The Dunhuang Star Atlas was created in 700 A.D. and is earliest known manuscript atlas of the night sky (courtesy of the British Library)./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/nBringing us to Lunar New Year, which begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends on the first full moon of the lunar calendar, two weeks later. Because it is based on the cycles of the moon, the dates vary annually./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
The origins of the Lunar New Year festival are thousands of years old. Kuang along with Associated Professor of History Hong Zhang, who specializes in modern Chinese culture, explain more about the holiday/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2019s traditions and modern celebrations./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
House Cleaning, Bright Clothes and Money/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n There are many traditions to celebrate and taboos to avoid during the 15-day Lunar New Year celebration./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cIt/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2019s a celebration of the start of things new and you hope that by doing the proper celebrations and practices you/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2019re going to set yourself up for a year of good fortune,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d Zhang says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
Before the New Year, individuals are supposed to clean their houses. Zhang says the idea is that you sweep out the old and then bring in the new. But cleaning during the first 15 days of the new year is avoided because you/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2019d sweep away your good fortune. Debts should also be paid off before the new year./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
Houses are decorated with scrolls featuring auspicious words written on them, such as /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cf/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u00fa (/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u798f)/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d (which means good fortune). This character is often posted upside down because /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cupside-down/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d is pronounced /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cdao/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d in Chinese, and sounds like the word /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201carrival/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2014 implying the arrival of good fortune to your house. Red and gold are used most often, Kuang explains, because red invokes energy /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2014 from the primitive days of humans/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2019 need of fire for survival /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2014 and gold symbolizes wealth./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
Once the new year celebration has started, be mindful of what you say /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2014 no swearing, or ominous words like /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cdeath,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d that could bring about misfortune. The color scheme in one/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2019s wardrobe is also important./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cWhen I was in China as a kid, I think what I loved about the festival the most was new clothes,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d Zhang says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cYou are supposed to wear good, bright-colored clothes on the first day of the new year./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
Another tradition that is a favorite among children is the receiving of red envelopes filled with money from their elders./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cStemming from Confucianism, which originated in China, respects are to be paid to anyone who is more senior than you,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d Kuang says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cOn the other hand, as a senior, you are supposed to take care of the younger generations. On New Year/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2019s, children pay their respects to their grandparents or the senior members of their family, and in return, they are given a little gift./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
AKA Spring Festival/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n The Lunar New Year is also commonly referred to as the Spring Festival, or /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cCh/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u016bn Ji/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u00e9 (/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u6625/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u8282)/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cIt became more popular in the 20th century after the Chinese communist government took over,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d says Zhang. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cThere was a time when the government wanted to get rid of things that represented traditional China. They encouraged the use of the term spring festival. It also was adopted to help avoid confusion with the New Year of the solar calendar, which the new Republican government in China adopted in 1912. In a way, the celebration of a new year is a celebration of the coming spring./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/nThe 15-day celebration is recognized in China, Vietnam, South Korea, Mongolia, Singapore and other Asian countries. And many other cultures and religions use a lunar-based calendar, such as Judaism and Islam./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
Common well-wishes in Chinese for the New Year are:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cGu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u00f2 Ni/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u00e1n H/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u01ceo/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d: A Good Start/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559//Crossing into the New Year!/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cX/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u012bn Ni/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u00e1n Ku/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u00e0i L/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u00e8/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d: Happy New Year!/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/nFood and Drink/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n Food and drinks are a special part of the celebration and are specific to each region in China and other countries./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/nWhile fish and pork fillings are found in China’s northeast regions, beef and lamb fillings are standard in the northwest. (Photo courtesy of Lanlan Kuang)/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/nZhang says in North China where flour is abundant, such as in her hometown of Tianjin, dumplings are a must eat. They are shaped in a way that resemble silver ingots, symbolizing good fortune for the coming year./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
Kuang grew up in South China where tangerines are popular because the fruit is pronounced /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cj/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u00fa (/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u6854)/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d, which is similar to the word for luck, /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201c/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2018ji (/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u5409)/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d. In addition to being served, tangerine trees are also brought home to be decorated, similar to Christmas trees, for the festival./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
Rice cakes are also a must and are referred to as /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cni/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u00e1n (/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u5e74) g/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u0101o (/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u7cd5)/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cNi/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u00e1n (/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u5e74)/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d means year and /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cg/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u0101o (/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u7cd5)/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d means cake or pastry. The word /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cg/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u0101o (/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u7cd5)/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d has a homonym /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cg/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u0101o (/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u9ad8)/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d, which translates to mean either “higher” or “taller.”/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
Fish is also desirable, Kuang says, because it/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2019s pronounced /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cy/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u00fa (/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u9c7c)/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d, which means extra./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cIt/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2019s meant to symbolize abundance in the next year,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cYou will save more and earn more with extra harvests and luck./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
2026: Year of the Horse/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n Because the zodiac signs have been used for millennia, it/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2019s hard to pinpoint their origin. According to legend, the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac were selected through a race that the Jade Emperor held in honor of his birthday. The first 12 to reach the finish line enjoyed a celebratory feast and were adopted as the zodiac signs./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
The order of the lunar calendar follows the outcome of the race, where the rat is the first animal to start the sequence, and the pig is the last. After the pig, the sequence starts over again./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
This year is all about the horse, which came in seventh. The horse represents hard work, bravery and resilience. Those who belong to this sign are typically said to be free-spirited, warm-hearted, independent and adventurous./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
Zhang says for many years, zodiac signs were taken into account for couples before marriage./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cIn the past, a family would use a matchmaker to arrange a marriage, and the matchmaker would ask the potential couple/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2019s zodiac years to see if they were compatible,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d says Zhang, born in a year of tiger. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cThere were a lot of superstitions. Those ideas have been fading away as time has progressed, but some people still believe in them./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
Time of Migration/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n The journey to home for the Spring Festival is called /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cchun yun (/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u6625/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u8fd0)/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d in Chinese, which literally means /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cspring movement./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d Last year, nearly 760 million people traveled in the first 10 days of the Spring Festival travel rush, according to the China Ministry of Transport /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2014 roughly 14 times more than the amount of Thanksgiving travelers in the United States annually./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cThe expectation is that it no matter where you are in China, you/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2019re supposed to go back home for the festival and new year celebration,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d Zhang says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cThat sometimes causes friction between married couples, especially if their parents are from different regions. Very often you have to do some negotiating with each other and with your respective parents./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
Virtual visits are becoming more popular in the modern era, Zhang says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
Lantern Festival/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n The final day of China’s New Year celebrations is the Lantern Festival, which falls on the first full moon of the lunar new year. It has been celebrated since the days of the Han Dynasty around 2,000 years ago, which culminated with the spread of Buddhism across China./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cAccording to legend, Emperor Hangmindi, who ruled around the beginning of the first century, saw that Buddhist monks would light lanterns on the 15th day of the Chinese year to show respect to the Buddha, and ordered that the tradition be repeated in the Imperial Palace,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d Kuang says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201cNow the lanterns often symbolize letting go of their owners/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u2019 past selves and symbolize good luck, and the Lantern Festival has become one of the most important events on the Chinese calendar./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two associate professors with expertise in Chinese society and culture share the history behind the holiday, lucky foods and more about the Year of the Horse./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":150788,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17023,1646,35966,3250],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-117559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","tag-college-of-arts-and-humanities","tag-faculty","tag-inclusive-excellence","tag-multicultural-student-center"],"yoast_head":"/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n
Celebrating the Lunar New Year | 海角直播 News/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/117559/n