2002: First day February 12          

     The Spring Festival (Chun Jie) is also known as the Lunar New Year or Yuan Dan (the first day of the year). The Chinese have traditionally used the lunar cycle to calibrate their calendar and the Spring Festival falls on the first day of the first lunar month.  

     The Lunar New Year is considered the most important holiday on the Chinese calendar and there are many different customs and legends associated with it.  

The Nian Monster
   One of the legends about the Nian monster describes him as being as large as an ox with a single horn and a long tail. He   had  a huge mouth and came and went like the wind, wreaking havoc on man and beast in his wake.

    Knowing this, the God of Heaven locked Nian up in a mountain and only allowed him to come out once a year - on New Year's Eve. One year, when Nian reached a village, he was frightened by some red clothes that were hanging out to dry. He was again scared out of his wits when he encountered some lanterns hanging outside another house. Sometimes big problems are solved with little things!

    People began to realize that Nian's greatest fears were of noise, the color red, fire, and light. Henceforth, on every New Year's Eve, people lit firecrackers, posted red couplets and hung lanterns. In time, it became a custom associated with the Spring Festival.

    On the first day of the Lunar New Year, relatives and friends would visit and congratulate one another on surviving Nian's assault. This was how the custom of visiting relatives and friends during the Spring Festival came about.

       Spring Couplets             
  Spring couplets are auspicious words or verses written on red paper and posted on doors or pillars. Nearly all Chinese households decorate their homes with spring couplets during the Festival. Their red color expresses people's hopes and wishes for the year ahead.

    Spring couplets have their genesis in the peach-wood charms (taofu) of ancient times. In the beginning, the images of two deities - Shen Tu and Yu Lei - were carved on peach-wood and hung on the front door to dispel evil. Later, perhaps because the actual carving of the images was too time-consuming, the deities were painted on the peach-wood instead. These were known as peach-wood boards (taoban).

    The taoban was simplified even further when the painted images of Shen Tu and Yu Lei were dispensed with and replaced with just the characters of their names. These boards became known as peach-wood charms, or taofu.

    People later replaced the peach-wood boards with red paper, and wrote auspicious verses and words on the paper. These spring couplets express the wish for a peaceful and happy life.

  Yasui Qian and Red Packets
   During the Spring Festival, every child will receive yasui qian (literally "suppressing the year money") and a small red packet as gifts. According to an ancient custom, parents give their children yasui qian on Lunar New Year's Eve. This was done at the end of the year to bring good luck and dispel evil.

    Yasui qian comes in various forms. Some people thread a few coins together with pieces of red string (ancient Chinese coins have a square hole in the middle), while others wrap them up with pieces of red paper. Some parents use real coins while others use replicas of coins made from metal with auspicious words and images imprinted on them.

    On Lunar New Year's Day children and unmarried people wish their parents a happy new year as a mark of respect and goodwill. In return they receive a red packet. What is so interesting about this envelope? A red packet (hongbao) has felicitous words and pictures printed on the outside and inside is money! The red packet is also called lishi, which calls to mind the term shishi shunli ("everything going smoothly").

New Year Paintings            
   The New Year painting is a distinct Chinese art form. It originated from door paintings (menhua) and has a history as long as the peach-wood charm. The first paintings were depictions of deities - according to an ancient text on festivals and customs, "The paintings of two gods were posted on both sides of the front door. On the left was Shen Tu, on the right Yu Lei. These were popularly called the door gods." Later on, the Chinese used New Year paintings as good-luck charms for the peace and well being of the entire household. Firecrackers
   During Spring Festival, the deafening noise of exploding firecrackers resonates everywhere in China, be it a bustling city or a remote rural village.

    Firecrackers have been used in the celebration of Spring Festival for more than 2,000 years. The original firecrackers were torches made of bamboo (baozhu). These were lit and the expansion of gases in the bamboo would cause the torches to explode with a tremendous bang. This was originally done to frighten demons away, but later people lit firecrackers on the first day of the first lunar month to ward off evil influences so that the year ahead would be peaceful.

   Dragon Dance
   The dragon dance is one of the most famous traditional Chinese dance forms and they are always performed during festive periods.

    The dragon dance originated in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) and survives to this day. In the beginning, the dragon dance was performed as a form of ancestor worship or as a rain dance. It eventually evolved into a form of entertainment. By the Tang (618-907 AD) and Song (960-1279 AD) Dynasties, it had become a mainstay of all major festivals.

    There is a legend as to how the dragon dance came about. One day the Dragon King had a terrible backache and none of his medicines seemed to be able to alleviate his pain. He was forced to transform himself into an old man and seek help among the mortals. The physician he went to found his pulse very strange and said to him, "Surely you're not human!"

    The Dragon King knew the game was up and told the physician the whole truth. He then changed back to his original form and the physician removed a centipede from the scales on his back.

    After a full recovery, the Dragon King told the physician, "If you perform a dragon dance with a dragon made in my image, you will enjoy fair weather and bountiful harvests." This story spread far and wide and the dragon dance was henceforth performed as a rain dance.

    Lion Dance  
   Like the dragon dance, the lion dance is also one of the traditional dance forms of China. It is a very popular activity among the masses as a form of physical exercise. It is also part of the Spring Festival celebrations.

    The lion dance originated in the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589 AD) and likewise the northern and southern dances have their own special features. In the cooler north, the lion looks more like a real lion. The entire body of the northern lion is covered with fur and only the legs of the two dancers are exposed.

    The southern lion is popular mainly in Guangdong province. One dancer forms the head and the other the torso. The lion itself differs from its northern counterpart in form, style and color. The dancers wear pantaloons and Chinese shirts or tunics.

    The climax of the lion dance is Picking the Green (caiqing), which symbolizes bountiful harvests and wealth. The lion dancers must be highly skilled to perform the feat of caiqing. A fresh leafy vegetable is hung up in mid-air and the lion dancers must heave themselves up to devour this vegetable using the lion's mouth. The dancer at the head of the lion tears the vegetable into pieces and tosses it about. At this point, the spectators light firecrackers and the whole lion dance ceremony draws to a close.

      Taboos
   The Chinese are a superstitious people and there are various taboos associated with the Spring Festival. According to those who believe, adhering to these taboos can ensure success and well being for the coming year.

    On the first day of the Spring Festival, it is taboo to sweep the floors or throw out rubbish because it may sweep the fortune out of the front door too. Furthermore, only vegetarian dishes are eaten on this day.

    During the festival, breaking household items like vases and cups is regarded as an unlucky sign. If they were broken accidentally, the people involved must say, "Flowers bloom and there's wealth, things break and there's glory!" to ward off the bad luck.

    When Chinese go visiting, they must greet one another with lucky phrases like "Wishing you happiness and fortune." There must be no quarrelling and inauspicious words.

    Sweeping is allowed on the second day, but the direction of the sweeping must be from the outside in. This is done to welcome wealth and luck into the house. Family members usually gather together at a feast to celebrate the beginning of the new year.

    The third day is known as Red Mouth. On this day, people tend to quarrel with one another. Therefore it is not a suitable day to go visiting.

    The seventh day of Spring Festival is the Day of Man. This day is Man's Birthday and it is a day when people gather together to eat and drink. This is also a day when firecrackers and fireworks are lit.