year celebrations, knives, scissors, and needles should be avoided to prevent accidents or injuries. The Chinese community believes that the use of sharp objects is unfavorable, as it is thought to cut off wealth in the coming year. Using scissors is especially encouraged not to use since it symbolizes sharp talk or bad mouthing and gossip.
7. Married Women Visiting Their Parents
Married women are traditionally discouraged to visit their parents' homes during Chinese New Year. It is believed to bring bad luck to the parents and could lead to financial difficulties for the family. Married women may visit their parents on the second day of the New Year.
8. Using Negative Words
Using harsh words during the Chinese New Year celebrations, such as death, poverty, ghosts, illness, and similar terms, is considered taboo. This is because words are believed to hold power. People usually replace them with euphemisms if they need to discuss these topics. Mentioning these topics are forbidden and taboo.
9. Giving Odd Amounts of Lucky Money
The Chinese prefer even numbers, based on the traditional belief that good things always come in multiples. However, they also avoid unlucky numbers such as 4 and 40, as these sound like the word for death in Chinese.
10. Wearing Dark-colored Clothing (especially black..)
During Chinese New Year celebrations, especially on the first day of Chinese New Year, it is better to avoid wearing dark-colored clothes, such as black. This is because black is associated with mourning, while red symbolizes good luck, brightness, and positive energy.
11. Breaking Glass Items
Breaking bowls, plates, glasses, vases, or mirrors is considered to bring bad luck, financial loss, or family separation. If something breaks accidentally, people usually wrap the broken pieces in red paper and say "Sui sui ping'an", which means "safe and healthy throughout the year".
12. Visiting Hospital
Visiting hospitals during Chinese New Year is believed to bring illness to the person for the coming year. Therefore, hospital visits are highly discouraged, unless necessary
13. Lending Money
Lending money on New Year's Day is considered inauspicious. All debts should be settled before the New Year. Visiting someone to collect a debt on New Year's Day is also believed to bring bad luck and considered inauspicious.
This shows the basic anatomy of the famous lion dancers. (No, they aren't dragon dancers there's a difference,) COURTESY OF SHENG WAI LION DANCE
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