Chinese New Year

Previous Chinese New Year Articles published in Small World Ezine:

	27 January 2003
	13 January 2004
	Hong Kong's New Year

   

Happy Chineae New Year 2003  Long time ago, there was a monster called Nian. It was born  to be very ugly and ferocious. On the first and the 15th of  each lunar month, the monster would come down from the  mountains to hunt people. People were very afraid of it and  locked themselves inside the houses early before sunset on  the days of its coming.  There lived an old wise man in a village. He thought it was  the panic in people that made the monster so bold and  furious. Thus the old man asked people to organize together  and to conquer the monster by means of beating drums and  gongs, burning bamboo, and lighting fireworks in purpose of  making large noises to threaten the hateful monster.  At a moonless and freezing cold night, the monster, Nian,  appeared again. The moment it opened its mouth at people,  burst out the frightening noises and fire made by villagers.  Wherever the monster went, it was faced with the terrible  noises.  The monster was forced around until it fell down with  exhaustion and was then killed. Savage as the monster was,  he lost in the end by the cooperation of the villagers. Since then, people have kept the tradition by beating drums  and gongs, and lighting fireworks at the coldest day in  winter to drive the imagined monsters away and to celebrate  the victory over it. They also wear red clothes to scare the  monster. Today, Nian refers to the New Year's day or the Spring  Festival. People often say Guo Nian, which means 'live the  festival.' Red becomes the color of joy.  On the first day of Chinese New Year, people usually have a  vegetarian diet, fearing that killing anything on the first  day of the New Year will bring bad luck. Good food will be  served on the next days. Other than family get together and the parades of food, New  Year is also a good time for people to visit their friends  and relatives. People greet one another a happy New Year and  use auspicious words like 'Kung Hei Fat Choy' (wishing you  all the wealth in the coming year). It is also traditional that children pay their respects to  the older generation at home by greeting them a happy and  healthy New Year first thing in the morning on the New Year  Day. Then the family will call and visits their relatives,  friends and business contacts, bringing them New Year  greetings and gifts. Kids and employees got lots of "red envelopes" with money  inside :-) It is yet another custom for the people to stay home on the  third day of the New Year festival, based on a superstitious  belief that it is a bad day to visit friends and relatives,  if one do so, there will only be quarrels and disagreements.  Therefore, people choose to go to the temple and make  offerings to the God instead, or simply conduct other ritual  ceremonies.  Other than the tradition mentioned above, there are also an  interesting list of superstitious believes during this  festival.  For instance, all debts must be paid by New Year Day and  nothing should be lent on this day, as anyone who does so  will be lending all the year. Everyone should refrain from  using foul language, bad and unlucky words, negative terms  and the word 'four' ("si" in Chinese), which sounds like the  word for death, are not to be uttered at all.  Death and dying are never mentioned and ghost stories are  taboo. References to the past year are also avoided as  everything should be turned toward the New Year and a new  beginning.  It is also believed that if you cry on New Year's day, you  will have a sorrowful coming year which will make you cry a  lot. Therefore, children are tolerated and are not punished even when they are mischievous. I remember when I was a kid,  it's the most joyful time of the year for all my Chinese  friends as they could be as naughty as they wanted.  On New Year's Day, one is also not supposed to wash his hair  or clean the house, for fear that good luck will be washed  and swept away. On the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve,  every door in the house, including windows, must be opened  to allow the old year to go out.  This year's Chinese New Year starts on the first of  February. It is going to be the year of the Goat (or Ram or Sheep). And this is the 4700th year of the Chinese calendar. Kong Hei Fat Choi everyone :-) ----------------------------------------------------- Happy New Year 2004 What is the largest ethnic group in the world? What language  is the most spoken? And which country has the largest  population? Chinese, Chinese, China... Chinese New Year 2004 starts on January 22, and the  celebration takes the whole week... actually fifteen days...  