Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival or Yuan Xiao Festival (simplified Chinese: 元宵节; traditional Chinese: 元宵節; pinyin: Yuánxiāojié) orShang Yuan Festival (simplified Chinese: 上元节; traditional Chinese: 上元節; pinyin: Shàngyuánjié) in China is a festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar year in the Chinese calendar, the last day of the lunisolar Chinese New Yearcelebration. It is not to be confused with the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is sometimes also known as the "Lantern Festival" in locations such as Singapore and Malaysia. During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night to temples carrying paper lanternsand solve riddles on the lanterns (simplified Chinese: 猜灯谜; traditional Chinese: 猜燈謎; pinyin: cāidēngmí). It officially ends theChinese New Year celebrations.

In ancient times, the lanterns were fairly simple, for only the emperor and noblemen had large ornate ones; in modern times, lanterns have been embellished with many complex designs. For example, lanterns are now often made in shapes of animals.

In some region and countries, this festival is also regarded as the Chinese version of St. Valentine's Day, a day celebrating love and affection between lovers in Chinese tradition and culture.

Young people were chaperoned in the streets in hopes of finding love. Matchmakers acted busily in hopes of pairing couples. The brightest lanterns were symbolic of good luck and hope. As time has passed, the festival no longer has such implications.

Those who do not carry lanterns often enjoy watching informal lantern parades. In addition to eating tangyuan (simplified Chinese: 汤圆; traditional Chinese: 湯圓;pinyin: tāngyuán), another popular activity at this festival is guessing lantern riddles (which became part of the festival during the Tang Dynasty), which often contain messages of good fortune, family reunion, abundant harvest, prosperity and love.

Until the Sui Dynasty in the sixth century, Emperor Yangdi invited envoys from other countries to China to see the colorful lighted lanterns and enjoy the gala performances.

By the beginning of the Tang Dynasty in the seventh century, the lantern displays would last three days. The emperor also lifted the curfew, allowing the people to enjoy the festive lanterns day and night. It is not difficult to find Chinese poems which describe this happy scene.

In the Song Dynasty, the festival was celebrated for five days and the activities began to spread to many of the big cities in China. Colorful glass and even jade were used to make lanterns, with figures from folk tales painted on the lanterns.

However, the largest Lantern Festival celebration took place in the early part of the 15th century. The festivities continued for ten days. Emperor Chengzu had the downtown area set aside as a center for displaying the lanterns. Even today, there is a place in Beijing called Dengshikou. In Chinese, deng means lantern and shi is market. The area became a market where lanterns were sold during the day. In the evening, the local people would go there to see the beautiful lighted lanterns on display.

Today, the displaying of lanterns is still a major event on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month throughout China. Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, for example, holds a lantern fair each year in Culture Park. During the Lantern Festival, the park is a virtual ocean of lanterns. Many new designs attract large numbers of visitors. The most eye-catching lantern is the Dragon Pole. This is a lantern in the shape of a golden dragon, spiraling up a 27-meter-high pole, spewing fireworks from its mouth. Cities such as Hangzhou and Shanghai have adopted electric and neon lanterns, which can often be seen beside their traditional paper or wooden counterparts.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lantern_Festival

元宵節

元宵節，亦稱為上元節、小正月、元夕、小年或燈節，時間是每年的農曆正月十五。

元宵節是新年的第一個月圓之夜，象徵著春天的到來，人們吃元宵、賞燈、猜燈謎，以示祝賀。這是春節之後的第一個重要節日。明朝錢塘瞿佑《雙頭牡丹燈記》：「每歲元夕，於明州張燈五夜。傾城士女，皆得縱觀」。在這一天，人們要吃元宵，鬧燈會，猜燈謎，提燈籠，許多地方還有放天燈的習俗。是華人社會的盛大節日之一。

在臺灣，除了賞花燈活動及著名的臺灣燈會、臺北燈節、高雄燈會藝術節之外，還有北臺灣的新北市平溪區放天燈活動。另外，在中臺灣的苗栗縣則有著名的「苗栗火旁龍」，苗栗火旁龍是指以鞭炮、蜂炮炸舞龍方式得到「去邪（去舊）迎新年」的作用。在南臺灣的臺南市鹽水區則有著名的「鹽水蜂炮」。在臺灣東部的臺東縣，則有以鞭炮炸財神的祈福活動：「臺東元宵炸寒單爺」。

在臺灣早期，有未婚女性在元宵節夜裡，以偷蔥來討個結婚吉兆的說法。俗語說：「偷挽蔥，嫁好翁；偷挽菜，嫁好婿」（臺灣話發音）。

著名詩詞：

朱淑真（一說作者為歐陽修）《生查子》

去年元夜時，花市燈如晝。月上柳梢頭，人約黃昏後。

今年元夜時，月與燈依舊。不見去年人，淚濕春衫袖。

辛棄疾《青玉案之元夕》

東風夜放花千樹，更吹落、星如雨。

寶馬雕車香滿路，鳳簫聲動，玉壺光轉，一夜魚龍舞。

蛾兒雪柳黃金縷，笑語盈盈暗香去。

眾裡尋他千百度，驀然回首，那人卻在、燈火闌珊處。

Source: http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/元宵节

January 4th & 5th on Lunar Calendar

“Nián Chū Sì” (年初四), also known as the day of “Jiē Shén” (接神), is more of a calming and quiet day. This is the day when people welcome back the deities who traveled to heaven for an annual report to the Jade Emperor. Offerings are usually made as greetings to these deities.
Note:

