What is chinese (lunar) new year?

The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month (正月zheng yue) in the Chinese calendar and ends with Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the month.

春节 chun jie ; Spring festival

Other Cultures that Celebrate

Celebrated in: Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia

Unofficially celebrated in: Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom

Japan originally celebrated the Lunar New Year, but in 1873 it adopted the Gregorian calendar. Now, Jan 1st is the official New Year's day.

Vietnamese Tét

Korean Chuseok

Singapore

Lunar (lunisolar) Calendar

农历 (Nong li)

Based on the moon and the sun, divided into 24 terms based on predicted weather

Helped govern agriculture and economic activities

China officially uses the Gregorian calendar

The 农历 calendar is still used to determine cultural holidays, traditional age, and auspicious dates

Calculate your chinese age

Based off of lunisolar calendar

+

number of lunar new years past your birth

1

=

your Chinese age

Chinese Zodiac Signs

Which Zodiac Sign are you?

Tiger

Rabbit

Horse

Dragon

Snake

1/28/98-2/15/99

2/16/99-2/4/00

2/5/00-1/23/01

1/24/01-2/11/02

2/12/02-1/31/03

"Raw power & immense courage"

"Manifesting prosperity & making peace"

"Noble actions & majestic dreams"

"Primordial wisdom & mystical abilities"

"Freedom of spirit & fearless approach to life"

lunar new year Traditions

Complete cleaning of the house to remove the old & welcome the new 

Wear red clothing or accessories gifted by friend/family member to ward of bad spirits/luck

Hang red couplets and lanterns

Red envelopes are given to children by elders

Family reunion dinner

Fire works

LIVE dance!!

Welcome Melinda! 

She will be performing a traditional Chinese dance.

Such dances are often broadcasted during the Chinese New Year Gala on a MUCH larger scale. 

Enjoy!

福

福 (fu) - fortune/good luck

到 (dao)- arrive

倒 (dao)-  inverted

The legend of nian

Firecrackers, pots/pans, and red clothing were used to scare off Nian

Nian, an oceanic monster, terrorized village

The legend of SUI

Red Envelopes with money were given to ward Sui off

Sui: demon that terrorized sleeping children

FOOD SYmBOLISM

Fish (鱼) - an increase in prosperity (年年有余)

Noodles (长寿面) - Happiness and Longevity

Sweet Rice Balls (汤圆) - Family Togetherness

Rice Cake (年糕) - higher (高) income or position

Dumplings (饺子) - shaped like money=wealth

Fruits - oranges(橙), tangerines (桔), pomelos (柚)

Modern celebration

Families watch Lunar New Year broadcasts on CCTV (China Central Television)

Performances include: acrobatics, singing, dancing, magic shows, skits, etc.

Fun fact:

CCTV Clip

https://safeshare.tv/x/xQi-znA5kHQ

https://safeshare.tv/x/7t6xh9-hlSM

the internet and new traditions

WeChat is a Chinese instant messaging and social network app similar to Facebook

It has integrated functions such as connecting credit cards and paying bills

It is common to send red envelopes to friends and groups (will randomly generate amount per person)

urbanization

Since the new year is all about reunion, many people will rush home from urban centers to visit their parents and family.

This causes a flow of traffic out of urban centers and a period of transportation stress for highways, airplanes, buses, and trains.

Rail tickets are sold online at a rate of more than 1,000 per second!

Train stations are packed with passengers

returning home to rural areas

Beijing is empty during new year

Trivia Game!

https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/3f23fa29-8b3f-4696-b231-7caa6a886958

Hallway activities

Please split into your assigned groups!!