It ends with the Lantern Festival. Traditionally, the New Year starts with the New Moon on the  first day of the lunar New Year and ends on the full moon 15  days later. So it falls on a different date every year.  Most of the time it's about eating good food, talking about good things, and seeing relatives. If you know a Chinese who owes you something, this is the best time to go ask for it. They have to get rid of all debt to start the New Year clean ;-) The first day of the Lunar New Year is "the welcoming of the  gods of the heavens and earth". Many people eat vegetarian  food, as it is a good deed - prevent killing. (However, this  is the time of the year that duck, geese, chicken and pig  vendors make the most profits). Families visit their elders  on the third and fourth days, but it is forbidden to go out  on the fifth day because it is the day the God of Wealth  visits households. On the sixth to the tenth day, however,  are the days to go out and have fun. They also visit the  temples to pray for good fortune and health. The Chinese  are not really loyal to one single religion, so any Chinese  temple will serve the purpose fine.  After heavy parties at every house you get yourself invited,  the thirteenth day of the New Year is the day to take a rest  with lighter food... Just to be prepared for the Lantern  Festival on the Fifteenth night! What a celebration, ha?  It is one of the most joyful times of the year for the  Chinese. They don't even work... And the Chinese are the  world's most famous diligent workers! If you are invited or if you'd like to give something to  your Chinese friends... Make sure your gift is colorful (and/or loud - as loud  noises scare the devils away). Red is the favorite color for  the New Year. Gold (gold chains, bracelets, figurines) is  not a bad gift to give. Oranges and tangerines are the most  popular fruits to give as the name of the fruits in Chinese  sounds the same as the word "lucky". Avoid tofu and bean  curds as they are white... a mourning color. Avoid from any  gift of pale colors. Do not wear white clothes to a Chinese  house either (especially when there is someone old or sick  with them). What else?...  Kong Hey Fat Choi! The famous San Francisco Chinese New Year parade ---------------------------------------------------------------- Hong Kong New Year Courtesy of News Canada (Published in Small World Exine on 16 December 2003) (NC)—Everyone loves a parade. From Carnival in Rio to Caribana in Toronto, colourful costumes and festive music will draw a crowd every time. They've discovered that in Hong Kong where visitors this year will be able to enjoy many more aspects of New Year Celebrations than just the Chinese New Year Parade. Hong Kong is a unique destination in Asia and has remained so because of its incredible sophistication and rich cultural mix. This year, instead of focusing visitor attention on the parade, the entire 15-day New Year celebrations have been packaged - hotel rooms along with a variety of festival events including flower markets, fireworks, visiting temples and horse-racing. The parade itself has been given new significance by transforming it into the International Chinese New Year Night Parade. New Year begins on the first day of the moon after the sun enters Aquarius - so in 2004 the Year of the Monkey begins on January 22. Crowds will line the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui to enjoy the spectacular creative lighting effects that will add to the dazzle of fanciful and elaborate costumes. Performers from around the world - including Caribana - will take part in this spectacular opening to the most important Chinese festival of the year as East meets West on the magnificent Hong Kong waterfront. Visit www.Discover HongKong.com/Canada for more information. After the fete comes the feast. Traditional New Year foods play an important role. Almost every dish carries a symbolic meaning, with names that sound like Chinese characters for good fortune, happiness, longevity and prosperity. Tangerines and oranges are given as gifts because their Chinese names sound like 'gold' and 'wealth'. Discerning travellers believe this is the best time to visit Hong Kong. Festive events and fine dining are at their peak and the shopping is as great as ever! Feast your eyes, your soul and your appetite at Chinese New Year in Hong Kong. - News Canada

