Legends and Traditions of the Chinese Spring Festival

By staff reporter DANG XIAOFEI

THE Spring Festival， or Chinese New Year， is the most prominent and celebrated festival among Chinese people. Its history can be traced back thousands of years. The holiday begins on the first day of Chinese lunar calendar and ends on the 15th day of the same lunar month， which is celebrated as the Lantern Festival. In 2019， the first day of the Lunar New Year falls on February 5. The holiday is filled with buoyancy and happiness as people take part in an array of celebrations， one of the most important occasions of which is family reunion.

History of the Chinese New Year

The Spring Festival evolved from the annual worship ceremony in ancient times during which people honored the deities and ancestors， and prayed for good harvests in the coming new year.

The date and appellation varied widely throughout the history of different feudal dynasties. It was not till after the Revolution of 1911， which overthrew Chinas last imperial dynasty and established a republic， that the current date and reference we use today was designated.

In many households， Chinese New Years celebrations begin on the 23rd of the 12th lunar month when people worship the Kitchen God. The 15th day of the first lunar month marks the end of the entire holiday. During that day， people eat sweet stuffed glutinous rice balls boiled in water， watch lantern shows and guess lantern riddles. The eve and first day of the Chinese New Years celebrations are the most important. For thousands of years， the Spring Festival has been celebrated by Chinese people of different ethnic groups.

Legends about the Spring Festival

There are many interesting tales and legends about the traditions of the Spring Festival， among which the following two are the most popular.

The mythical Nian beast：

In ancient times， there was a savage beast called Nian （in Chinese “nian” has the meaning of “year”）. Every year on the 30th day of the 12th lunar month it would come out and attack livestock and villagers. Then one year as Nian was approaching a village， it came across two shepherd boys who were competing their ability of using whips. Upon hearing the loud crack sound， the beast was so frightened that it fled at top speed to another village， only to bump into red clothes hanging outside a house. Terrified again Nian continued to run on past the village. It soon arrived at another village. But when it saw a house illuminated with light inside， it run away once again. As a result， people concluded that the beast was afraid of loud noise， the color red and glaring lights. Every year afterwards， when the New Year was about to come， people would set off firecrackers， beat drums and gongs， hang red lanterns， put up red paper on the windows and doors， and wear red clothes， all of which later evolved into traditions of Spring Festival.

A festival associated with the creation of a calendar：

According to legends， there once lived a young man named Wan Nian in ancient times. He decided to create a unified calendar after witnessing the chaos caused by the lack of it. By accident， he was inspired and designed a device similar to the sundial to tell the time based on the change of shadows when the sun is shining， and another device resembling clepsydra for measuring time.

As time went by， he discovered that a new cycle of four seasons restarted every 360 days or so. Upon discovering this annual pattern of seasons， he went to see the monarch of that time， and explained the movement of the lunar and solar systems. The monarch listened intently and was convinced that what he heard was correct， and gave Wan Nian a position in the royal court in hope that he could figure out the exact lunisolar laws and create a unified calendar. One day， Wan Nian said to the monarch， “Each cycle is completed at the end of 12 months， at which time a new cycle begins. I entreat Your Majesty to name that day as a festival.”The monarch then set it as the Spring Festival.

Customs during the Spring Festival

Different Chinese ethnic groups and regions keep different customs and traditions during the Spring Festival. Here we will look at some of the major ones.

Spring cleaning：

This refers to a thorough house cleaning at the end of the year. As the New Years celebrations approach， the whole family work together to clean up their homes in preparation for bringing in the New Year. In Chinese， the character “dust” has the same pronunciation with the character of “old.” Therefore， by cleaning the house， people express their wishes to sweep away the bad luck of the preceding （old） year， and make their homes ready for good luck in the new year.

Spring couplets：

A pair of couplets represents a unique Chinese literature genre.Spring couplets are usually made up of two lines of poetry following certain lexical and tonal rules to express good luck and prosperity， which are often matched with a horizontal scroll bearing an inscription emphasizing the theme of the couplets. On the Spring Festival， households in both rural and urban areas put selective spring couplets on both sides and the top of the door frame to create a jubilant atmosphere. The Chinese character “fu，” which means good fortune， is always purposely hung upside down on the center of the door. In Chinese its called “fudao” （literally meaning the “fu”character is upside down）， thus creating a homonymy as “dao” also carries the meaning of arrival， suggesting the arrival of happiness and good fortune.

Lighting firecrackers：

During the Spring Festival， the first thing every household does is to set off firecrackers to clean away the dirt and the old of the past year and usher in the new amid cracking sounds.

Family reunion dinner：

This specifically refers to the annual reunion dinner where Chinese families gather together on the evening preceding Chinese New Years Day. This tradition originates from ancient traditions of worship ceremonies at the end of every year， in which the dinner begins when the candles are burned out in the ceremony of honoring deities or ancestors.

Staying-up past midnight：

The tradition of going to bed late on New Years Eve， or even keeping awake the whole night and morning is practiced as it is thought to add on to the families prosperity. On New Years Eve， Chinese families gather together and stay up late to bring in the lunar New Year.

Paying a New Years call：

On New Years Day， people dress up in their best and visit friends and families. They exchange greetings and wish each other good fortune and prosperity in the coming year. The younger generation are supposed to give greetings to the seniors and wish them longevity and health.

Passing out red envelopes：

Red envelopes are usually passed out by the elderly to teenagers and children during the Chinese New Years celebrations. The money inside the envelope is thought to suppress the evil spirits. Receiving red envelopes， the younger generations will be able to go through the coming year safe and sound.