1. 四 (Sì) = four

2. 接 (Jiē)= to catch, to receive, to accept, to come close to

3. 神 (Shén) = god or deity

“Nián Chū Wǔ” (年初五) is referred to as the day of “Kāi Shì” (開市), meaning “opening markets” in Mandarin Chinese. On this day, people would go back to work, and business would be reopened. Firecrackers would be set off as a mean to boost good luck for business. From this day onwards, people would return to their everyday lives.

http://www.nychineselearning.com

Chinese New Year

No matter where your ancestors come from, every Chinese view the Chinese New Year as the most important festival within the whole year.  This joyous moment is the best time to gather with friends and family.

The origin of Chinese New Year dates back to several thousand years ago.  The most famous legend is the beast called Nian.  Nian is a fierce, predatory beast that people believe eats humans on New Year’s Eve.  According to legend, Nian beast fears red, light and noise; therefore people would hang red banners at the door, explode fire crackers and light up flames to avoid Nian beast.  The next morning, people would say congratulations with an air of victory defeating the Nian beast and experience the joy of rebirth.

For people who do not live at home, they will come back home before New Year’s Eve in order to eat the sumptuous New Year supper.  At this point, family members will give red envelopes to elders and children; they will stay up late or all night to welcome the New Year.  Legend has it that staying up late will promote longevity for the parents.  Also, keeping the light on all night will also scare the Nian beast.  Some families have religious ceremonies after midnight as well, ending with firecrackers to welcome the New Year.

The first thing in new years is the offering to ancestors and worshipping the various deities.  Another important activity for that day is to wear new clothes and visit relatives and friends and wishing them wealth and fortune.  It is also a good opportunity to settle any kind of problems and if there are any hard feelings it should be put aside for the moment.  Another specialty during the New Year is the lion dance and the dragon dance.  The dragon symbolizes propitiousness and it is believed that dragons control rainfall.  Therefore, performing the dragon dance will give blessing to the new crop in the upcoming year.  According to legend, the head of the dragon and lion can also ward off evils.

A few days before the New Year, people who are working or studying out of town will start planning the date for their return.  People will start to come home earlier in order to avoid traffic since trains, buses and airplanes will always be full.  No matter how society changes, the idea to reunite with family members still play a very important role during the New Year.  Therefore no matter how fatigue the journey might be, when you gather around for the most important New Year dinner, all the inconveniences and efforts are worthwhile.

中國新年

無論祖先來自何方，每個華人都把農曆新年視為一年中最重要的節日。這個喜氣洋洋的歡樂時刻，更是與家人、朋友團聚的好時光。
農曆新年的來源，有根據、豐富且多采多姿的傳說可追溯到幾千年前。其中最有名的就是「年獸」的傳說。「年獸」是一個殘忍兇猛的野獸，古代人相信「年獸」在除夕夜時會出來吃人。傳說「年獸」極懼怕紅色、火光及吵雜的聲音，人們就在門上貼著紅紙條，並整夜點著火炬、燃放炮燭，來避開「年獸」。到了第二天一大早，「恭喜」之聲不絕於耳，空氣中瀰漫著打敗「年獸」勝利與重生的喜悅。
長年居住在外的遊子，會在除夕夜之前趕回家，以便與家人共進豐盛的年夜飯。這個時候，家人會把裝滿錢的紅包送給家中的老人與小孩；也會全家人一起守歲來迎接新的一年。相傳守歲可以為父母增壽，因此除夕夜通常都是徹夜不眠、燈火輝煌。而且，在古老的傳說裏，整夜點燈尚有嚇走年獸的用意。此外，有些家庭還會在午夜之後舉行宗教上的特別儀式，最後則通常會放一長串的鞭炮來歡迎新年。

大年初一的第一件事是祭祀祖先、敬拜諸神，之後家中的年輕人必須跟長輩「拜年」。當天另一個重要活動，是穿上新衣走訪親朋好友，並祝賀「恭喜發財」；此時，也是一個和解的好時機，所有的新仇舊恨都必須在年節時分暫擱一邊。而新年假期中另一個特殊景象就是舞龍舞獅，我國自古就視「龍」為吉祥的象徵，並深信龍掌管降雨，因此舞龍可以保祐來年風調雨順、五穀豐登；此外，亦傳說龍跟獅子的頭可以驅逐邪魔。

除夕的前幾天，遠赴他鄉工作及求學的遊子開始計畫著歸鄉的日期。為避免在返鄉途中遇到塞車，人們通常會提前啟程。運送返鄉旅客的火車、巴士及飛機總是班班爆滿。無論社會如何變遷，這個與家人團聚的觀念，仍然在新年慶典活動中占著最重要的地位。 因此，無論旅程如何的勞累，一旦與家人團聚在桌前享用一年一度最重要的年夜飯時，所有的不便與辛勞都是值得的。