This last festival of the year falls around Christmas, near the end of October. It was to worship our ancestors at the village temple. That day a fabulous banquet was prepared and many hogs were butchered, some boiled and some roasted, as a whole. After the food was offered to our ancestors, the pork was cut up, into bite-sized pieces. Part of the pork was saved for dinner, part was to be distributed to all make members of the clan in the village. Each male got one share; 60 and older got double shares. At dinner, all males aged 18 and up could attend. Those 60 and above received double servings.
In the village, an 18 year old boy was promoted to be a man, and a 60 year old man was promoted to be an elder. All the elderly in the village formed an unofficial council. That council was supposed to influence or determine the village affairs. If any youngster misbehaved, he would be punished by one of the elders or the council, with scolding or whipping. I never saw it done, but the simple presence of those old guys certainly exerted great influence on morality and stability in the village. In the country, we needed no police, no soldier, no law book, no birth certificate, no death certificate, no contract, no deed. That was the way it was. for thousands of years, social order had been peacefully maintained by such tradition.
Showing posts with label Chinese Festivals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chinese Festivals. Show all posts
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Friday, September 25, 2015
Chinese Festivals - Moon Festival
August 15* was Moon Festival, also called Mid-Autumn Festival, because it falls in the middle of autumn. The Moon is a symbol of roundness, completeness, and togetherness, especially for romantic couples, married couples or families. So the Moon Festival was the night for family togetherness. The celebration was held in our own courtyard. The family gathered around a table, enjoyed the family togetherness and the delicious moon cakes, which were made round. Bright moon light, clear autumn sky, breezy autumn air. A beautiful and peaceful night. Numerous poems were written about that. Example:
It means: "The bright moonlight shining on front of my bed. I thought it was dew reflecting from the ground. Then I raised my head, I saw the bright moon. When I bow my head, I think of my native place." (Li Po)
There were at least three interesting stories related to the moon...
In the beginning of the beginning, there were nine moons. One day a beautiful concubine named Chang Ngor** escaped from a palace on earth. She flew into one moon. Her master, the powerful and mean king, chased her in hot pursuit. But he could not fly. He was an expert archer, though, like William Tell or Robin Hood. He shot down one moon with his magic arrow, but Chang Ngor flew to another moon. One after another, he shot down moons (eight in total) but Chang Ngor escaped from each of them. At the last remaining moon, he ran out of magic arrows. Therefore we now have only one moon, and Chang Ngor was saved and safe. She rested in a beautiful Crystal Palace on the moon, living peacefully, happily forever. "Chang Ngor's Escape to the Moon" was a popular subject for songs, drama, painting, poem or novel. Never mind what Neil Armstrong said about "one giant step for mankind." To the Chinese, the moon is a palace of peace, happiness and beauty. That night, everyone tried to imagine seeing Chang Ngor's face, gown, or her graceful movement.
Another story was about an old man named "Old Man Under the Moon." He was a heavenly appointed official in charge of couples on earth. He had a book containing all boys and girls names. When a couple was destined to be married, then no matter who they were or how far apart they were, he would tie one end of a red string to the boy's ankle, and another end to the girl's ankle. Once that was tied, that was it. Those two eventually must marry one another. Their fate was fixed and sealed. He always checked his list under the moon, and so was his name.
The third story was about an uprising. The leader secretly placed a message inside each mooncake. That night when people cut open the mooncake, they got the message and instructions, and picked up their weapons and gathered to a designated place, formed a force and succeeded in the uprising. I don't know how much of this story is related to the American fortune cookies.
*The Mid-Autumn Festival does not happen in August, as uncle states, but occurs on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which roughly falls near the autumnal equinox (the 1st day of fall) in the Western calendar.
**She is known as Chang'e or Chang-o in Mandarin.
It means: "The bright moonlight shining on front of my bed. I thought it was dew reflecting from the ground. Then I raised my head, I saw the bright moon. When I bow my head, I think of my native place." (Li Po)
There were at least three interesting stories related to the moon...
