chinese new year, Spring Festival or New Lunar Year, is actually the oldest festival in the calendar of the Chinese. It is considered to be the longest and most important festival for the Chinese people, as it marks the beginning of the new academic year. This festival of New Year also marks the beginning of farming festivals. In addition, during the ceremonies involved in the celebration of this event, people would break large numbers of pots and use them as money to buy presents for their loved ones.
Now, there are two different ways by which the Chinese commemorate the New Year. On the old lunar calendar, there was neither a New Year nor a Spring Festival. People used to celebrate both these equally in accordance with their lunar calendar. On the new lunar calendar, which is the one we use today, there is only a one-year period between the two New Year celebrations.
In ancient times, according to the lunar calendar, the chinese new year began on the first day of the Spring. On this day, celebrations were very abundant and people were very happy. The first Festival was the gathering of property owners to celebrate the growing crops and the improvement of barns. At this time, oxen were used to pull carts full of fruits, vegetables, hay and other grain.
Chinese New Year - The Bright New Year of Chinese Culture
The next Chinese new year festival was the Spring Festival, celebrated in mid-February. Unlike the previous festivals, this one did not have any importance of grains or oxen. However, the Chinese people still celebrated it by feasting. The feasting feasts would last for several days, and the highlight of the entire festival was the handing over of wooden chopsticks, which symbolized the wealth of the prosperous years to the younger generation.
The third Chinese new year celebrated in February is the Dragon Boat Festival. The Chinese believe that the Dragon Boat, a six-storey high boat, was sent by the deities to protect China from the destructive forces of evil. The festival was originally started as a navigation event, but eventually it got so out of control that it was abandoned and incorporated into the Chinese calendar system. Legend has it that the Divine Being Shenlong found a Chinese woman to be his mate and brought her to the world. The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the most popular national holidays in China.
Fireworks are also an important part of Chinese New Year celebrations. As I said earlier, the first day of the new year marks the beginning of the celebrations, and on that day the government makes fireworks in different colors and designs to let the people know that there will be fireworks during the celebrations. Throughout the Chinese culture, the use of fireworks is not uncommon at any time. During the traditional Spring Festival, for example, the government sets off the fireworks display for the entire city of Beijing in a massive display to please the citizens and to celebrate the joy of new life. At other times of the year, fireworks are used to mark the beginning of various festivities or events.
There are many other colorful customs and traditions that are observed during the Chinese New Year. In fact, these colorful customs date back to early times when China was still a developing country and different religious groups roamed the land, vying for power and control of the land. Because of this incessant warring between different groups, the people had no choice but to observe different religious ceremonies and rituals in order to appease their enemies and they were even forced to join warlord organizations in order to survive. One such event that occurred during the springtime was the breaking of the five thousand year old bond between the emperor and empress dowry. This was done in order to appease the strong warlords who governed the country at that point in time.
Fireworks are not only used during the Chinese New Year as a celebration, but they are also widely used throughout the Chinese lunar calendar. The moon cycles the time it takes around the earth and when it comes around again, the festivities for that year begin. Chinese New Year is celebrated on the first day of every March. Chinese people also believe that the fifth day of the lunar calendar holds great importance and they celebrate it by burning incense in front of the mirror. The mirror is said to reflect back the last good deed that a person did during the past year and is then blessed.
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