The celebration of the New Year is by far, the most important of all the holidays to Chinese Canadians--for that matter, to Chinese people throughout the world.
In Toronto, Canada, there are Chinese Canadians from every corner of the world. Because of our diversity, Chinese Canadians and our friends celebrate the New Year in many different ways.
Origins
In ancient times, there lived a monster named, Nian. Nian would swallow up those who were in his way and terrorized those he had no appetite for.
One day, an old man came to the rescue of the people saying, "I will subdue this beast." He lured the beast away from the people and spoke gently to him, "I see you are a terrifying beast who reigns among the people." The beast agreed. The old man then continued, "But what good is it, if you are only able to be lord over such helpless people? Might you not find worthier opponents in the beasts of prey around you instead of these helpless villagers?" Nian, the beast accepted the old man's challenge and turned his attention to the other beasts of prey around him.
The old man soon rode away upon the subdued beast. But before doing so, he told the villagers that the beast would be back periodically to torment them. Nonetheless, they were not doomed as he knew the secret of what the beast feared most. On these occasion when the beast would return, the villagers were to put up red paper decorations on the doors and windows to frighten him away, as he was afraid of the colour red. They were also to use firecrackers to scare away the beast during this time.
In time, the people of the world began to enjoy their peaceful life without the beast. But taking upon the advice of the old man, they continued to celebrate the passing of Nian--the "Guo Nian" each year with their new-found customs.
The Chinese calendar
1998 is the Year of the Tiger. In the Chinese calendar, this is the Year 4696.
The Chinese calendar runs in a twelve-year cycle. As the story goes, one day, the Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him. But only twelve came. To reward them for their obedience, he name a year after each of the twelve animals, in the order of when they came--the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. In time, these animal signs developed into a zodiac used to tell fortunes and to predict the most successful marriages. Here are some characteristics that are associated with each sign:
Rat--thrifty, quick-tempered and charming
Ox--stubborn, patient , trusting and dependable
Tiger--sensitive, passionate and daring
Rabbit--affectionate and cautious, having a good head for business
Dragon--full of vitality and strength, setting high standards
Snake--a deep thinker and soft-spoken
Horse--cheerful, perceptive and quick-witted, loving to be where the action is
Ram--possessing strong beliefs, compassionate, accomplished in the arts
Monkey--an inventor and improviser
Rooster--sharp and neat, extravagant in dress, preferring to work alone
Dog--loyal, trustworthy and faithful, making a good but somewhat reluctant leader
Pig--studious, well-informed and reliable
Traditionally, the first day of the fifteen-day celebration is often reserved for visiting family. Nowadays, people will spend this day shopping, watching T.V., and calling up relatives. The most important greeting during the holidays is Gong Xi Fa Cai or Gong Hay Fat Choy in Cantonese.
Food
Like any celebratory occasion in the Chinese tradition, food is a big part of the New Year celebrations. The highlight of the New Year's celebration takes place on the night before--New Year's Eve. Everyone in the family returns home for that evening's dinner.
The foods eaten on this occasion all have a symbolic value. One popular dish is the jiao zi, which are dumplings boiled in water. Jiaozi means "to sleep together and have sons"--which is a good enough wish for anyone. A leafy mustard green, is referred to as the "longevity vegetable". There is also a sticky rice dish that includes eight different meats and vegetables called the "eight treasure rice". Also, there is the fish, which in Chinese, rhymes with surplus. Some people believe that by eating half of a fish on New Years' Eve and saving the rest for the next day, they can transfer their surplus luck over to the new year. As well, oranges are a popular gift during the holidays. In Cantonese, the word for tangerine is gum, which sounds like "gold".
Dinner on New Year's Eve is an evening to gorge, because New Year's Day begins with a vegetarian meal. It is believed to be bad luck to slaughter animals on New Year's Day.
Nian Guo translates to "the cake of the New Year". It is a sweet, sticky, brown cake made from rice flour and sugar. Often given as a gift, it is delicious when steamed, fried, fried with eggs or even eaten cold.
When visiting family, one is almost always welcomed with the octagonal "tray of prosperity". The eight-sided tray is significant because the number eight sounds like "prosperity" in Cantonese. Inside the tray, one will find sweetmeats, cakes, dates, peanuts and in the centre of the tray, one will find melon seeds. The items in the tray all have some kind of significance. Sweetmeet represents the sweetness of life; cakes, known as guo sounds like the word for height, which implies success; dates, called zao zi rhymes with "having sons early"; peanuts, hua sheng, also meaning the flower of life; and melon seeds are a symbol of posterity.
As well, some traditional foods eaten at this time are Man Tou, a steamed sweet, white bread--a treat from Northern China, Zong Zi, rice dumplings and of course, all meats like duck, chicken, fish, pork and beef.
Looking Good
New Year is also a time to buy new clothes and to show them off. As another preparation, people will also rush out to get haircuts in time for the New Year, so barbers are usually busy right before the New Year.
House Cleaning and decorating
One important preparation for the New Year is house cleaning. Some believe that sweeping the house would be like sweeping away the ill-fortune of the previous year to make way for the incoming good luck of the New Year. But this must be done before New Year's Eve, because sweeping on New Year's Day would be like sweeping away all the good luck of the incoming year.
New Year's is also a time of decorating the home. Traditionally, people would give their doors and window panes a new layer of paint, often in red. They would also decorate the door frames and window panes with paper-cuts of couplets displaying themes of happiness and longevity. The Chinese character for "luck" fu, is displayed upside-down deliberately because the "luck upside-down" is a homonym of "luck arriving".
The colour red is also important to the New Year's celebrations. In addition to wearing red clothing, people would also decorate their houses with all things red, because it was believed that the legendary beast feared the colour red. Hence, homes,shops and restaurants would display red banners, lanterns, flowers, cushions, and red containers for serving food.
Red envelopes
Red envelopes are given out by adults to children. These red envelopes contain money which are called "lucky money". Generally, only married adults hand out red envelopes. Likewise, those on the receiving end--the "children", are defined as anyone who is yet unmarried. To reflect a proper upbringing, one should accept a red envelope graciously. And it is rude and frowned upon to open a red envelope in the presence of others--especially in the presence of the giver.
Fire-crackers
Any celebration of Chinese New Year would be incomplete without the setting off of fire crackers. According to the legend, Nian, the beast, was afraid of noise, so the people would set off fire-crackers to ward off his evil presence. Today, fire-crackers are used to add to the merry-making of the occasion.
The Lion Dance
Often accompanying the setting off of fire-crackers, is the Lion Dance. A good performance of the dance is believed to bring happiness and good luck to the festivities. Unlike the Dragon Dance, the Lion Dance has a crew of two and the dancers are able to manipulate the lion's eyes, mouth, ears and head. Accompanying the lion is the Little Buddha, a comic and acrobatic character who torments the lion in the dance.