February 01, 2001

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Chinese New Year in Taiwan

• Thought Questions
• Key Words
• Suggested Articles
• New Year's Eve and Chinese New Year
• Celebrating Chinese New Year
• 2001 the Year of the Snake
• Learning Activities

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Thought Questions

• When is Chinese New Year this year?
• What do Chinese people usually do to celebrate
  for Chinese New Year?
• What customs do we have on Chinese New Year?
• What New Year festivities do you know?
• What Chinese New Year food do we usually have?

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Key Words

• Chinese New Years Eve ???
• New Years Day / the first day of the new year
  ???
• clean the house
• throw away all the garbage ???
• post spring couplets ??
• eat New Years Eve Dinner ???
• stay up all night ??
• return to the natal home/ go back to the
  daughters home ???
• feast with sb. / eat a large dinner with sb.
  ??????
• visit temples ???
• make New Years visits ??
• set off firecrackers ???
• worship the ancestors ??
• watch dragon dancing/ tiger dancing?????

• the Year of the Snake ??
• zodiac animals ????
• New Years Money / lucky money
• hung bao /red envelops ??
• lucky words ???
• taboos ??
• long vegetables ???
• rice cakes ??
• water dumplings ??
• relatives, friends, family ????
• folk activities ????
• festivities ????
• upcoming ???
• congratulations ??

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New Years Eve Chinese New Year

• The bustle ?? and clamor ?? at the markets
  selling colorful spring couplets and other New
  Years decorations. Beginning in mid-December,
  families all around China start preparing for
  Chinese New Year, making the feeling of
  celebration and renewal ?? palpable ???.
• A time of gratitude and family togetherness??,
  New Years Eve is spent by bidding farewell to
  the old year and thanking ones ancestors?? and
  the gods?? for their blessing and protection??.
  Children that have left their hometown return on
  this day to share New Years Eve Dinner with
  their families, and for those unable to make the
  journey, a table setting is placed to symbolize??
  their presence in spirit if not in body.
• At the end of dinner, the parents and older
  generation ?? give New Year's Money to the
  children, who have been waiting with growing
  anticipation for this moment to arrive. Finally,
  to watch the old year out and bring in the new
  year, families stay up all night until the wee
  hours of New Year's Day.

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• With the arrival ?? of New Years Day, life is
  renewed and the new year begins to unfold amidst
  ??? a din ?? of firecrackers. The Chinese begin
  the day by worshipping their ancestors, following
  which the streets become filled with people
  making New Year's visits to friends and relatives
  and with the lively display of dragon dancing,
  tiger dancing, and other folk activities.
• To insure the arrival of luck ?? and wealth?? in
  the new year, several taboos must be heeded.
  Floors may not be swept and garbage may not be
  disposed for fear of casting riches out the door
  cussing ?? and quarreling is to be avoided at all
  costs and anyone who breaks a dish on this day
  must quickly say Peace for all time, to avoid
  incurring ?? misfortune.
• On the second day of the new year, married ???
  women return to their natal home ??? to visit
  family on the fourth day, the gods return to the
  world of the living and on the fifth day, many
  new stores and businesses open their doors for
  the first time due to the auspiciousness ?? of
  the day. The festive air of celebration continues
  in this manner all the way up to the Lantern
  Festival on the fifteenth day of the new year
  before slowly ebbing back ?? to normal life
  again.

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• Though the customary festivities ???? held on
  Chinese New Year have been handed down for
  millennia, they still retain tremendous
  significance today. The cleaning and arrangement
  of ones living environment improves household
  sanitation ???? and symbolizes a new beginning
  the worship of ancestors and deities a reflects
  of the Chinese particularity about filial piety
  ?? and family ethics ??, and services as an
  expression of gratitude sitting around the
  hearth symbolizes unity ?? and the value of
  spending important occasions together with
  family and the customs of making New Years
  visits and returning home to ones parents after
  marriage helps to maintain important social bonds
  ?? between friends and families. Superstitious
  ??? taboos, may perhaps be seen as ancient ways
  of harmonizing and regulating ones lifestyle
  ????. Thus, preserving and incorporating ?? the
  values of these New Year traditions into modern
  day life is a goal we should all strive for ??.

