Tag Archives: Chinese traditions

Things Chinese, Uncategorized

Chinese Lantern Festival 2024

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The Chinese Lantern Festival (AKA Shangyuan Festival) is on the 15th day after Chinese New Year. This year that’s Saturday, February 24th. It marks the end of the new year celebrations. The lunar new year celebrations start with the beginning of the first new moon and end on the 15th –when it reaches its peak and is the first full moon. This is to highlight the beginning of a positive future, since it’s a time when winter abates and spring is on the horizon. Some consider this to be the most joyous of holidays.

Lanterns of different shapes and colors are hung in houses and out in the streets. Children and adults may walk the streets carrying lanterns. The lanterns may be round, square, of fish or other animal shapes. To make things even more fun, a lantern may have a riddle written on it and the person who guesses the riddle correctly gets a prize. The public festivities include parades with lion and dragon dances. The sound of fireworks can be heard everywhere.  

A favorite treat on this day are glutinous rice balls called yuanxiao or tangyuan. These round dumplings usually have a sweet black sesame, lotus paste, or red bean filling. Although any number of other fillings may be tried. Their round shape suggests something that is complete and whole and is used to symbolize a unified, strong family. Another popular food is an egg noodle known as the longevity noodle because of its length. Eating these noodles symbolizes enjoying a long life.

If you want to make lanterns there are several good DIY sites on the web. Making a lantern is also a good project to share with your child. Here are a few sites that will show you how to make fun, easy-to-do lanterns to celebrate this holiday.

DIY Lunar New Year lanterns:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rQ4ib7pSp4  A child demonstrates how to make lanterns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gA0zE_7j2k   Shows 1 simple lantern.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeZKYGmuZn0   Extremely simple paper lantern.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSWcUKYrXyE   One level up from “Extremely simple paper lantern” above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v12j1bQh9A   5 different ideas for lanterns.

photos are from depositphotos.com

https://www.amazon.com/Mei-hua-Trilogy-P-Voe-ebook/dp/B075SQ261G/
Things Chinese, Uncategorized

2024 The Year of the Wood Dragon

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The Chinese lunar year is not only marked by one of the 12 animals found in the Chinese zodiac, but is also associated with one of the five elements or the five states of change: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each element influences the zodiac year in a unique way. This year, 2024, is the year of the wood dragon. Therefore, the characteristics attributed to the wood element are added to those of the dragon.

Let’s see what this means.

When you think of wood, think also of a tree, perhaps a large oak tree. The tree has roots going deep into the earth, giving it stability and strength. It also has branches, which are always growing up and out. So, the wood element suggests strength, change, abundance, expansion, curiosity, opportunity, and creativity. Combine those attributes with the dragon’s attributes of dynamism, authority, and strength and the Year of the Wood Dragon will be one of change, growth, prosperity and success.

To make your 2024 even more successful, wear green because the color heightens the Wood Dragon year’s positive qualities and good fortune.

*photo from depositphotos.com

Book 3 in the Mei-hua trilogy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019EQUV1S/

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The Lunar New Year 2024 is the year of the Wood Dragon

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While in Europe the dragon was seen as violent and dangerous, in China and in Eastern countries the dragon is much more nuanced.

The dragon is the only mythological figure in the Chinese Zodiac (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig). While it roams the skies—often depicted flying among the clouds—it is thought to live in rivers, lakes, and oceans.

As a rain god, it has authority over water in all its forms. It controls everything from storms, typhoons, floods, to the life-giving gentle spring rains. It is the rain which allows people to survive and thrive. And it is that life-giving rain which is associated with fertility and plenty.

Although not the only sign considered lucky in the Zodiac, it may be the most desirable, for there is usually a spike in the birth rate in the year of the dragon.* So why do so many new parents want their child to be born in this special year?

It’s because the dragon is associated with charisma, intelligence, power, strength, and—most importantly—success. These attributes are showered upon dragon-year newborns. What parent wouldn’t want that for their child?

*Note “’Baby dragons’ to rescue China? Beijing is counting on 2024 to fix its population woes – Here’s Why” WION https://www.wionews.com/world/baby-dragons-to-rescue-china-here-is-why-beijing-is-counting-on-2024-to-fix-its-population-woes-681243; and “The Dragon Code: Career Success Through Dragon Baby Insights” Forbes  https://www.forbes.com/sites/juliettehan/2024/02/05/cracking-the-dragon-code-career-success-through-dragon-baby-insights/?sh=6ee5848e4581

Picture from depositphotos.com

Things Chinese

What is Chinese New Year?

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Chinese New Year is a special festivity based on the lunar calendar not the solar calendar. It’s celebrated on the first moon of the lunisolar calendar and marks the beginning of spring. Therefore, Chinese New Year is sometimes also called the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival.

Although here in the US, we typicaly call it Chinese New Year, there are other Asian countries that celebrate this time of the year. Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia do, too. And, of course, it is a time of festivities across the globe—due to the widely spread Asian diaspora. While western nations celebrate the beginning of the solar New Year for one day, the lunar New Year is celebrated over the course of several days in Asia.