In the beginning of the beginning, there were nine moons. One day a beautiful concubine named Chang Ngor** escaped from a palace on earth. She flew into one moon. Her master, the powerful and mean king, chased her in hot pursuit. But he could not fly. He was an expert archer, though, like William Tell or Robin Hood. He shot down one moon with his magic arrow, but Chang Ngor flew to another moon. One after another, he shot down moons (eight in total) but Chang Ngor escaped from each of them. At the last remaining moon, he ran out of magic arrows. Therefore we now have only one moon, and Chang Ngor was saved and safe. She rested in a beautiful Crystal Palace on the moon, living peacefully, happily forever. "Chang Ngor's Escape to the Moon" was a popular subject for songs, drama, painting, poem or novel. Never mind what Neil Armstrong said about "one giant step for mankind." To the Chinese, the moon is a palace of peace, happiness and beauty. That night, everyone tried to imagine seeing Chang Ngor's face, gown, or her graceful movement.Another story was about an old man named "Old Man Under the Moon." He was a heavenly appointed official in charge of couples on earth. He had a book containing all boys and girls names. When a couple was destined to be married, then no matter who they were or how far apart they were, he would tie one end of a red string to the boy's ankle, and another end to the girl's ankle. Once that was tied, that was it. Those two eventually must marry one another. Their fate was fixed and sealed. He always checked his list under the moon, and so was his name.
The third story was about an uprising. The leader secretly placed a message inside each mooncake. That night when people cut open the mooncake, they got the message and instructions, and picked up their weapons and gathered to a designated place, formed a force and succeeded in the uprising. I don't know how much of this story is related to the American fortune cookies.
*The Mid-Autumn Festival does not happen in August, as uncle states, but occurs on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which roughly falls near the autumnal equinox (the 1st day of fall) in the Western calendar.
**She is known as Chang'e or Chang-o in Mandarin.
Chinese Festivals - Dragon Boat Festival
Dragon Boat Festival falls on May 5. It was in memory of an ancient patriot and poet named Chu Yuan (Wut Yoon). The story occurred in about 300 B.C., about the era of Alexander the Great, in a southern kingdom called Choo in Long River Valley. Chu was very loyal and sincere to his king. But his king did not favor him. Instead, Chu was demoted and exiled. He devoted all his time to writing poetry. Those writings were full of compassion, emotion, and innermost personal feeling. The style, vocabulary and arrangement were beautiful and became a distinctive style and class by itself, called Tze.
Example:
It means: "Everybody is dirty. I am the only one clean. Everybody is drunk. I am the only one sober and awake. Those waters in the ocean and sea if clean, I can use it to clean my clean hat. Those waters in the ocean and sea if dirty, I can use it to clean my dirty feet."
He was the first great poet in Chinese history. After completing his writings, he drowned himself in his native Mee Lor River. People loved him. They all went out to the river on boats, and made every effort to recover his body. They made noise, beating the gongs, utensils or whatever available. The purpose was to frighten the water ghosts and devils so they would not snap Wut Yoon's body away. They made pastries of sticky rice, wrapped and cooked in special dry leaves, tied them with colorful strings and threads, and dropped those pastries deep into the river. The purpose was to bait and lure all fish away so they would not eat up Wut Yoon's body. That day was May 5th.
That was the true origin of the Dragon Boat Festival. It was not only observed in Wut Yoon's native place, it soon spread throughout the country, until this very day. The festival was a day of good eating and water sport. The sticky rice pastry was about the size of a fist. It usually contained salty egg yolk, ham or bacon, peanut, black eye bean, etc. It was cooked by slow boiling. The special leaf-wrap allowed the moisture to penetrate into the rice, and trapped the flavor inside. It is delicious. We can buy this pastry in Chinatown in any American city, almost all year long.*
Water sports include various classes of boat racing, boat show, or simply a leisure ride on a boat. Boat racing was somewhat like Oxford-Cambridge contest**, except we used gong as rhythm control. Imagine gongs of different sizes from different boats, the unison callings from the participants and the spectators. It was beautiful music and wonderful sound. Imagine the colorful costume of different teams, the competitive decoration of different boats, plus the excitement and the color of the crowd, their dresses, their umbrellas. It was quite a sight.