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CELEBRATING CHINESE NEW YEAR

• While the Western ??? New Year can be celebrated
  in one evening (not including the next days
  hangover ???), the Chinese New Year is spread out
  over a month with delicious food, tradition, and
  worship ??.
• Preparations for the Chinese New Year began
  January 2nd, which is the 12th month and 8th day
  of the "Nong Li" (the traditional Chinese lunar
  calendar). In Chinese, the 12th moon is referred
  to as La Yue. La Yue marked the beginning of
  winter. Because of the coldness brought with the
  12th moon, there is a Chinese saying "it is so
  cold that your chin will fall off." In Chinese,
  chin "ba" and eight "ba" have the same sound,
  so January 2nd marked the beginning of eating "La
  Ba Zhou," a congee with eight different kinds of
  beans and nuts, bringing in the cold season and
  symbolizing the coming of the Chinese New Year.

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• "Nong Li" 12/16 (January 10th) is the second
  important day leading the Chinese New Year called
  Wei Ya, and marks Grandfather Earths last
  birthday for the year of the dragon. Every lunar
  month, Grandfather Earth has two birthdays, one
  on the 2nd and one on the 16th. Traditionally, on
  this day the heads of companies treat ?? their
  employees to a large dinner or celebration.
  However, the employees need to watch out. If
  chicken is served at the table, whomever the
  chicken head points to usually indicates that
  that person will not be invited back for the
  upcoming year ??. In other words, they're fired.
  "Today, however," remarks National Taiwan Normal
  University Professor Lu, "because the Chinese
  word for chicken 'ji' also sounds like 'lucky,'
  people tend to turn the chicken head inwards
  toward the chicken's body, so that everyone will
  have good luck in the New Year.

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• "Little New Year," Nong Li 12/23 in the north, or
  12/24 in the south (January 17th or 18th this
  month), marks the Sending the Gods to Heaven
  day. By moving the Buddha or spirit from its
  resting place, it is sent to Heaven. In
  traditional China, most families had a picture of
  the God of the Hearth ?? on their stove opening.
  In the morning on this day, the wife of the house
  would put a little bit of sweet filling on the
  spirit's mouth. Then, in the afternoon, when the
  household cleaned the hearth and removed the
  picture to send the spirit back to heaven,
  hopefully the spirit would speak sweet words
  about the family to the other Gods, and grant
  them a New Year of peace, Lu explained. This is
  the only day all year that people can move
  Buddhas or other Spirits from their shrines ??.

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• New Years eve this year is Nong Li 12/29
  (January 23rd), and marks the color red, with
  firecrackers and an all-night long celebration.
  Wang, a shop owner in Yong He, explains We hang
  signs in red not only because it means luck and
  prosperity??, but because red will scare away the
  evil animal New Year represents. Firecrackers do
  the same. Staying up all night started because in
  traditional China, all the generations of a
  family would live together. The older generation
  could not go out, so the younger generations
  would stay awake and protect them until the New
  Year had passed. Nowadays, most people stay up
  and play mahjong.
• New Years Eve is also a time of feasting with
  ???? the family. In the evening, everyone returns
  home to pay respect to ?? their ancestors and eat
  a large dinner with the family. For those who
  cannot return, a setting of a rice bowl ?? and
  chopsticks are placed.

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Fish implies "remaining"

• Traditional New Years Eve food is not eaten just
  for good taste alone many have double meanings
  bringing hopes for the New Year. For example,
  dumplings represent little bundles of money and
  riches for the New Year because of their shape,
  and long vegetables cooked and eaten without
  cutting them represent long life.
• Fish "yu" in Chinese, also sounds like
  "remaining" and consequently, should not be
  finished. "If you finish it, people won't have
  anything left to bring into the New Year," warns
  National Taiwan University student Emily Chen.
  "On the same note, you have to throw away all
  your garbage before the New Year, because after
  New Year's day, if you throw anything out, it is
  like throwing away your money, or throwing away
  hopes of earning money in the coming year.  

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• The month of the New Year in Chinese is called
  "He Zheng," and means, "congratulations, everyone
  still lives." So on the first day of the New
  Year, many people visit temples, eat vegetarian
  to honor life, and visit friends and family to
  wish them a good start to the Chinese New Year.
  "Traditionally," Professor Lu explains, "People
  would go visit friends and family in person, but
  today, with e-mail and cell-phones, it has all
  become much less personal." 
• The Chinese New Year lasts for 15 days (one moon
  cycle). The second day of the New Year is known
  as Going Back to the Daughters Home. Each
  husband accompanies his wife to her parents
  home. One time we didnt even make it because
  the traffic was so congested ??, remembered
  Julie Wang, a stockbroker ????? in Taipei.
  "Everyone is on the road at the same time, you
  can't get anywhere." This is also Grandfather
  Earth's first birthday of the New Year.