 

Christmas Around the World

(First published in Global eBiz Tips in December 2001 -- Additional Notes made while reprinted in Small World Ezine on 20 December 2002)

 

In Thailand we celebrate all the occasions (Christmas, 
Thai New Year, Chinese New Year, etc.) And after asking 
around I found similarity in India and China -- No conflicts. 

In the Philippines, Christmas celebrations start since
late October. See article "My Last Christmas" 

Subscriber Priya from India is visiting a beach with her 
family (she's Catholic, her husband's Hindu). Roshmi 
(India), a Hindu, is also partying. And here's what our new 
friend, Josh (Nepal), wrote: 

"I find, for most of the Asian countries, Christmas is just 
colorful event like, bright Christmas Trees, Santa Claus 
with presents, departments stores decorated with colorful 
items, song, dance and booze.. In Nepal, till 7 years back 
it was difficult to find a Christmas card. Now it is 
different, big hotels and discos advertise for dance and 
dinner and door prizes and department stores are full of 
Christmas items. So for most of the Nepalese Christmas is a 
time for merry making, lot of dance and booze. 

"We, a handful of Catholics (5 thousand out of 22 million 
population) celebrate it in a different ways. We believe, 
that if Jesus is God then we have to find him in our 
context. So we make cribs in Nepalese style, even the 
statues of Jesus, Mary, baby Jesus, angels, shepherds are in 
Nepalese faces wearing Nepalese dress. I am a member of a 
small group called Christian Workers Movement, we give our 
voluntary service to fight against Child Labour and Migrant 
Labour. Every year we celebrate Christmas with street 
children. We organize games and sports for them and give 
them small presents. When I see smile in their faces, I find 
baby Jesus smiling. It is so fulfilling. 

"My Christmas wish to all of you is that may the season 
bring peace, joy in your hearts and may your lives be more 
meaningful to you and all those who come in contact with 
you. May you be an instrument of World Peace." 

   

And Josh wrote this while he was telling us that there was 
a civil war in Nepal. Don't we love him? 



In America, How's Christmas? 


We also received some messages from subscribers and friends from the States. 


Here's from Char: "In Minnesota, We cut down a 6 foot pine 
tree, (or in my case, get out the artificial wire tree) drag 
it into the house, adorn it with lines of lights that are 
twinkly, tinsel, hang home made ornaments, top with a star 
or angel, hang Mistletoe over doorways (two standing below 
must kiss), wrap presents, write "from Santa Claus", play 
Christmas Carols, go caroling in the streets in groups 
singing Christmas Songs (Silent Night, Jingle Bells, etc.), 
the outsides of the houses are adorned in lights, holly is 
every where, spray frosty stuff on your windows, give away 
"candy canes" (mint, or fruit flavored), eat a big Christmas 
Dinner complete with Turkey or Ham, Cranberry, mashed 
potatoes and gravy, stuffing, olives, pickles, buns, corn, 
apple pie, pumpkin pie, cherry pie, fruit salads, jello, 
(everyone brings a dish to pass), fudge, nuts (bowl full 
with cracker: walnuts, pecans, filberts, hazelnuts, etc), 
put up a big pine bough wreath on the outside of the house, 
spray pine-scented spray, then let the kids make a huge mess 
in a room with the paper and toys and drink wine and beer 
and warm apple cider with cinnamon." 

 

And Lonny: "Christmas morning, all the little tykes in the 
nieghborhood ( some in their twenties and thirties) come 
outside and start showing off, parading around, and sharing 
their newly gained loot, well, the expressions on their 
faces just sort of washes all the other yuch off. 

"In my house we normally do the stereotypical Christmas 
scene. My wife vetoed the idea this year though. You see, it 
starts with a trip out to a "reprod" unit. For those 
unfamiliar with the term, a reprod or reproducing unit is an 
area that a timber company has clearcut at some point in the 
past and then replanted little trees that will hopefully 
grow into bigger trees. So, in the past, the tradition has 
been that we all pile into my battered old Dodge pickup, 
drive out into the woods, to a reprod unit, where, in theory 
at least, one will find a horter, well shaped Christmas 
tree. 

 

"That is the theory. But, did you know, that a tree in the 
woods looks a whole lot smaller than a tree in the house? 
Last year, when we got the tree, my friend Rod and I, 
wrapped the limbs with rope and bundled the tree prior to 
cutting it down; big mistake. You see, in an effort to 
expediate matters, I pulled the tip over and we bound it 
right with the rest of the tree. Then we dutifully cut the 
tree to the desired eight foot length, and headed proudly 
for home. We got back into town, wrasled the tree into the 
livingroom, and then the tree stand. 

"Did I mention that we had doubled over the top of the tree? 
about three feet worth. Well let me tell you, a tree grows 
wider at the bottom, and the closer to the bottom you get, 
the wider the limbs spread, so I calculated the distance 
from our picture window, to the tree stand, ased on my 
recollection of its girth in the upper six feet, while in 
fact I was emplaceing the full eleven feet. Right about the 
time I got the tree where I thought I wanted it, our eighty 
five year old nieghbor Edna, came over and stood right at 
the window, as she will often do when we are up to something 
new and unique. I cut the rope bindings of the tree and 
those limbs just naturally went all helter skelter; 
including through the picture window. 

