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Ryan Tran

Mrs. Triana

Advanced Comp Period 6

7 December 2015

Lunar Celebrations

Luminous lanterns and striking fireworks ignite the sky as adults hand out red envelopes

to children participating in festivities during the annual celebration of the Chinese New Year.

Also known as the Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year holds its

place as the most significant holiday of the year for the Chinese, along with many other cultures

(Columbia). Although it is traditionally a holiday celebrated by the Chinese people, the

celebration has become increasingly popular and is now celebrated by numerous ethnic

communities. Representing a time to honor relatives, family, and ancestral roots, the Lunar New

Year was initially based off of the Lunar Calendar (History.com). Since its first celebration

centuries ago in 2600 BC, the holidays festivities and traditions have evolved, and continue to

change each year. More and more people are adopting the holiday, and even some public

schools have time off to celebrate it (BBC). Chinese New Year is an important holiday that is

celebrated worldwide, and has had a substantial impact on a great deal of cultures and

communities in the modern world.

Despite the fact that it is uncertain how the Lunar New Year first began, tales say that it

started when a mythical monster called Nian, which translates to Year from Chinese, would

appear on the first day of each year to cause misfortune to the ancient Chinese people.

Eventually the people found out that Nian was frightened by the color red, and also firecrackers.

To dismiss the destructive creature, people decorated their villages with red lanterns and shot
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fireworks into the sky (Coles). This marked the beginning of the Chinese New Year. In Ancient

China, one would typically plan their time around the essential activities to maintain a healthy

life, such as farming and harvesting crops. In order to do this, farmers would study the phases of

the moon and note when it was best to cultivate the crops. As a result, the lunar calendar was

created, and set the dates for Lunar New Year (Columbia). Contrary to the calendar used today,

the calendar has 354 days instead of 365, due to the fact that it is based off of the moons cycle.

During the celebration of the holiday, families were given time to relax as business life came

nearly to a stop, [and] home and family were the principal focuses (History.com). Everyone got

time off for the holiday to spend time with family and to relieve themselves of troubles.

Over the course of fifteen days, various traditions were practiced during the Chinese New

Year. The majority of these traditions were out of superstition, and based off of the idea of luck

(BBC). On the first day of the Lunar New Year, families would open the front gate or door of

their home, and the head of the household would hang up a banner with promising Chinese

characters written on it. Children would wake up with red envelopes under their pillow, often

containing money. The red color of the envelope symbolized luck and good fortune.

(Columbia). On the next day of the Spring Festival, people would reach out to their ancestors

and the gods by praying to them. Married men payed respects to their parents-in-law on the third

day and fourth day, and families stayed in their homes on the fifth. Feasting, cooking, and eating

food proved to be the biggest part of the New Years traditions, as five of the fifteen days are

dedicated to food. On the final day of the lunar celebration, a lantern festival takes place, where

a multitude of lanterns are lit and people participate in a lantern parade (Coles). Although most

of these customs remain the same, some change slightly with each year, and more traditions are

added.
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As newer generations and different cultures adopt the Chinese New Year, festivities and

the way of celebrating the holiday is altered slightly. For some people, the holiday has lost its

core meaning and values. This is especially true for younger people celebrating the holiday, as

for some members of the younger generation the holiday has evolved from an opportunity to

renew family ties to a chance for relaxation from work (History.com). Furthermore, at one

point and time, the Communist Party in China tried to shut down certain ways of celebrating the

New Year, such as fireworks. Also, families would go out to places such as the movies for

entertainment, instead of going to the traditional festivals to watch the dragon or lion dance

(Columbia). On the contrary, some people stay true to traditions and have found other ways to

celebrate the Spring Festival. More shows and festivals are held each year at different locations,

which contain a variety of activities and different foods (Iqbal).

The Chinese place a large emphasis on superstitions and beliefs, which ultimate serve as

the reasoning behind the Lunar New Year. There an abundance of symbolism contained within

the holiday, the majority of it having to do with Ancient Chinese legends and animals. For

example, each year signifies the year of a different animal that was preferred by the Buddha

(BBC). Each of these animals were believed to symbolize particular things. The year of the

animal in which one was born is said to reflect their personality. In addition to animals, food

played a significant role in symbolism for the Chinese. Usually, dumplings and eggrolls would

be shaped to resemble gold or silver for good luck. All of the food is served whole, as wholeness

represents goodness and completion (History.com). Moreover, certain foods were considered

lucky. Peanuts, longans, lotus seeds, and dates were all regarded as lucky. Just as there are

superstitions about things that symbolize luck, Chinese had beliefs about thing that represented

bad luck as well. Any words that sound like the Chinese word for death (Siwang) are deemed to
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be unfortunate. People refrain from using sharp objects and doing housework during the

celebration of the New Year to avoid the potential of bad luck (Columbia).

Throughout the centuries of its existence, the Lunar New Year has affected modern

societies all of the world with its increasing popularity. Spreading vastly to numerous countries

other than the ones in Asia, the celebration of the Chinese New Year becomes a more important

holiday every year. More people are getting work off for the holiday to relax and spend time

with family (History.com). In Asia, the celebration is well adopted. The capital of Malaysia,

Kuala Lumpur, has been lit by lanterns and banners festooning buildings, despite the fact that

the Chinese only make up 30% of the population (BBC). Other than Chinese people,

Vietnamese individuals living in America make up the largest group of people celebrating

Chinese New Year. Indonesia recently recognized the Lunar New Year as a national holiday,

and the relations between Pakistan and China strengthened after a multicultural celebration

involving the two nations (Iqbal).

Chinese New Year illustrates the importance of Ancient Asian customs with its

traditions, age-old beliefs, and its overall impact on modern cultures. It introduced other

civilizations to a different way of celebrating and also taught people to focus on family and relax

once in a while. Furthermore, it inspired people to look at things with a different perspective,

and with more meaning. Today, the Lunar New Year is celebrated by a number of communities

worldwide, including communities that are not Chinese. Ultimately, the acceptance of the

holiday allows the societies today to experience and learn about what the Asian culture is about,

and encourages people to be more open to the characteristics of other cultures.

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Works Cited

"Asia Welcomes Lunar New Year." BBC News. BBC, 01 Feb. 2003. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.

Coles, Terri. "20 Things To Know About Chinese New Year." The Huffington Post. The

Huffington Post Canada, 24 Jan. 2014. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.

History.com Staff. "Chinese New Year." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web.

22 Oct. 2015.

Iqbal, Myra. "Celebrating Spring and All It Brings." The Express Tribune. International New

York Times, 15 Feb. 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.

"The Lunar New Year: Rituals and Legends." Columbia University. Asia For Educators, 2009.

Web. 22 Oct. 2015.