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Businesses open

• On the fifth day of the New Year, businesses open
  their doors again to start the New Year and
  welcome back employees. Mr. Chen, a manager in
  Hsinzhu remarked, "I go into work to open up the
  office, but we usually don't start up for another
  couple of days or so. I greet the employees for a
  few hours if they want to come by, but then go
  back home. Traditionally, this is to bring our
  company good luck for the upcoming year."
• The ninth day of the New Year is the Father of
  Heaven's birthday, and because he is the most
  important spirit, this is celebrated at 11pm the
  night before. The time 11pm is thought to be the
  start of each day during Chinese New Year, so the
  first deed of the ninth day is offerings of
  respect. The Father of Heaven's alter is rested
  on a table or chair to represent his elevated
  position, and only fruits and special goods can
  be offered, his position is too high to present
  either meat or fish.
• The last day of the New Year is celebrated by
  drinking Yuan Hsiao or Tang Yuan special sweet
  soups with little round balls of dough filled
  with different flavors of bean paste ?. A sweet
  end to a sweet beginning for the New Year.

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2001 THE YEAR OF THE SNAKEBy Erin Dawson,
Special to The China Post

• As the Year of the Snake will officially start
  with the beginning of Chinese New Year on January
  24th, many people are divided over what the Year
  of Snake will bring. Many people refer to the
  snake as "a little dragon," and find it an
  inauspicious sign representing danger and
  mistrust, while others believe that people born
  in the year of the snake are resourceful,
  powerful, and cunning. These two beliefs come
  from different interpretations of the same story.
• According to the fable, there was once a snake
  Goddess, who was so powerful that she could
  change herself into a person and walk amongst the
  mortal world. During her time in the mortal
  world, she fell in love with a mortal man, which
  was against the rules of Heaven, but the snake
  Goddess did not listen and broke these rules to
  be with the mortal.

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• However, a monk named Hai Fa discovered that the
  wife was not a mortal woman and separated the
  couple, sentencing the snake Goddess to live
  below the temple's pagodas, or face death. The
  moral people take away from the story varies and
  leaves the interpretation of the snake unclear.
• "I see it as the snake having enough courage and
  will to follow her heart. She is strong and
  determined," commented Melody Chu, a National
  Taiwan Normal University student.
• Her classmate Amy Lu held a different view "The
  snake went against Heaven, and made the other
  spirits angry. She is willful to a fault, and
  stubborn. Like the tiger, the snake will scare
  away good spirits.
• According to the astrological charts, a person
  born in the year of the snake is wise and
  intense, but vain ??. Passionate and determined,
  the snake is a deep-thinker, but may tend to
  dismiss people too quickly. The snake is good
  with money, but also tends to be too stingy. The
  rooster and the ox are the snake's closest signs
  while the pig is its enemy.

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• As for why the Chinese zodiac has 12 animals,
  there are many stories. According to Historian
  Chang Liang-wang, a more popular version comes
  from the "Lun-heng," by Wang Chung of the Eastern
  Han dynasty (25-220 AD). The Jade Emperor was
  looking for 12 creatures to match the 12 earthly
  branches, so he decided to hold a race in which
  the first 12 would be chosen in the order they
  came in. A section of the race crossed a river.
  The cat and the rat, who were not great swimmers,
  begged the water buffalo to carry them across.
  The water buffalo agreed, but half way across,
  the rat pushed the cat into the river.
• As the buffalo reached the bank, the rat jumped
  off its back and took first. The buffalo came in
  second and the snake eventually placed sixth,
  which will bring in this Chinese New Year.

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Learning Activities

• Film Discussion
• Spend some time to watch one of the films with
  your group members and then discuss what the film
  is about. One of you needs to do an oral
  presentation in class.
• E-mail correspondence
• Exchanging your e-diary via e-mails with
  international key pals. You may also attach
  several pictures about Chinese New Year for him
  or her in the mails.

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• Assignment
• Hand in your written draft on 2001--The Year of
  the Little Dragon next week. Think about the
  following questions before writing the report.
• How do you like Chinese New Year?
• What did your family do to celebrate for Chinese
  New Year? Start to describe the activities from
  New Years Eve to the fifth day of the new year.
• How much lucky money do you have this year? And
  how are you going to spend it?
• What are your New Year wishes for the Little
  Dragon Year?