*I believe the Chinese pastry called "joong" (Cantonese) or "zongzi" (Mandarin) are also known as Chinese tamales.
**I am pretty sure he means the English-style regattas, or rowing competitions.
Example:
It means: "Everybody is dirty. I am the only one clean. Everybody is drunk. I am the only one sober and awake. Those waters in the ocean and sea if clean, I can use it to clean my clean hat. Those waters in the ocean and sea if dirty, I can use it to clean my dirty feet."
He was the first great poet in Chinese history. After completing his writings, he drowned himself in his native Mee Lor River. People loved him. They all went out to the river on boats, and made every effort to recover his body. They made noise, beating the gongs, utensils or whatever available. The purpose was to frighten the water ghosts and devils so they would not snap Wut Yoon's body away. They made pastries of sticky rice, wrapped and cooked in special dry leaves, tied them with colorful strings and threads, and dropped those pastries deep into the river. The purpose was to bait and lure all fish away so they would not eat up Wut Yoon's body. That day was May 5th.
That was the true origin of the Dragon Boat Festival. It was not only observed in Wut Yoon's native place, it soon spread throughout the country, until this very day. The festival was a day of good eating and water sport. The sticky rice pastry was about the size of a fist. It usually contained salty egg yolk, ham or bacon, peanut, black eye bean, etc. It was cooked by slow boiling. The special leaf-wrap allowed the moisture to penetrate into the rice, and trapped the flavor inside. It is delicious. We can buy this pastry in Chinatown in any American city, almost all year long.*
Water sports include various classes of boat racing, boat show, or simply a leisure ride on a boat. Boat racing was somewhat like Oxford-Cambridge contest**, except we used gong as rhythm control. Imagine gongs of different sizes from different boats, the unison callings from the participants and the spectators. It was beautiful music and wonderful sound. Imagine the colorful costume of different teams, the competitive decoration of different boats, plus the excitement and the color of the crowd, their dresses, their umbrellas. It was quite a sight.
*I believe the Chinese pastry called "joong" (Cantonese) or "zongzi" (Mandarin) are also known as Chinese tamales.
**I am pretty sure he means the English-style regattas, or rowing competitions.
Chinese Festivals - Memorial Day
We had two memorial days. One was on March 3*, called Ching Ming Festival. One was on September 9**, called Chung Yiang Festival. New Years Day was to worship our ancestors at our own home. Memorial Day was to worship our ancestors at their grave sites. That means a family outing to a picnic banquet in the mountain. Burial in South China has two stages. Initial stage was to bury the body in a well-decorated coffin, at a nearby hillside, accompanied by a fabulous funeral procession. Final stage was done about 3 years later. By then it was estimated that the body was almost or completely decomposed. The family then searched and selected a permanent grave site in the mountain. Then the initial grave was quietly dug up, the coffin opened, the skeleton stripped and cleansed. The skeleton was then neatly and properly rearranged in a small bundle and placed into a porcelain or terra cotta jar, and sealed with cement. Without further fanfare or ceremony, that jar was quietly buried at the selected permanent grave site in the mountain.
The permanent grave site was very important. It was selected in accordance with the concept of Fung Sui. If proper and good, it would determine how good, how prosperous, and how populous the offspring would be. Some grave sites were supposed to produce smart offspring, wealthy offspring, bad guys, thieves, adulterers, etc. Therefore, the permanent grave site was often constructed with fabulous stones, marble, etc. On Memorial Day, the whole clan went up the mountain to clean up the weeds, tidy up the grave, offer food, etc. Every male offspring walked forward to the grave, to insert an incense or certain plant twig at the grave, and make a bow, standing or kneeling.
