Happy Chinese New Year!

Xin nian kuai le!

It has been really interesting to watch the New Year celebrations in Taipei as an outsider.  Although the two holidays have very different origins and cultural roots, Christmas and Chinese New Year have a lot in common.  They are both the most important holiday on their respective calendars, celebrated in the winter, and involve family gatherings full of eating and exchanging gifts. The two holidays have also become quite commercial and often cause adults a great deal of stress due to all of the money and planning they require.  I would say that the Christmas and Chinese New Year holidays serve many of the same cultural functions – occasion for family reunions, strengthening of relationships through gift exchange, and an opportunity to feast on traditional delicacies.  

That being said, Chinese New Year is very distinct from Christmas and has some very interesting aspects that are quite different than the traditional Christmas celebration. First of all, Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, has no connection to a major religion or dogma.  The holiday is as old as the Chinese calendar, which has been around for thousands of years.  While the holiday is not strictly religious, it is a time that many people offer thanks and praise to and ancestors and a variety of deities. Many of the traditions surrounding the holiday have supernatural or superstitious origins, such as lighting fireworks to scare off evil spirits and sweeping out the house prior to the holiday in order to make room for good luck. 

Some of the traditions that I have observed include:

• Giving red envelopes of money to children in order to give them good luck in the new year.
• Putting couplets (short phrases written in calligraphy on red paper) over the door to welcome good luck into the home.
• Lighting fireworks the night before New Years to scare away bad spirits.
• Lots and lots of food – special fruits and cakes that are traditionally eaten

I’m really glad I was able to witness such an ancient and beautiful holiday.  Hopefully we’ll be able to celebrate this holiday in some way even after we have left Taiwan.  Since there are people of Chinese descent all over the world, there is a good chance that we’ll be able to find someone to celebrate with no matter where we live.