2021 is the year of the Metal Ox.
Chinese New Year 2021, also called Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, falls on Friday, February 12th. It lasts for 16 days and ends with the Lantern Festival (first full moon of the lunar year) on February 26th. However, only February 11 through 17th (the first 7 days) are considered a national holiday.
China still uses the Gregorian and the Chinese calendar, which determines the days of their traditional festivals: The Chinese calendar system is a zodiac 12 year cycle which is symbolized by 12 animals. Each animal marks the new year. The Chinese solar calendar (which was complex and difficult to understand) helped the farmers determine the best time to plant and to harvest.
Traditionally, it is a time for praying to ancestors and gods for a good planting and harvest season. Families, including extended families, feasted during the first 5 days. The last course was fish which was symbolic and not meant to be consumed. Long noodles were usually eaten during the first 5 days to symbolize long life. On the 15th (final day) round, moon shaped dumplings were shared to symbolize unity and perfection of the family. Both the dumplings and fish signified prosperity.
The day(s) before New Year are set aside for cleaning and sweeping away bad luck in order to make room for good luck. Households prepared by cleaning the house and housewares to rid the home of “huiqi” (inauspicious breaths) which had collected during the previous year. This was also done to appease the gods who were said to inspect the homes when they came down from heaven.
On New Year’s Day, showering isn’t allowed, lest you will wash away the good luck! You can’t sweep and the garbage can only be thrown out after the 5th day of the New Year. If you must sweep during the first five days, be sure to start at the outer edges and sweep towards the center of the room.
The Chinese word for year is “nian”. According to one legend, Nian was a monster who slept most of the time but would wake the “thirtieth day of the twelfth or the final month in the traditional Chinese calendar”. He would then prey on both livestock and humans.
One New Year’s eve, Nian was frightened by loud noises, bright colored clothes, and very bright lights in different villages causing him to run away. Once the people figured out that Nian was afraid of loud sounds, bright colors, and light, they came up with a plan to protect themselves and scare him away.
They set off fireworks and firecrackers, which were both loud, colorful and bright. Because Nian never returned, this has become the way the Chinese people celebrate every New Year. This is also the reason Chinese decorate in bright red. There are many variations of this legend but the common thread is the loud noises, bright colors, and light to scare away Nian.
Because of pollution, many cities banned fireworks, however, people pretty much ignored the laws. In fact, Beijing had banned fireworks for 13 years until 2006 when it was lifted due to an unhappy and angry public.
New clothes are encouraged for New Year’s Day with red being the preferred color. However, if you are planning to buy new shoes do so before the holiday because some Chinese are superstitious about buying shoes during the New Year holiday.
One belief is that your zodiac animal year (your Ben Ming year) you are more prone to catch the attention of demons. The only way to protect yourself is to wear red underwear! Wow! That’s a lot of red underwear!.Red packets with money were usually given by adults and the elderly to young children to keep them healthy, ensure them a long life, and to keep away evil
Taboos: Hair cutting, using scissors or sharp objects, arguing,fighting, crying (doesn’t apply to children), swearing, breaking things (especially ceramic or glass), or saying negative/unlucky things such as death or sickness.
If you give New Year’s blessings to someone in bed, they will be bed-ridden for the year. Wait until they wake up but don’t wake them up. Never give shoes or clocks as a gift.
Celebrations will certainly be different this year because of the pandemic.As with most societies all over the world, old traditions change, become outdated, and/or are pushed by the wayside. New traditions may or may not evolve from the old. Many members of younger generations do not follow the age-old traditions of the Chinese New Year and just enjoy having the days off!
Sound familiar?