The trip was a joyous one. We ate roasted pig, chicken, vegetables and a whole lot more. It was a banquet in picnic style. Grown-ups worked and talked. Kids played, jumped and tumbled. There were numerous poems for the occasion:
It means: "During the Spring Memorial Festival, it was small and lingering rain and rain. Many people walking on the road. Their souls were saddened. But, please tell me where can I get a drink of wine. A shepherd boy pointed afar at an apricot flower village."
Another one:
It means: "I am far away in a strange village, as a strange guest. Every time when comes a good festival, I doubly think of my parents and my relatives. I know, from far away, my brothers and relatives are inserting their twig branch at the grave site right now, taking their turn. But, it was one person short, me."
*Ching Ming occurs at the 15th day after the Spring Equinox, or 1st day of spring. Usually around April 4 or 5.
**Chung Yiang occurs at the 9th day of the 9th month of the lunar calendar, making it fall sometime in October in the Western calendar.
The permanent grave site was very important. It was selected in accordance with the concept of Fung Sui. If proper and good, it would determine how good, how prosperous, and how populous the offspring would be. Some grave sites were supposed to produce smart offspring, wealthy offspring, bad guys, thieves, adulterers, etc. Therefore, the permanent grave site was often constructed with fabulous stones, marble, etc. On Memorial Day, the whole clan went up the mountain to clean up the weeds, tidy up the grave, offer food, etc. Every male offspring walked forward to the grave, to insert an incense or certain plant twig at the grave, and make a bow, standing or kneeling.
The trip was a joyous one. We ate roasted pig, chicken, vegetables and a whole lot more. It was a banquet in picnic style. Grown-ups worked and talked. Kids played, jumped and tumbled. There were numerous poems for the occasion:
It means: "During the Spring Memorial Festival, it was small and lingering rain and rain. Many people walking on the road. Their souls were saddened. But, please tell me where can I get a drink of wine. A shepherd boy pointed afar at an apricot flower village."
Another one:
It means: "I am far away in a strange village, as a strange guest. Every time when comes a good festival, I doubly think of my parents and my relatives. I know, from far away, my brothers and relatives are inserting their twig branch at the grave site right now, taking their turn. But, it was one person short, me."
*Ching Ming occurs at the 15th day after the Spring Equinox, or 1st day of spring. Usually around April 4 or 5.
**Chung Yiang occurs at the 9th day of the 9th month of the lunar calendar, making it fall sometime in October in the Western calendar.
Chinese Festivals - Ghost Festival
July 7th and July 15th* were the festivals for ghosts. The Chinese are not very religious people. We took religion more for the moral aspect and less for the spiritual aspect. We worshiped three things: the supreme Heavenly God, our ancestors, and many good ghosts. When people died, their souls left the body and became ghosts. There were two kinds of ghosts - good ghosts and bad ghosts. Those that died at their own home or village, or were buried properly, were good ghosts. Those that died outside of their own home, outside of their own village, or improperly buried, or not buried at all, were bad ghosts, or wandering ghosts. Good ghosts blessed and protected people. Bad ghosts haunted and harmed people. Bad ghosts included those that died on the roadside (beggars), soldiers that died on the battlefield, or people that died in floods, famines, etc. Our ancestors as a rule, were good ghosts, unless they died outside, meaning the soul could not get home, and thus, they became wandering ghosts.
July 15th was for wandering ghosts. The ceremony was conducted by a Taoist priest or a Buddhist monk. He wore a special gown, and went about ringing a bell, saying prayer, and sprinkling "holy" water here and there, at the village gate, or at a crossroad. The idea was to comfort those wandering ghosts, or to guide your own relatives back to your own village or home, so they could receive the offspring's regular worship, and thus rest in peace forever. That night, all wandering ghosts were supposed to travel in all directions. Ghost traffic would go on all night. It was a solemn night of memorial, and indeed, sort of horror, too. It was for human. It was not fun. It was not Halloween.