Typically, the Lunar New Year begins with the Spring Festival on the first new moon of the lunar calendar and goes through the Lantern Festival on the next full moon of the lunar month.  That means this year, 2024, people begin their festivities on February 10th and enjoy a holiday period through February 24th. This two-week period is especially important for family and friends to be together; people travel great distances to be home with their family and share in the New Year’s festivities.  

photo from Depositphotos

Things Chinese

Veneration For The Family Ancestors

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In looking though pictures I took in China some time ago, I found this picture which reminded me of the unbreakable tie between the living and dead within a Chinese family. It is reflected in what we commonly refer to as ancestor worship.

Regard for one’s family and one’s ancestors has a long, long tradition in China. It goes back to the Zhou Dynasty (1122-256 BC) and remains strong among many Chinese today. This regard—with its ritual and prominently placed table—is, as we said, sometimes called ancestor worship.

The table or altar holds pictures and/or plaques with the names of the family’s male line, for China has been a patrilineal system for thousands of years. A patrilineal system means that people count only the male side of the family as important in determining who is an ancestor and who isn’t. Your father’s side are your ancestors. Your mother’s side are not considered your ancestors, that is, they are outside your direct lineage. However, your mother–having given birth to you–will be included on your family altar, just not the rest of her lineage. Therefore, your obligations for showing reverence is only for your father’s side of the family. The latter are the people who will appear on your family altar.

Showing respect and honoring your ancestors is not a one-way street. By properly caring for your ancestors, they will, in turn, watch over and care for you. In other words, familial ties are not broken at death. Your ancestors and you are forever linked. This interconnection has been consistently supported and reinforced throughout history by both Confucian and Taoist traditions and beliefs.

Venerating your ancestors is a primary filial duty. It is because of your ancestors that you exist–that you were born and nurtured, allowing you to grow and prosper. It is only fair that you show proper recognition, regard, and respect to them. You owe your life to all of them. For this reason, people offer burning joss sticks, plates of food, and cups of tea to the ancestors by placing them before their pictures and tablets. It’s a sign of shared nurturing and support.

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CHINESE NEW YEAR 2017, Favorite Holiday Foods

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Sharing holiday dinners is one of the most important, if not the most important, part of celebrating the New Year, which is not a one-day event. Chinese New Year is celebrated over a couple of weeks. Plenty of time for everyone to have their own large dinner gatherings and attend other dinners! This time spread averts our  own difficult Thanksgiving and Christmas problem: which dinner to attend. We often either end up only going to one and having to miss others, or going to a couple dinners—if they are staggered (ex., early in the afternoon and a second later in the afternoon or evening). Always a difficult decision.

No problem for Chinese New Year. A family can attend different dinners on different days. Thereby assuring their proper enjoyment of all the special foods!

And what are some of those foods?

FISH is an essential dish. The Chinese word for fish, yú 魚, is a homophone for excess and a surplus,s yú 餘.

IMAGE Chinese-Steamed-Fish Jan 2017So, overall, the fish is a strong good symbol for wealth and luck. The word fish is used in such optimistic and encouraging proverbs such as:  a fish in water, which means congenial in general and good relations between husband and wife; and a surplus of luck, which refers especially to the luck that comes to virtuous families.

Serving a whole fish is also important because it signifies both the family as a unit and that the prosperity is for the whole family.

LONGEVITY NOODLES are another essential dish because the long noodles represent a long and happy life. Always a good thing, right? The noodles can be cooked in many different ways—boiled, fried and served on a plate or in a bowl—but they must be very long and uncut.

FRUIT, citrus fruits and lychee or longan (translated as dragon eye. See how the seed looks like a dragon’s eye!) in particular, are very popular since they also represent prosperity, family unity, abundance, happiness, and of course, good luck.IMAGE longan fruit Jan 2017

There are other delightful dishes and you can learn more at sites such as for the Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/02/10/chinese-new-year-food_n_6641164.html and China Highlights http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/festivals/chinese-new-year-flowers-and-fruits.htm or Googling Chinese New Year Dishes.

A HOLIDAY SPECIAL: In celebration of Chinese New Year, the young adult novel, Hidden, is free through Amazon from Saturday, January 21st through Monday, the 23rd. It’s an adventure/mystery story of survival and the bonds of friendship in ancient China. Go to the “books” tab and the Hidden link to Amazon or to Amazon.

Enjoy!

The fish image is from popsugar.com/food/ and the longan image is from growables.org.

Things Chinese

Chinese New Year 2017, The Year of the Rooster

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2017 Chinese Rooster Jan 12th
from Pinterest

We’re almost at the beginning of a new Chinese year! Lucky us. We get to celebrate New Year’s twice: once on January 1st and a second time on the first day of the first lunar month—which this year is January 28th.

As many of you already know, every year in the Chinese Zodiac is represented by an animal — each with special, auspicious qualities. This year, 2017, is the Year of the Rooster.

Why the rooster? What does it symbolize?

The rooster is a strong yang symbol, going back many hundreds and hundreds of years.