"I watched in horror while a particular limb on the lower 
row just sort of gracefully fell through the opening where 
the window had been, and the slender twigs at the end parted 
around Edna's head. 

"Of course, in typical Edna manner, she just looked right at 
me and said " I think the trees too big." 

Aren't Char and Lonny having a great time? They also 
reminded me of National Lampoon's Christmas when Chevy Chess tried his best to set all the decoratives into places. The 
tree was too big it broke the ceiling and windows. And when 
he put too many bulbs when he turned them on the whole 
neighborhood got black-out. 


Don't we love them all? 



It's the Family Gathering Time, perhaps too commercialized: 


Subscriber Sue's in Georgia told us that "Typically, 
Christmas is celebrated with family gatherings, lots of 
house decorations, carols on the stereo, decorating the 
tree, wrapping presents and cooking galore. Years ago when 
my girls were young we used to go carolling around the 
neighborhood. To this day, I NEVER miss the showing(s) of 
"It's A Wonderful Life", "A Christmas Carol" and "White 
Christmas". Wonderful Movies! 

"While not a regular churchgoer like in years past there is 
always reflection, however, about what the day really 
celebrates: the birth of Christ. In my opinion, Christmas is 
probably Numero Ono of holidays in the U. S." 

Subscriber Don (NC) "My whole family celebrates Christmas by exchanging presents and all gathering at my daughter's house (when my wife was living, it was held at our house) for a huge meal. My daughter does most of the cooking but most others bring a dish that they have prepared. This lasts from noon till whenever. Although we all (except for a daughter that lives in New Mexico - about 2000 miles from my home in North Carolina) live within spitting distance of each other, Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving are the only time we all get together. 

"Too, our homes are all decorated during the Christmas 
season which now starts before Thanksgiving. Here in the 
U.S., Christmas is very commercialized - tis the season for 
all retailers to get rich selling decorations and presents.

"When I was growing up, Christmas was a wonderful time of 
the year to me. Now it's full of stress. Why? Because we all 
spend much more than we should in buying presents, etc. 
Every year we talk about drawing names and not buying each 
and everyone presents but we never seem to get around to 
doing so. 

And Dawn said, ... 

"I live in a small town in Southern Illinois. My husband and 
I celebrate by spending time with family, exchanging gifts 
Christmas morning and staying up all night Christmas Eve 
watching a 24 hour marathon of "A Christmas Story". 

"As a Christian I feel that Christmas has become to 
commericialized. Stores are putting up Christmas stuff while 
they are trying to sell us Halloween." 



Hmmm... Guess it's also depressing having to get presents 
for everyone you know and trying not to forget a name. In 
the Philippines, we get together and bring food but do not 
give gifts. 

Companies may give gift baskets to their employees and have 
draws for bigger items. Still commercialized, though. 

Well, It's Not Too Bad After All: 


Jules from Down Under said it's not too commercialized there. 

"... in Australia, most people celebrate Christmas in a 
similar fashion to Americans. We have a public holiday and 
many businesses (non shopping) and government workers have 
the whole week off until January 2nd. 

"Most families (except probably many of those who come from 
countries the don't celebrate Christmas) get together on 
Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I have a friend who used to 
visit 4 different families on the day, just so she could see 
everyone. 

"My family is small, and this year my parents are travelling 
from their home in the country to visit us for the day. My 
sister and brother in law will come here early in the 
evening for dinner after going to my brother in laws 
relatives for the midday meal. 

"As other people have been saying, in Oz the shops are very 
busy and everyone wants you to spend money with them. Our 
city is lit up with thousands of extra lights and 
decorations. It's beautiful when you go for a drive at night 
time. 

"We used to all exchange presents, but now we only give to 
the children. My Mum decided it was too expensive so we just 
don't give presents to them at all. I didn't like the idea 
and the last couple of years I gave my parents a present. 
They were embarrassed because they didnt' have one for me, 
so I won't give them one this year. 

"My memories of Christmas as a little girl (about 35 yrs 
ago) are helping my Grandma bake puddings in cloths with 
sixpences inside the puddings, rich fruit cakes and hundreds 
and hundreds of different kinds of biscuits. She gave away 
most of the food that we baked. I can still remember those 
mouth watering smells in her kitchen. 



