Chinese New Year
With celebrations set to take place around the world, Lorelle Williams looks ahead to the Chinese Year of the Horse
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ach year on the second new moon after the winter solstice, people of Chinese heritage all over the world celebrate one of the biggest and rich-
est holidays of all, Chinese New Year. Known also as the Lunar New Year, the Asian New Year or the Spring Festival, it is unclear when this holiday was first celebrated in China. Oracle bones inscribed with astronomical records indi- cate that the ancient Chinese calendar existed at least as early as 14th century B.C. when the Shang Dynasty was in power, but the most common story told on the origin of the festive celebrations is the legend of the Nian. Te centuries-old legend tells a tale of a mythi-
cal monster named Nian () (the Chinese word for “year”) who would come down from the mountains to prey on the villagers, particularly
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the young children. Te people were very much afraid of the Nian and would lock their doors early before sunset on the days of its coming. Tere lived a wise old man in the village who understood that it was the panic in the villagers which made the Nian so bold and ferocious. He advised the people of the village to come togeth- er to ward off the evil monster by making loud noises with drums and firecrackers and to hang red scrolls on their doors, as the Nian was scared of the colour red. Te local people did as the old man told them and together they conquered the evil Nian. Each year since, the Chinese people have maintained tradition by beating drums, displaying red and lighting fireworks to fend off evil and celebrate their victory over the Nian. Unlike the Western world the New Year is based on the earth’s orbit around the sun and
is only celebrated for one day and the evening before, the Chinese New Year is based on the moon’s orbit around the earth and lasts for a period of fifteen days. Over these fifteen days the Chinese will pray to their ancestors and the Gods for health, wealth and good fortune, while friends and relatives come together to strengthen ties and feast together over rich, plentiful meals. It is also common over the New Year period to see a flurry of red envelopes being exchanged between the locals. Tese red envelopes, known as Lai See, contain money symbolising good luck and by exchanging them the Chinese people are passing on good fortune and prosperity in the forthcoming year. Red, the dominant colour of the envelopes, symbolises this good fortune but also repels evil spirits and demons. Words and
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