The Year of the Tiger



February 14th was Valentine’s Day! However this year it was also the Chinese New Year.  It is the most celebrated and illustrious holiday in the Chinese culture, and is known also by its literal translation, the Spring Festival.  This holiday always occurs on the first day of January in the Chinese Lunar calendar, which does not always coincide with the solar calendar that we go by.  With a tradition dating back 4,000 years, the Chinese New Year is considered the oldest festival in China. On this day, many families gather together to celebrate this special day with their family members and perform numerous customs, such as fireworks, food, and other family traditions.

One tale about the Chinese New Year is about a monster named Nian (or Year).  Legend described it as a monster that came on the day of the Chinese New Year and threatened the lives of everyone.  In order to solve this problem, the Chinese lit numerous fire crackers to scare away this horrific monster, only for him to return the next year.  This is the anecdote about the traditions of lighting fire crackers and fire works on Chinese New Year.

Another factor of the Chinese New Year is food.  Each dish during the dinner is symbolic of something.  For example, dumplings symbolize unity of the family, fish represent prosperity, tangerines and oranges embody the idea of happiness and wealth, and noodles stand for long life.

There are also many familial traditions on Chinese New Year.  Many families clean their houses with dust pans (washing away old, bad luck), visit their ancestors’ graves, and the children would receive “lucky money (Yuan, the Chinese currency) in red-envelopes, representing future wealth and prosperity.  It’s also forbidden to have brooms and dust pans in the house after the cleaning process, as these would keep the bad luck in.

When people think of the Chinese New Year, they think of the color red, and for good reason.  The color red is the most treasured color in the Chinese culture. It symbolizes many things, such as joy and luck.  It’s traditional of a Chinese family to have Dui Liang (double written messages) with New Year’s greetings and hang them on their doors.  The Chinese characters on the Dui Liang are normally written in beautiful Chinese calligraphy.  One specific character is extremely popular during the Chinese New Year and it is Fu (blessing), and Chinese normally like to tape that word upside down on their door.  The reason is that the word for “upside down” sounds the same as the word “come”.  Therefore, when the Chinese tape this character upside down, it means blessing comes.

One of the most prominent traditions is the correlation of the Chinese New Year and the Chinese Zodiac.  This year, it is the year of the tiger.  The tradition goes that the child born within the year will have the animal of the year assigned to them, giving them certain traits.  For example, children born this year are supposed to be unpredictable, colorful, powerful, passionate, daring, impulsive, vigorous, sincere, affectionate, and generous, and can be quick-tempered, moody, and impatient.

Overall, Chinese New Year reflects the profound culture of the Chinese people.  This holiday was not invented in a day, but it was collaborated with four thousand years of traditions and celebrations.

Gong Xi Fa Cai! (Gong-she-fa-tsai)

Happy New Year!

-Amy Zhang