Chinese New Year

January 23, 2017

• Topical

This annual celebration does not follow our Gregorian calendar, so does not occur on the same day every year. It falls between the 21^st January and the 20^th February and is also known as the Lunar New Year. It is celebrated by Chinese communities all around the world.

Each year has one of 12 animals attributed it. People born in a particular year and said to have particular characteristic. There are many different versions to the tale which tells us how each year was given a particular animal but the main structure is constant throughout most stories.

The 12 animals come from a tale about the Jade Emperor who decided that there should be a way of measuring time so gathered the animals and said to them they would have a race across a river and the first twelve would have a year named after them, with the animal that came first having the following year named after them. The cat and the rat were both poor swimmer so decided that the best way across would be to get a lift from the ox. The ox, being good natured, allowed the two animals to ride on its back. Half way across the river the rat pushed the cat into the river which is why even today cats do not like rats. As the ox got close to the shore, the rat jumped off its back onto land and so won the race leaving the ox second. The remaining animals came in the order: tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and finally pig.

There are stories which tell you which animal came in which position. For example, with the horse and the snake, the latter is said to have ridden on the horses hooves and slithered out just before the end which caused the horse to jump back. This gave the snake enough time to get 6^th place, ahead of the horse.

This is not the only story associated with the Chinese New year. According to legend, the start of the Chinese New Year began with a fight against the mythical beast Nian. Every new year, the beast would come to the villages and eat crops, livestock and even children. People started to leave food on the doorstep as an offering to Nian. One day, someone noticed that Nian didn’t go near children who wore red so villages put up red lanterns and red scrolls in their doors and windows to ward of Nian. Firecrackers were also used to scare away Nian and it was eventually captured by a Taoist monk.

It is from these stories the celebrations of the New Year come from. The impressive firework displays which are often seen come from the use of the firecrackers. The food, that was left as an offering became the basis of taking food to friends and family around the New Year.

This is only a small fraction of what there is to know about the Chinese New Year and how it is celebrated. It is well worth reading a little more about it and learning more about its rich history and traditions.

Do you celebrate Chinese New Year? Let us know your traditions at Kings Tutors.