RSSThe wonderful land of China is a world set amidst the lore of myths and legends, rich tradition and customs, profound culture and ethos. It is world full of activity and life. In this world of culture and myths there are a variety of festivals taking place all around the year. Chinese festivals are rich in tradition, excitement and participation. According to the traditional agricultural society, festivals mark the change of the seasons. Festivals like the Spring Festival (coinciding with the Chinese New Year), the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn festival and the Winter Solstice mark the passage of time. Here’s a list of some of the most famous Chinese festivals.
Chinese New Year
The Chinese use a solar/lunar calendar. Their new year begins at the time of the first full moon (over the Far East) after the sun enters Aquarius - sometime between January 19 and February 21.
The celebration of the New Year lasts for nearly a month. The Chinese celebrate the New Year by scrubbing and cleaning their houses, settling their debts and prepare their food in advance for the five main days of the celebration. Sweets are offered to the Chinese kitchen god Tsao-Chun a week before the New Year begins the picture of Tsao-Chun that has hung in the kitchen all year round is burned, sending him off to heaven to make a report on the household. On New Year's a new picture is hung to welcome and mark his return. Firecrackers and other noisemakers fill the air to scare away the old year and the evil spirits.
In China the New Year is always assigned to an animal. According to tradition, Buddha promised gifts to all animals that would pay him homage, eventually only twelve animals came to honor Buddha and to favor these twelve; each was given one of the twelve years of the Chinese zodiac. Persons born during a given animal's year are said to inherit the distinctive characteristics of that animal.
Families and friends gather on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day to celebrate, feast, and exchange gifts. The celebration continues for five full days during which stores and most businesses are closed.
The Lantern Festival
The end of the New Year celebrations is marked by the Lantern Festival, during which the homes are lit by colorful lanterns bearing the symbols of good fortune, happiness and health. Lantern Festival takes place at the time of the first full moon on the New Year, about ten days after Chinese New Year, on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar.
The Festival dates back to Emperor Ming Di of the Han Dynasty, when, in an effort to promote the learning of Buddhist doctrines, ordered the lighting of lanterns as a symbolic means of paying homage to Buddha.
Modern day celebrations include fireworks, people walking on stilts, and folk dancing. Lanterns of all shapes and sizes are displayed. In some areas, it is popular to hang riddles from the lanterns and give prizes to those who guess the answers. The traditional food of the festival is sweet dumplings, which symbolize reunion.
Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boast festival is celebrated in China on the fifth day of the fifth moon or month of the lunar calendar and for the same reason it is sometimes called Double Five Day. The celebration is held in honour of a former scholar, poet and a patriot, Ch'u Yuan, who lived in the third century B.C.
The festival has a long exciting myth to it. According to legend Ch'u Yuan used to advise his king wisely but the king did not want to hear his advices and banished Ch'u Yuan to an isolated village. Ch'u Yuan lived for seven years writing scholarly books. When, on the fifth day of the fifth month of the seventh year, he heard that his predictions had all come true he drowned himself in the river in an act of despair. Some fishermen who had seen him leap into the river took out their boats and tried to save him while their wives wrapped cooked rice in banana leaves and threw the rice balls into the river hoping that the fish would eat them instead of Ch'u Yuan's body.
On this same day, the Chinese people still eat special rice balls called tsungs, throw some of the rice balls into the river as an offering to the spirit of Ch'u Yuan, and hold dragon boat races to the beat of drums as they re-create the search for the body of Ch'u Yuan.
Qing Ming Festival
Respecting ancestors and family spirits is an integral part of Chinese culture and tradition. The Qing Ming Festival is also known as ‘Remembrance of Ancestors Day’ and Grave-sweeping or Spring Remembrance. Celebrated in April this day is devoted to honour dead relatives.
As a part of the festival, thousands of Chinese visit cemeteries to clean the graves of their loved ones, touch up gravestone inscriptions and make offerings of wine and fruit. The Chinese hold great respect for their ancestors and the young are also taught to pray to, and for, the family spirits. Young people accompany their parents to the gravesite and help in the cleaning process. The "willow" is regarded as the symbol of light and enemy of darkness in Chinese culture. On Ching Ming, willow twigs and branches are hung in doorways to ward off the evil spirits. It is believed that if you don't hang the willow, you will appear as yellow dog in your next life.
GOWEALTHY.COM © 2008
For comments: editor@gowealthy.com
