Life
Once a thief always a thief.
C
hinese New Year starts with the
New Moon
锛堟柊鏈堬級
on the first day of
the new year and ends on the
full moon
锛堟弧鏈堬級
15 days later. The 15th day
of
the
new
year
is
called
the
Lantern
Festival
锛堝厓瀹佃妭锛?/p>
,
which
is
celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in
a parade.
The Chinese calendar
is based on
a combination of lunar and
solar
movements. The
lunar cycle
锛堟湀杩愬懆鏈燂級
is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar
calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle).
This is the same as adding an extra day on
leap year
锛堥棸骞达級
. This is why, according to the solar
calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and
thanksgiving.
The
celebration
was
traditionally
highlighted
with
a
religious
ceremony
given
in
honor of
Heaven and Earth
锛堜竾鐗╋級
, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.
The
sacrifice
to
the
ancestors,
the
most
vital
of
all
the
rituals
锛堜华寮忥級
,
united
the
living
members with those who had passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect
because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family.
The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for
them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the
onset
of
the
New
Year
as
one
great
community.
The
communal
feast
called
"surrounding
the
stove" .It symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.
The
Chinese
New
Year
is
now
popularly
known
as
the
Spring
Festival because it starts from the Beginning of Spring. Its origin is
too
old
to
be
traced.
Several
explanations
are
hanging
around.
All
agree,
however,
that
the
word
鈥淣IAN鈥?
which
in
modern
Chinese
solely means 鈥測ear鈥?nbsp;was originally the name of a monster beast that
started
to
prey
on
people
the
night
before
the
beginning
of
a
new
year.
One legend goes that the beast NIAN had a very big mouth that would swallow a great
many people with one bite. People were very scared.
One day, an old
man came
to
their rescue, offering to subdue NIAN. To NIAN he said, "I hear say that you are very
capable,
but
can
you
swallow
on
earth
instead
of
people
who
are
by
no
means
of
your
worthy
opponents?"
So,
it
did
swallow
many
of
the
beasts of prey on earth that also harassed people and their domestic
animals from time to time.