July 7th was altogether different. That was for two specific ghosts in heaven, not on earth. They were Shepherd Boy and Weaving Girl. These were their names. They fell in love with each other, but somehow they violated certain heavenly rules, so they were punished. All year long they were separated, and only allowed to meet each other on one single night. That night was on July 7th. They were separated by the Galaxy, also called the Milky Way. Chinese called it Silver River. The River was endless, at both ends. That night, they were supposed to cross the River to meet each other.
This festival belonged mainly to the teenage girls. They gathered to make colorful paper clippings, paper lanterns, embroideries, etc., for the occasion. They sat around a table in the courtyard, burning incense, watching Silver River and making wishes. It was exciting and romantic to just imagine the magic moment when the two lovers met, across that Silver River. It was beautiful, fascinating, almost like Shakespeare's "A Mid-summer Night's Dream." At the end of the "party," before they went to bed, each girl placed a collecting dish or bowl outside. The next morning, they collected a few drops of crystal-clear dew-water from the dish, and used it to mix with their make-up, and put it on their face. They believed that the dew-water was blessed by a romance in Heaven overnight, and thus would make their face more beautiful and more attractive. How sweet. How romantic. Anther concept of Shakespeare's "magic juice."
*The actual Ghost Festival time occurs at the 7th and 15th day of the 7th month in the Chinese Lunar calendar.
**See this blog - the English is incomprehensible but it gives you an idea of the "star-crossed lovers" story with cute music! http://cowherdandweavergirl.blogspot.com/
July 15th was for wandering ghosts. The ceremony was conducted by a Taoist priest or a Buddhist monk. He wore a special gown, and went about ringing a bell, saying prayer, and sprinkling "holy" water here and there, at the village gate, or at a crossroad. The idea was to comfort those wandering ghosts, or to guide your own relatives back to your own village or home, so they could receive the offspring's regular worship, and thus rest in peace forever. That night, all wandering ghosts were supposed to travel in all directions. Ghost traffic would go on all night. It was a solemn night of memorial, and indeed, sort of horror, too. It was for human. It was not fun. It was not Halloween.
July 7th was altogether different. That was for two specific ghosts in heaven, not on earth. They were Shepherd Boy and Weaving Girl. These were their names. They fell in love with each other, but somehow they violated certain heavenly rules, so they were punished. All year long they were separated, and only allowed to meet each other on one single night. That night was on July 7th. They were separated by the Galaxy, also called the Milky Way. Chinese called it Silver River. The River was endless, at both ends. That night, they were supposed to cross the River to meet each other.
This festival belonged mainly to the teenage girls. They gathered to make colorful paper clippings, paper lanterns, embroideries, etc., for the occasion. They sat around a table in the courtyard, burning incense, watching Silver River and making wishes. It was exciting and romantic to just imagine the magic moment when the two lovers met, across that Silver River. It was beautiful, fascinating, almost like Shakespeare's "A Mid-summer Night's Dream." At the end of the "party," before they went to bed, each girl placed a collecting dish or bowl outside. The next morning, they collected a few drops of crystal-clear dew-water from the dish, and used it to mix with their make-up, and put it on their face. They believed that the dew-water was blessed by a romance in Heaven overnight, and thus would make their face more beautiful and more attractive. How sweet. How romantic. Anther concept of Shakespeare's "magic juice."
*The actual Ghost Festival time occurs at the 7th and 15th day of the 7th month in the Chinese Lunar calendar.