And from Alannah Moore, our only source from Europe (She is 
from U.K., now living in Paris): 

"Christmas in the UK is probably quite similar to what you 
do in the States, but I was talking to an American friend 
and she had no idea what Christmas pudding was, so I guess 
there are some differences! We always eat turkey or goose 
(which I guess is harder to come by these days) followed by 
Christmas pudding, a dark-coloured round steamed pudding 
full of raisins and decorated with holly on top, and set 
alight with flaming brandy, accompanied of course by brandy 
butter. We also eat mince pies (do other people have them 
outside the UK? - they're sweet rather than savoury, again 
full of raisins, nothing to do with mince!) and Christmas 
cake, a rich dark fruit cake covered in marzipan and thick 
hard white icing. No-one I know actually likes it but every 
household has one! 

"In Scotland though it's not such a big deal I don't think, 
as Hogmanay (New Year) is their really big celebration. And 
they really go to town for that. 

"Here in France, things work quite differently. When they 
have an important celebration like Christmas or New Year, 
you actually eat during the night, the night before. So you 
will be eating your Christmas dinner around midnight on 
Christmas Eve - and it will be an incredibly extravagant 
meal of oysters, foie gras, goose and Christmas log (buche 
de Noel) (luckily you've got Christmas Day to recover, 
because the 26th is not a holiday in France! People go 
straight back to work on what we call Boxing Day which I 
find awful!) Christmas isn't quite so commercialised here 
I'm happy to say - buying presents is still a big deal, but 
as for decorations and all that, they don't really go in for 
gaudy lights as we do, they decorate the streets with 
swathes of evergreen here in Paris and it's really pretty 
and old-fashioned. Decorations are for the "fetes" in 
general, as this season is known, rather than for Christmas, 
and can still be up towards the end of January. "



To Add to Alannah's comment, Boxing day is also a Holiday in 
many other countries such as Australia and Germany. When I 
heard of it the first time, I thought it's the day people 
go watch boxing matches. Hey I am from Thailand. That's the
only "Boxing" I knew :-) 

 

More:


Christmas Talks: 


"I will honor Christmas in my heart, 
and try to keep it all the year." 

-- Charles Dickens. 


"I heard the bells on Christmas Day 
Their old, familiar carols play, 
And wild and sweet the words repeat 
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!" 

-- Longfellow 


"Call a truce, then, to our labours 
let us feast with friends and neighbours, 
And be merry as the custom of our caste; 
For if "faint and forced the laughter," 
and if sadness follow after, 
We are richer by one mocking Christmas past." 

-- Rudyard Kipling 




Looking for contents about Christmas? 

How about visiting these sites... 

Tracking Santa >> 
http://www.noradsanta.org/ 

Christmas Sites >> 
http://www.12days.com/ 
http://christmas.com/ 

In this time of joy, do not forget about the children of 
the world. UNICEF

Loy Krathong Festival

(This article was first published in Small World Ezine on 19 November 2002)

Loy Krathong is a big festival in Thailand, but it's not
a public holiday because the celebration is at night. This
year we "Loy Krathong" on 19 November.

In the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month (about 
November), the moon is said to be the biggest. Also, the 
rivers will reach their highest level tonight. Thais, 
Laotians, and Cambodians will make lotus-shaped "Krathong" s
of banana stems and leaves or other light materials, put 
candles, incense sticks, flowers, coins, etc.  and float 
them down the rivers.

We have done it for too long, but no-one was ever sure why 
we did it. There are several stories, for example...

- We want to thank you for the water the mother river gives
to us, and at the same time, apologise to her because we 
have been taking her and her water for granted for the whole 
year. (remember? In our language, the term "river" and 
"mother" are the same.  Read it here...)

- We want to pay worship to the Buddha's footprint, which
is believed to be at the bottom of the ocean. 

- We want to float away all the bad luck and negative stuff
with our krathongs. Hopefully, the next year to follow will
be a better year.

Whatever it is, we always go out to float our krathong.

There is also a belief that lovers' krathongs should be 
floating to the same direction. If they go separately, the 
couple is not destined to be together.

Remember Sukhothai, the Thai's first capital? Read it 
here... 

