People take part in a dragon dance parade one day before the Lunar new
year of the horse in Kuta on Bali on January 30, 2014. Indonesian will
celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year on January 31. AFP PHOTO / SONNY
TUMBELAKA
The Chinese New Year (the Spring Festival) falls today, marking the beginning of the Year of the Horse.
The
festival marks the first day of the first month of the Chinese lunar
calendar. It usually falls somewhere between the end of January and
early February.
The Chinese calendar is based on the
cycles of the moon and each 12 years of the lunar cycle are named after
12 animals: The Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep,
Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar.
The Chinese born in
12-year cycles share the same animal signs. Those born in 1918, 1930,
1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, or 2014, are all under the sign of
the horse.
Keeping with the ancient traditions and
beliefs, the people born in the Year of the Horse are believed to share
certain characteristics that relate to the horse. The horse is not only a
symbol of travel, but also a sign of speedy success.
Those
born in the Year of the Horse are believed to be highly animated,
active, and energetic. They are typically elegant, independent, gentle,
and hard-working.
The Spring Festival is the grandest
and most exciting period for the Chinese during which they embark on the
world’s biggest annual migration.
More than 250
million Chinese people board buses and trains to go and celebrate with
their families. The scene of passenger transportation in China is
remarkable as the people are determined to get together with their
families in what has come to be referred as the great annual Spring
Migration.
The festival, with a history of over 2000
years, symbolises the breaking of a new dawn on the first morning of the
New Year. As Christmas is to Christians, so is the Spring Festival to
the Chinese – a time for family reunions and good cheer.
CANDIES AND NUTS
The
New Year is everyone’s birthday and the Chinese usher it with pomp and
colour. The ecstatic populace begins to decorate their rooms. Door
panels will be pasted with Spring Festival couplets, highlighting
Chinese calligraphy.
Shopping stores will be bursting
with eager buyers seeking to obtain necessities for the New Year. The
commodities and goodies include cooking oil, rice, flour, chicken, duck,
fish and meat, as well as fruit, candies and nuts.
The
Chinese will suddenly become dandies and will be in their best attire.
The hair will be neatly cut, new clothes and shoes will be bought as
well as gifts for children, the elderly, friends and relatives.
The
night before the New Year is known as “reunion night”. The reunion
dinner is of utmost importance as a time to reconnect with family and
recall past events and even map out the future.
Although
different traditions exist, food and flowers are usually laid out to
honour the ancestors. At the stroke of midnight, entertainment ensues
with lively rounds of mahjong, dice, or dominoes as families watch the
New Year’s gala on TV. They light firecrackers, bidding farewell to the
old and welcoming the new.
When morning comes, cheerful
children will greet their parents and grandparents, and receive money
in red paper envelopes. The streets come alive with stunning displays of
the vivacious lion, dragon and yangge dancing.
The
only difference, therefore, between the Chinese Lunar New Year and the
Gregorian New Year is the date. Otherwise, the common theme is
thanksgiving and celebrations.
May the Chinese people be blessed with peace, prosperity and good health, now and in the future.
Mr Mboya is a freelance writer who comments on social and international affairs.
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