Chinese New Year

by Wonona W. Chang

Festivals and Holidays

Winter Volume: 1995 Issue: 2(4)

China, with its five thousand years of recorded history, has many traditions and festivals. People of Chinese heritage, no matter where they live, follow these traditions and observe these special festive occasions. Although January 1st is the recognized legal New Year holiday in the United States, the Lunar Chinese New Year (Ying Li Shing Nian) which generally falls between the end of January and the beginning of February, is the one that is traditionally celebrated. It is the most popular and important of all Chinese festivals. Most people will celebrate this happy holiday starting the first day to the fifteenth of the first Chinese lunar month. Deeds that are honorable and good are mentioned and emphasized during this holiday.

In Sumatra Indonesia, where I grew up, all my Chinese neighbors and friends came from Southern China. Most of the families immigrated at least three hundred years before and generally, they lived three generations under one roof. When they prepared for the New Year festival, homes were alive with activities. First, tailors would come months ahead and take measurements of everyone to make them new clothes. Our parents would then take us to shop for new socks and shoes, ribbons for the girl’s hair and hats for the boys. The house would be cleaned from top to bottom, from one corner to the other, nothing was overlooked. The kitchen would come alive with cooking and baking special foods. These were different from the usual daily fare. Pictures of the door gods were hung on the doors to chase away evil spirits, and couplets written on bright red paper were posted on the main gate to welcome the New Year and bring family good fortune. The festival filled its celebrants with appreciation for those moments in life when blessings can be counted and savored.

New Year’s celebration started with a grand feast on New Year’s eve (Tuan Nian) where all family members would gather for this happy occasion. On this evening before the New Year day, children were allowed to stay up and enjoy the last hours of the old year, a custom called "Shou Swei," literally meaning "guiding the year out." This, according to the old beliefs, would bring long life to their parents.

For the New Year, besides chicken, duck, pork, and fish, there were also pastries specially prepared for this festival. They were and still are called "Nian Gao" or "New Year Cakes." Those made of sweet rice were a must.

All the food and fruit displayed and served at a New Year’s celebration have their own special significance. Red is the dominant color. It symbolizes life and happiness. Of course, there are a wide assortment of other colors on display, too. Tangerines are as important as the New Year Cake.

When we visit our relatives to wish them a Happy New Year, we have to bring along a Nian Gao or New Year Cake because it leads to the expression "Nian Nian Gao Sun" which means "May your family be prosperous and successful every year." We also bring along two tangerines, because they are called "Gum" which in Cantonese also sounds like the word for gold; therefore, they are a good omen.

The pomegranate, which is sometimes misnamed a Chinese apple, symbolizes fertility with its many seeds. Lotus root symbolizes long life and strong family ties because even after it is cut with a knife, there can be many attached strings between the two cut pieces. Peanuts, because they grow and propagate underground and have long roots, are known as long life fruit. Water melon seeds, which people crack and eat as they sip tea, signify the expression "May what you say be harmonious and pleasant." All of these can be found at New Year celebrations, too.

In Northern China, the most popular food enjoyed by rich and poor alike is Jaotze or Dumplings. These have a shrimp, beef, or pork stuffing cooked in a wheat dough-skin wrapping. Often the meats are used in combination and with a vegetable such as Chinese cabbage. They can also be mixed with Chinese chives or even zucchini.

Vegetarian Jaotze can be stuffed with mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and cellophane noodles. All New Year Jaotze are folded in the form of a Chinese gold or silver ingot and symbolize wealth and good fortune.

On New Year’s day, the first thing that is done is to set off firecrackers and burn incense. The firecrackers are supposed to chase away evil spirits and bring peace and happiness to the family. After that, the family welcomes the deities back from their visit to the spirit world where they reported on the old year, and then they pay respect to their ancestors.

On that day, everybody, men and women, young and old, put on new clothes and go to visit relatives and friends to exchange greetings. In doing so, when I was young we would hold our hands together, bow to them, and say: "Gung Shi Fa Tsai," meaning "Congratulations! May you become rich;" or "Do Eu Do Shou" or "May you be blessed with happiness and long life;" also "Fu Ru Dung Hai, Shou Bi Nan San" or May your happiness be as great as the Eastern Sea and longevity be like the Southern Mountains.

Next, the younger generations would greet their elders by kow-towing to them. The elders would give each youngster a "Hung Bao" or red envelope with money inside. The children would have a great time spending the money for whatever they wanted such as using it for sweets, fruit, or even firecrackers. This of course, would be one of the happiest days of their lives. When I was a child, we always looked forward to Chinese New Year; Chinese children still do.

During the day itself, the dragon dances to the clanging of the gong and cymbals, the beating drums, and the startling sound of the exploding firecrackers. This is a prelude for ushering in a year of good health, happiness, and prosperity.

Although New Year celebrations may differ slightly from region to region, or even adopted differently from country to adopted country, they always remain the most important part of a joyful time and the happiest festival of the year.

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