**See this blog - the English is incomprehensible but it gives you an idea of the "star-crossed lovers" story with cute music! http://cowherdandweavergirl.blogspot.com/
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Chinese Festivals - New Year
Chinese festivals were an important part of country life. They knit together the family, the clan, the village and the country. We used the lunar calendar. Full moon falls on the 15th of each month. New Year usually falls on the first week of February. We had one festival at least, in every month. They were tied in with the agricultural life of the people. The important festivals were: New Year on 1-1; Spring Memorial on 3-3; Dragon Boat Festival on 5-5; Ghost Festival on 7-7 and 7-15; Moon Festival on 8-15; Autumn Memorial Day on 9-9; and the Coming of Winter around Christmas, in late October.
New Year
January 1st is the New Year, the very first and the most important festival of the year. It marks the beginning of the year, the beginning of spring, and the beginning of our ages. In China, everyone was one year old at birth, and everyone adds one year to their age on New Year's Day.
The preparation began many weeks beforehand. It was a radical housecleaning week. Every household was busy cleaning the whole house, including furniture and walls and doors, then shopping and decorating. The decoration of the front door was particularly colorful. At each door, we pasted the portraits of a good ghost, on red paper. The purpose was to guard the house against evil spirit or devil. Along each side of the door, on the outside wall, we pasted a parallel poem, also on red paper. The purpose was to welcome the New Year and to bless the house. Example:
It means, "The firecracker blasts the old things away. The peach symbol welcomes everything anew. Deep Spring shining on the blue ocean is like a dragon flying and swimming. The blooming flowers, the full blossom in my royal yard are like those beautiful birds' feather."
We used to ask a fourth granduncle to write those parallel poems for us. As soon as my brother and I were old enough, at 4th or 5th grade, we wrote them ourselves. It required good calligraphy. At the front entrance, we hung a kerosene lantern, same size, same shape and same color (red, of course) on every house. Imagine in those days, we had no electricity and fuel was in short supply and costly in the country. Once the sun set, there would be total darkness without the moon, except a flicker of kerosene or oil lamp here and there. Now during the New Year holiday, every single house showed off a kerosene lantern. The whole village was lit up and brightened. When we looked out at neighboring villages, we saw rows and rows of flickering lanterns, groups and clusters of bright lights. It gave a wonderful feeling, an unexplained innermost relief and happiness, an abundance of hope and brightness.
The celebration began at home, then in the village square, the district square (marketplace) and everywhere. Schools and shops were closed. Family members were all home. People who were away from home would travel hours and days to come home. It was a home gathering day. Mother cooked good food and plenty of food. Everyone wore good clothes or new clothes, especially children, especially red clothes. Foods were offered to our ancestors first, then we sat down at a big table and enjoyed it, like a banquet. Adults gave children gifts, a penny or so in a red envelope. There were firecrackers, candies, cookies, and toys. It was a happy day. Everyone says good words, happy words and congratulating words, to each other. Everyone was kind and generous to beggars and the poor.
In the village square or market place, we had dragon dancing. The dragon dance team wqs usually hired from neighboring villages. The team was organized by 2 to 3 dozen men and boys, well trained and all drilled in kung fu and many acrobatic acts. The dragon head was a huge hollow head-mask, fashioned half-dragon and half-lion. Its body and tail was made from a long beautiful cloth, decorated with colorful scales or feather-like embroideries. Two men played the dragon, one played the head part and one underneath the body and tail. They danced following the rhythm of a big drum and big gong. It was like a stage show. The crowd formed a big circle around the stage. In the front row sat the kids. The next rows of people sat on benches, or stood on foot, or stood on the benches.
The show had three parts. The first part was the dancing itself. They swung around and pushed around until the circle reached the right size. Sometimes a patriotic side show was added. The dragon played a sleeping lion, symbolizing China. (Napoleon said about China, "Let that lion sleep"). Then an actor came out and sang some patriotic songs or recited some patriotic verses. Examples:
The second part of the show was an acrobatic show of athletic skill. They had solo of kung fu, karate, tai chi, sword, dagger, stick, fork, etc. They had duet of fist fight, stick fight, sword fight, rumbling-tumbling, etc. I particularly like those little kids, about my age. I envy them. I always wished to learn kung fu. This part was most inspirational and educational.
