Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or you're an IB student), you’d be hard pressed not to have noticed the festivities of the past few weeks. If you were wondering what they are, the author of this article is personally concerned for you and thinks it’s embarrassing that you had to find out through a student newsletter. Regardless, the celebrations for the Lunar New Year have been an important part of Hong Kong culture, and many of them are tied to interesting historical events or legends. Chinese New Year always falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice on December 21st, so is therefore determined by the lunar calendar (and hence is called Lunar New Year sometimes. Officially though, it’s the Spring Festival because China has used the Gregorian calendar since 1912. Anyway, here are some common traditions and where they might have stemmed from. 

Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of Chinese New Year are the red scrolls adorning doorways, and firecrackers. They’re pretty hard to miss. Or they were before they were classified as “dangerous goods”. Some people just hate fun I suppose. Anyway, both of these items stem from a legend about the mythical beast ‘Nian’, which also means year in Chinese. You can really see the 10 years of intensive mandarin coming in clutch here. This beast would terrorise towns devouring animals, crops, and people. Luckily, a very wise old (and I like to imagine impressively bearded) old man worked out he was scared of loud noises and the colour red. Thus, people began to put up these red banners and set off firecrackers to scare him off and stop him from eating their children. On a more historical note, the actual first CNY was not recorded, but was probably about 3500 years ago in the Shang Dynasty, where people held ceremonies to honour gods and ancestors. The term “nian” cropped up for the first time in the Zhou dynasty, about 700 years later where it was common to hold ceremonies to offer sacrifices to honour gods and ancestors, and worshipped nature to bless harvests at the start of the year. 

Many of our personal favourites though, are red Lai See packets. What can I say, I’m a simple man. Originally symbolic talismans, the red packets gradually transformed into actual gifts of gold and candy. These “Hongbao” are given as a token of good wishes: prosperity, luck, life and happiness, and also factor into another important piece of folklore. The demon Sui would scare children while they slept on the final night of the year, so parents would try to keep children awake all night for protection. One night, parents gave a child 8 coins to play with to keep him awake, but he couldn’t keep his eyes open. Sui appeared, but as he went to touch the child the coins (actually the 8 immortals in disguise) made a powerful light that drove the demon away. Less of a deus ex machina than a deus ex pecunia, but the envelope which is symbolic of the coins is also sometimes known as yasui qian or “suppressing Sui money”. There is another theory which also has to do with Nian, that treats would be created to comfort scared children, and eventually this evolved into the custom of giving “lucky money” to children

The dragon dance is also a favourite of many, and not just because it chases something that’s on fire. As a symbol of good fortune, the dragon dance highlights festival celebrations. It originally began as a ceremony for worshipping ancestors and praying for rain during the Han dynasty. Historical texts mention the Chunqiu fan lu,  a simpler version of the dance. A similar tradition was later performed as entertainment. In fact, in the Hanshu (a book about the history of the Han Dynasty), they describe the dragon dance as one of the performances used to entertain foreign diplomats visiting the Chinese court. Bet they got to see firecrackers too. 

Lastly, we have the Lantern Festival, the final event held during Chinese New year. This tradition probably originated in the Han Dynasty, when Buddhist Monks honoured Buddha by lighting lanterns on the final day of the lunar year. This tradition became popular, and changed across the centuries to become the festival we see today. The earliest actual evidence we see of it is from the Tang Dynasty, when people were making lanterns to represent the peace and power in China. There’s also a legend that Yudi, the Jade emperor, had accused a village of killing his special goose, and reached the reasonable conclusion that the village should be burned for their crimes. Luckily for the village, a spirit intervened and told the villagers to light lanterns across the town on the day the emperor planned to burn their village. It worked like a charm, and the emperor thought that the village had already been consumed by fire. The villagers lived to see another day, and to show their gratitude to the spirit, finished every year by decorating their homes with lanterns.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chinese-New-Year 

https://lammuseum.wfu.edu/education/teachers/chinese-new-year/history-of-chinese-new-year/

https://inf.news/en/history/ccb9f1370c81a6113f9df345f4b05d28.html

https://www.lingoace.com/blog/origin-legends-of-lucky-money-en/

Chinese New Year is one of the most widespread occasions in the vibrant city of Hong Kong and across the world. It's commonly associated with the Chinese zodiac. Essentially, the Chinese zodiac assigns one animal each year during a twelve-year cycle which are associated with certain characteristics and predictions for those born in that year. These twelve animals first appeared in the Zhan Guo period [5th century B.C] and were selected through a race based on Chinese mythology and astrology. Only twelve animals could win the race curated by the Jade Emperor, the ruler of the heavens, and the course consisted of a rapid current river that the animals must cross. Ultimately, these winning animals are currently deeply rooted in Chinese culture.

The Dragon is the fifth animal sign out of the twelve, and is one of the most auspicious zodiac animals of them all. One of the most integral attributes of individuals born in the year of the Dragon is their strength and power due to their overriding influence of being powerful and majestic creatures in Chinese culture. Therefore, individuals born during this year typically possess a sense of dominance and courage. 

The Dragon is also characterised by ambition and success as a result of their vigorous drive to achieve success and how goal-oriented individuals born during these years are known to be. Along with this, they are natural born leaders, with innately strong ambitions who aren’t afraid to take risks. With their leadership qualities, individuals use their authority to guide and motivate others undeniably. Nevertheless, their leadership can periodically be perceived as stubborn and demanding. 

Finally, their strong sense of individuality allows them to not be as easily influenced as others and allows for a strong sense of self-reliance. Despite many obstacles, they are not afraid to remain determined and chase their goals.

China and India are notable for their deep history and long lasting traditions. Diwali and Chinese Lunar New Year are two celebrations that are extremely prevalent and widely honoured in their respective countries. The two festivals are special  because of cultural significance, a strong sense of community and mythical and historical roots.

Chinese New Year is an occasion that is celebrated around the world.  It begins with the new moon which occurs sometime between January 21 and February 20 (according to Western calendars). It is centred around removing the old and bad and embracing the new and good. It is the time to worship ancestors, clean and decorate homes and spend time with family. 

Diwali is the festival of lights and is observed every autumn. It usually falls between October and November. It commemorates the triumph of good over evil and people partake in festive gatherings and prayers. They light oil lamps made of clay named diyas and decorate their houses with them along with other lights.

The two events are centred around light. Chinese and Indian people each decorate their houses colourfully with lanterns or lit candles, where brightness is a constant sight to be seen! Music is always played and dances are always performed. The two holidays paint the picture of gorgeous lights, quality time with family and the value of good over evil. 

The comparable communities also pray to and honour the Goddesses and Gods who were main characters in the mythological stories that the two festivals originate from. Both festivals are filled with happiness, light and colour  and can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. There is the common theme of the inclination towards family and spirituality. Therefore, the festivals have a strong emphasis on fostering strong family relationships and giving back to the community. 

Both societies are very cultural and have maintained long standing customs fixated on expressing gratitude for health, wealth and relationships. Chinese New Year and Diwali are immensely beautiful festivities that should continue to be honoured for many years to come.

Sources:

• https://www.britannica.com

• http://www.china.org.cn

• https://www.rmg.co.uk

• https://edition.cnn.com

• https://adesiflava.com