Full coverage: 2015 Spring Festival
Lunar New Year\'s Day is the first day of the year, according to the traditional lunar calendar. With the adoption of the solar calendar, New Year\'s Day came to refer to the first day of the solar year. In order to distinguish the two, Lunar New Year\'s Day is sometimes referred to as Spring Festival. The Lunar New Year is China\'s most important traditional holiday. However, this holiday is not just one day; rather it encompasses an extended period of time, often lasting until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
With the adoption of the solar calendar, New Year\'s Day came to refer to the first day of the solar year. Legend has it that long ago there was a king named Zu Yi who found it difficult to predict seasonal weather changes and the movement of wind and clouds. He ordered his minister Ah Heng to build an altar and make sacrifices to the deities seeking their assistance. But the deities did not reply. As it happened, a young man named Wan Nian had just invented the sundial and a four-level water clock, which enabled him to accurately predict weather conditions according to the changing seasons. Wan Nian sought out the king and presented him with his inventions. The king was delighted with this development, and ordered Ah Heng to use the new inventions to create a calendar. But when Ah Heng climbed to the top of the Temple of the Sun and Moon, he saw the following poem written by Wan Nian inscribed on the wall:
The sun rises and sets three-hundred and sixty times, circling the horizon to return to its beginning. Plants wither and flourish over four seasons; twelve moons make up one year\'s cycle.
When Ah Heng saw this poem, he realized that Wan Nian had already invented the calendar. Fearing that he would fall out of favor if the king learned of this accomplishment, Ah Heng sent an assassin to kill the young inventor. However, his plot was not successful. The king richly rewarded Wan Nian, who exclaimed, old year has ended and the new year begins; will the king give this auspicious day a name?it be called Spring Festival.
In northern China, the first meal of the New Year is boiled jiaozi (stuffed dumplings). In the south, it is niangao (New Year\'s cake). In Chinese, niangao is a homonym of the phrase steadily increasing prosperity.
New Year\'s cake is made with glutinous rice and short grain rice, plus sweet osmanthus sugar, lard, nuts, and candied fruit added according to taste. New Year\'s cake can be steamed, boiled, deep-fried, or stir-fried. Its sweet taste and chewy texture make it a favorite holiday treat.
After the first New Year\'s Day meal is eaten, offerings are made to the ancestors in the family ancestral hall. After consulting the almanac to determine the luckiest route, the family sets out on a procession, bearing lanterns and offerings to the auspicious deities, burning incense, and setting off firecrackers. When they reach the temple, they burn more incense, pay their respect to the deities, and entreat them for good fortune in the coming year.
The Lunar New Year is China\'s most important traditional holiday.
Another Spring Festival tradition is gathering sesame stalks into bundles. The height and straightness of the bundle symbolizes high achievements in the coming year.
No Spring Festival would be complete without the sound of firecrackers. Firecrackers and fireworks are traditionally set off on New Year\'s Eve and on Dragon Boat Festival, the fifth day of the New Year. In addition, it is also customary in many regions to set off fireworks early in the morning of New Year\'s Day, when the front door is first opened for the day. This tradition, known as day of the new year.
Firecrackers have a very long history in China. The first firecrackers consisted of segments of bamboo that were set on fire, causing them to explode with a loud noise. They were used to scare away ghosts and banish evil. Firecrackers have traditionally been associated with the supernatural. In addition to frightening ghosts, they were also used to see out the old year and welcome in the new. Eventually, they came to symbolize a prayer for peace. There are many different kinds of firecrackers and fireworks, including noisemakers, sparklers,
and colorful pyrotechnics. Today, fireworks are used primarily to heighten the festive holiday spirit. However, because of the injuries and environmental pollution caused by fireworks, a number of cities have banned or limited their use, replacing them with other holiday activities.
Another distinctive Spring Festival activity is the custom of making New Year\'s calls to friends and family in the first days of the New Year. If New Year\'s offerings to the ancestors represent remembrance of the departed, New Year\'s calls represent appreciation of the living. Making the rounds to offer New Year\'s greetings expresses affection and strengthens the bonds of friendship and family. In the past, if the head of a household had too many friends and relations to pay them each a personal visit, a servant was delegated to deliver name cards or lucky characters. This custom was widespread among the upper classes. The people receiving callers often gave their elder visitors red envelopes containing lucky New Year\'s money.
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