  • The crown on its head (the rooster’s comb) show that it supports and encourages civil society.
  • When a rooster finds food, it is said to let others know about it. Therefore, roosters are considered benevolent.
  • Because it crows in the morning, marking the break from darkness to a growing sun light, it is important as a symbol for chasing away negative forces and what is evil.
  • And, finally, because a rooster has razor sharp claws to fight against its enemies, it is considered courageous.

All of these positive symbols represent one side of a coin—the other side is the personal side. For those people born in the year of the rooster, this will not be such a good year. That’s because the year of one’s birth is usually considered an unlucky year for the person.

Whatever the year brings, New Years is a time of celebration. In times past, and perhaps today if jobs permit, people celebrate for at least a week with special dinners and visiting family and friends.

Things Chinese

Qing Ming 清明 Festival, April 5th

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I can hardly believe it’s April already. Tomorrow, April 5th, is Qing Ming, a special day for every family of Chinese descent. While Qing Ming literally means Clear and Bright in English, the day is also known as: All Souls Day, Grave Sweeping Day, Tomb Sweeping Day, and Chinese Memorial Day.

Qing Ming day copy
Honoring family ancestors

 

Qing Ming in San Francisco area 2 copy
Continuing the tradition in San Francisco

Qing Ming day is a special time when families show respect and honor to their ancestors by gathering together to tend their graves. The family takes special foods, tea, and other grave goods (such as spirit money) to offer the dead at their grave. This is done because, traditionally, the departed live in a world where they still have needs. They need money, food, items for comfortable living. Once everything is officially offered up to the ancestors, the family picnics at the grave site. As we know, sharing food is an important way to show solidarity, togetherness. Thus, Qing Ming does double duty by bringing the family together to honor the dead and to strengthen family ties among the living.

Note: Pictures from Pinterest:

Found on p21chong.files.wordpress.com and

Qingming in Colma, outside San Francisco. Found on dailyundertaker.com

Found on p21chong.files.wordpress.com

Qingming in Colma, outside San Francisco

Found on dailyundertaker.com

Pinned from: chinaodysseytours.com

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Firecrackers 爆竹 bàozhú

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illustration from Ming Dyn (1628 to 1643 edition of Jin Ping Mei) copy jpg characers for baozhu bamboo in jpg 2 copy     bàozhú   firecracker

An illustration of a fireworks display from the 1628–1643 edition of the Ming Dynasty novel Jin Ping Mei

爆竹        bàozhú, baoh-zhru        firecracker [or literally exploding bamboo]

The history of marvelous Chinese inventions is fascinating. The invention of firecrackers is an example.

The word for firecracker in Chinese is bàozhú (exploding bamboo) and is derived from the original firecrackers used in ancient China, perhaps as far back as the Han Dynasty (206-220 BC). At that time, pieces of green bamboo were thrown into a fire and then the bamboo would burst apart with loud bangs. In other words, these original firecrackers were not the same as those developed later, no gunpowder was included.

Li Tian, a monk living near Liu Yang city, Hunan province, is credited with having invented the modern firecracker. According to mythology, Li Tian filled a piece of bamboo with gunpowder to frighten away a persistent ghost that had been bothering the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) emperor Li Shi-ming. The loud bang did the job. The ghost fled and the emperor once again had peace. In honor of this great invention (pyrotechnic fireworks), Chinese traditionally held a festival in Li Tian’s honor on April 18th.

By the end of the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127 AD), firecrackers consisted of paper tubes stuffed with gunpowder. The tubes were tied together with rope, forming a long string of firecrackers, which could be set off in succession. This produced quite a display of noise and smoke.

Noise and smoke, both are considered important for protecting a household. Noise chases away ghosts and other evils, such as poisonous insects (see my January 5, 2014 blog on the 5 noxious animals also sometimes called the five evils) and sickness. Smoke cleanses the house and also gets rid of poisonous insects and dampness, which can cause illness. Therefore, for a couple of thousand years firecrackers have been synonymous with health and peace, which leads to a prosperous future for the family.

Sources for fireworks: Joseph Needham Clerks and Craftsmen in China and the West 1970 p. 89-90; http://kaleidoscope.cultural-china.com/en/10Kaleidoscope8486.html; www.kracklinkirks.com/fireworks%20history.htm;

Illustration: “Ming Dynasty Jin Ping Mei fireworks” by Unknown – Jin Ping Mei, from Science and Civilisation in China p. 140. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ming_Dynasty_Jin_Ping_Mei_fireworks.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Ming_Dynasty_Jin_Ping_Mei_fireworks.jpg.

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Qingming Festival 清明節 Qīngmíng Jié, Ching-mirng Jier

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Tomorrow, April 5th 2014, Chinese everywhere celebrate Qingming Festival 清明節 Qīngmíng Jié, Ching-mirng Jier.   On this day families go out to the cemeteries and clean the tombs of their ancestors. By honoring the dead, people also recognize the blood tie which binds their family together. It’s a day of family unity. Continue reading Qingming Festival 清明節 Qīngmíng Jié, Ching-mirng Jier →