Mandarin Learning Basic

Chinese New Year will come soon…
Well, I will introduce the chinese festival that have been have a long time history. Chinese New Year is the oldest and most important festival in China, also called Spring Festival. Like other Chinese Festivals, the date of the new year is detemined by the lunar calendar rather than Western Calendar, so the date of the holiday varies from late January to early February.

The Spring festival celebrates the earth coming back to life, and the start of ploughing and sowing. In the past, feudal rulers of dynasties placed great importance on this occasion, and ceremonies to usher in the season were performed.

Preparations for the New Year festival start during the last few days of the last moon. Houses are thoroughly cleaned, debts repaid, hair cut and new clothes bought. Doors are decorated with vertical scrolls of characters on red paper whose texts seek good luck and praise nature, this practice stemming from the hanging of peach-wood charms to keep away ghosts and evil spirits. In many homes incense is burned, and also in the temples as a mark of respect to ancestors.

On New Year’s Eve houses are brightly lit and a large family dinner is served. In the south of China sticky-sweet glutinous rice pudding called nian gao is served, while in the north the steamed dumpling jiaozi is popular. Most celebrating the festival stay up till midnight, when fireworks are lit, to drive away evil spirits. New Years day is often spent visiting neighbours, family and friends.

The public holiday for New Year lasts 3 days in China, but the festival traditionally lasts till the 15th day of the lunar month and ends with the ‘Lantern Festival’. Here, houses are decorated with colourful lanterns, and yuanxioa, a sweet or savoury fried or boiled dumpling made of glutinous rice flour is eaten.

This year, chinese new year comes in 18th on February 2007, I have to back to my hometown to celebrate this festival and maybe I can received some ‘Hong Bao’ from my parents or relatives. Hehe…..
I want to say Happy New Year to all Chinese People in the world.

Note: Happy New Year in mandarin is 新年快乐 ‘xin(1) nian(2) kuai(4) le’