The third part was the payment to the dragon team. By tradition and pre-agreement, we didn't hand them the money. Instead, we placed the money in an envelope (red, of course), and hung it way up on top of a flag pole, or from the balcony of a second or third floor, together with a bundle of lettuce, and a 10-foot long bundle of firecrackers. Then, if the team wanted to get paid, they had to climb up there and get it. So the team did. It was another show of athletic skill. They placed their strongest men at the bottom of the flag pole. Next pile stood on their shoulders, then a third pile stood on the second pile's shoulders, and so on. The dragon then danced its way up and up to the very top. Up there, it showed off a few more circus tricks, then grabbed the lettuce, "chewed it up to pieces", and splashed the pieces down onto the audience. The audience laughed. It then finally grabbed the envelope. Audience responded with thunderous applause. After the dragon came down, that long bundle of firecracker was ignited, and the audience dispersed amid the happy sounds of firecrackers, drums and gongs.
The climax and finale of the New Year celebration was on the evening of the 15th, a full moon night. Fireworks and "rockets" were fired at the village square, by everyone, grownups, kids, all ages. All size and fashion of fireworks were played, big ones, little ones, single explosive, double explosive, straight-up ones, mushroom ones, etc. It was quite a show. It was free for all. Anyone could fire a rocket toward the moon-shine sky. After all, the Chinese invented the rockets. It was beautiful, spectacular and exciting. I remember watching those flowery explosions way up in the sky, one after another, here and there, from our own village, and from neighboring villages.
The celebration lasted from a few days to a whole month. During this period, everyone is supposed to say good words to each other, such as "Hung hei faat choy" (wish you prosperity). Lettuce is called "sang choy." "Sang" means growth, life. "Choy" means prosperity. That was why lettuce was used as bait in the dragon dance. Since gambling was the main entertainment in the country, one was supposed to avoid those words sounding like "to lose." Rather, one should say words sounding like "to win." For example, the noon "book" was pronounced the same as the verb "to lose." So, you should say, "Hand me that WIN"; don't say "Hand me that LOSE."
New Year
January 1st is the New Year, the very first and the most important festival of the year. It marks the beginning of the year, the beginning of spring, and the beginning of our ages. In China, everyone was one year old at birth, and everyone adds one year to their age on New Year's Day.
The preparation began many weeks beforehand. It was a radical housecleaning week. Every household was busy cleaning the whole house, including furniture and walls and doors, then shopping and decorating. The decoration of the front door was particularly colorful. At each door, we pasted the portraits of a good ghost, on red paper. The purpose was to guard the house against evil spirit or devil. Along each side of the door, on the outside wall, we pasted a parallel poem, also on red paper. The purpose was to welcome the New Year and to bless the house. Example:
It means, "The firecracker blasts the old things away. The peach symbol welcomes everything anew. Deep Spring shining on the blue ocean is like a dragon flying and swimming. The blooming flowers, the full blossom in my royal yard are like those beautiful birds' feather."
We used to ask a fourth granduncle to write those parallel poems for us. As soon as my brother and I were old enough, at 4th or 5th grade, we wrote them ourselves. It required good calligraphy. At the front entrance, we hung a kerosene lantern, same size, same shape and same color (red, of course) on every house. Imagine in those days, we had no electricity and fuel was in short supply and costly in the country. Once the sun set, there would be total darkness without the moon, except a flicker of kerosene or oil lamp here and there. Now during the New Year holiday, every single house showed off a kerosene lantern. The whole village was lit up and brightened. When we looked out at neighboring villages, we saw rows and rows of flickering lanterns, groups and clusters of bright lights. It gave a wonderful feeling, an unexplained innermost relief and happiness, an abundance of hope and brightness.
