Kids & Parenting Articles

With this in mind we would like to take you on a journey of it's celebrations, origins and customs.  

The first thing that needs to  be explained, is the reason for the date.  For thousands of years the Chinese follow the lunar calendar consisting of 12 or 13 months depending on the year. The basic rule is that the longest moon night must coincide with the eleventh month. Hence the importance of the Moon Festival which is held during this time.

This system of calculating the New Year date demonstrates more similarities between Western Carnival and the Spring Festival than the 31^st of December party we have in our homes. The Carnival and the Festival of spring celebrate and signals the approach of better weather and, above all, the arrival of crops. The different time of the year is also why Western Christmas and New Year's Eve Parties are held inside our homes while the Spring Festival is celebrated mostly on the streets.

Equally, few people know the Chinese New Year Customs origins. Most of them are based on the ancient legend of the monster Nian. Every New Year, this monster would come out from its hiding and fly across the skies to capture its prey: people and livestock. Thanks to the intervention of a Goddess, the monster Nian not only ceased to terrorize the peasants but it also eliminated all other creatures that were terrorising people.

All families had to hang red objects (today the red lanterns) and throw firecrackers and fireworks to scare off Nian in case he decided to return. This was ss a protection measure, encouraged by the Goddess.  The dragons parade represents precisely the monster Nian and the other creatures that threaten people. These parades also help  children to stay awake if they need to fight back against the beasts.

There are other customs unconnected to the legend of the monster and closer to the element of the "beginning" of a new year. The first is eating Jiaozi (Japanese version gyōza) which is associated with good fortune. The second, which requires no further explanation, is to sweep away the dust.

But undoubtedly the most important custom in the Chinese New Year is  visiting relatives. This custom, in a such an  immensely overpopulated country, has made the Spring Festival a time of the year where the most people travel at any one time.

The tradition most enjoyed by children is to look for red envelopes (hong bao)  hidden by their parents under their pillows. These envelopes are the equivalent to the Western Santa Claus.

On New Year's day, the children wake up very early and walk  the streets with their parent to congratulate (gong xi fa cai) New Year to others in exchange for candy.

There are many parades in which children can participate  walking on very high stilts (gao qiao) or playing the Chinese drum (yao gu).

Another thing that children thoroughly enjoy is to scare off Monster Nian away by firing crackers at him.    

Enjoy Mandarin. Donde todo está pensado para que tu hijo aprenda chino desde que nace.

www.enjoymandarin.es