It is also believed (no written evidence) that the original
Loy Krathong was held in Sukhothai 700+ years ago. So, 
Sukhothai today takes it their tradition to celebrate their
yearly Loy Krathong festival and fair within the ancient 
city. It's the best place to visit for Loy Krathong in 
Thailand.  

Sukhothai's Historical Site:

 


More readings and pictures...

Chiang Mai's Loy Krathong
Thailand Grand Festival  
Sukhothai's Loy Krathong

Merry Christmas!

(First published in Small World Ezine on 11 November 2002 as "My Last Christmas")

 

 

It's almost Christmas again. How was your last Christmas?

People in the Philippines start celebrating Christmas since
October. Now the whole country is covered with the joyful 
songs, decorations, and happy faces.

About this time last year, I had to renew my Philippine 
resident visa.

As most of you may have already known. I am a Thai who live
in the Philippines.  Although my husband is a Filipino, 
getting and extending my visa is always a pain!

 

Because I live outside Manila, and I and my husband are both
teachers who have fixed schedule to follow, finding the 
time to go to Manila is not easy. And since there is no 
information or application form available to public, we had 
to get to the Immigration Office to get the blank forms and
requirement list. Then we come back to gather the needed 
documents (rule change often), and come back the next week 
to submit the application. And we have to come back again 
and again to see if it's approved. If so, it's another day 
to pay and another day to get certificates and stamps in my
passport. 

This is such a pain. Only if we can send somebody else on
some days they don't need our appearance, it's best. So I
decided to talk to an immigration agency, and ask them to
just get the forma and submit the papers for us. I was going 
to do the rest.

The promised minimal fee of the agency turned turned out to 
be almost $200! Just to hand the application form to the 
officer at the submission counter!  The guy's transportation 
could not be more than $2, including lunch. And the 
submission takes him not more than one minute!

He said he had to pay "under table"!

I don't know what kind of under table it was because I had
done nothing wrong. And I was not in a rush either.

And we were so dumb we forgot to add all the fees up. We 
knew it was too high, but did not know it was THIS high.
When we found out we felt so bad we gave them the money.


I felt we were stupid. I felt Filipinos were greedy and 
selfish. I felt I was in a bad country where all natives 
were looking forward to ripping off all foreigners they'd 
come across. I felt only if my husband had contacts in a 
high place, we wouldn't be like this. I felt the world was 
not fair. And I just wanted to return home to Thailand where 
people can get all the information from the government 
easily.

I was complaining and pouting while my husband drove us 
home. It was a hot day, and the heat had just made me more 
moody. 

As if it weren't enough, our car air-con broke down. And
it's not possible to continue the trip in a moving oven. We 
had to stop at a nearby garage to get the air-conditioner 
fixed.

      

At the garage, I told my husband to ask for a written
quotation first, and to never in any circumstance pay an 
extra. Then when all were agreed, we left the place. 

Fifty minutes later, we returned to get the car. My husband 
went to talk to the mechanic, and came to tell me they found
something else which needed to be replaced. (I was like here
we go again). My husband said he had told them to go ahead, 
and took me to eat at a canteen nearby. There I asked him 
how much was additional the part and replacement, and he 
replied he didn't know.

What would you do? Kill your husband? Amazingly, I just 
pouted more. After fifteen minutes, we went to get the car. 
Our air-con was back to work. And it's much better than 
before. Ready for what could be next... We asked how much 
was the extra...

"Oh, don't worry. It's free." the mechanic said. "Merry 
Christmas, and here's your Christmas gift." (handed us a 
well-wrapped gift and a 10% discount coupon). 

 

More:


Of course, you can imagine how embarrassed I was!

Then I've learned a great deal. 

Get rid of stereotype.

DO NOT JUDGE!

One person, good or bad, nasty or friendly, sexy or humble,
does not represent the whole nation, race, gender, age, or
any demographic group.


DO NOT JUDGE!

Or you are going to miss a lot of nice things in your life.

 

 Asia_Manila, Philippines (at Travelocity)

Had I not met this nice garage guy, I would never found the
spirits of Christmas in the Philippines and its people's
joyful hearts. After that incident, I looked at the 
Philippines and its people in another angle. And, yes, this
is where I live. It's not perfect, but it's a lovable place.

  Crisis in the Philippines

  The Philippines Damaged Culture?!

  Macarthur and the Philippines

  100 Resorts In The Philippines