The celebration began at home, then in the village square, the district square (marketplace) and everywhere. Schools and shops were closed. Family members were all home. People who were away from home would travel hours and days to come home. It was a home gathering day. Mother cooked good food and plenty of food. Everyone wore good clothes or new clothes, especially children, especially red clothes. Foods were offered to our ancestors first, then we sat down at a big table and enjoyed it, like a banquet. Adults gave children gifts, a penny or so in a red envelope. There were firecrackers, candies, cookies, and toys. It was a happy day. Everyone says good words, happy words and congratulating words, to each other. Everyone was kind and generous to beggars and the poor.
In the village square or market place, we had dragon dancing. The dragon dance team wqs usually hired from neighboring villages. The team was organized by 2 to 3 dozen men and boys, well trained and all drilled in kung fu and many acrobatic acts. The dragon head was a huge hollow head-mask, fashioned half-dragon and half-lion. Its body and tail was made from a long beautiful cloth, decorated with colorful scales or feather-like embroideries. Two men played the dragon, one played the head part and one underneath the body and tail. They danced following the rhythm of a big drum and big gong. It was like a stage show. The crowd formed a big circle around the stage. In the front row sat the kids. The next rows of people sat on benches, or stood on foot, or stood on the benches.
The show had three parts. The first part was the dancing itself. They swung around and pushed around until the circle reached the right size. Sometimes a patriotic side show was added. The dragon played a sleeping lion, symbolizing China. (Napoleon said about China, "Let that lion sleep"). Then an actor came out and sang some patriotic songs or recited some patriotic verses. Examples:
"Wake up, you sleeping lion. It is about time. Let all of us wake up and be united. Unity is strength. We shall overcome."And so on.
The second part of the show was an acrobatic show of athletic skill. They had solo of kung fu, karate, tai chi, sword, dagger, stick, fork, etc. They had duet of fist fight, stick fight, sword fight, rumbling-tumbling, etc. I particularly like those little kids, about my age. I envy them. I always wished to learn kung fu. This part was most inspirational and educational.
The third part was the payment to the dragon team. By tradition and pre-agreement, we didn't hand them the money. Instead, we placed the money in an envelope (red, of course), and hung it way up on top of a flag pole, or from the balcony of a second or third floor, together with a bundle of lettuce, and a 10-foot long bundle of firecrackers. Then, if the team wanted to get paid, they had to climb up there and get it. So the team did. It was another show of athletic skill. They placed their strongest men at the bottom of the flag pole. Next pile stood on their shoulders, then a third pile stood on the second pile's shoulders, and so on. The dragon then danced its way up and up to the very top. Up there, it showed off a few more circus tricks, then grabbed the lettuce, "chewed it up to pieces", and splashed the pieces down onto the audience. The audience laughed. It then finally grabbed the envelope. Audience responded with thunderous applause. After the dragon came down, that long bundle of firecracker was ignited, and the audience dispersed amid the happy sounds of firecrackers, drums and gongs.
The climax and finale of the New Year celebration was on the evening of the 15th, a full moon night. Fireworks and "rockets" were fired at the village square, by everyone, grownups, kids, all ages. All size and fashion of fireworks were played, big ones, little ones, single explosive, double explosive, straight-up ones, mushroom ones, etc. It was quite a show. It was free for all. Anyone could fire a rocket toward the moon-shine sky. After all, the Chinese invented the rockets. It was beautiful, spectacular and exciting. I remember watching those flowery explosions way up in the sky, one after another, here and there, from our own village, and from neighboring villages.
The celebration lasted from a few days to a whole month. During this period, everyone is supposed to say good words to each other, such as "Hung hei faat choy" (wish you prosperity). Lettuce is called "sang choy." "Sang" means growth, life. "Choy" means prosperity. That was why lettuce was used as bait in the dragon dance. Since gambling was the main entertainment in the country, one was supposed to avoid those words sounding like "to lose." Rather, one should say words sounding like "to win." For example, the noon "book" was pronounced the same as the verb "to lose." So, you should say, "Hand me that WIN"; don't say "Hand me that LOSE."
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