The Spring Festival - Celebrating the victory over the evil

It’s that time of the year again – time for the most important Chinese holiday of them all – the Spring Festival (春节 – chūn jié). Also known around the world as Chinese New Year (农历新年 – nóng lì xīn nián), this holiday begins on the first day of the first month (正月 – zhēng yuè) of the lunar calendar, and ends on the 15th day with the Lantern Festival (元宵节 – yuán xiāo jié). A visual from the famous "Lantern Festival" in Beijing

While China has many festivals, this one is by far the most important and it is also the longest. Students enjoy a lengthy vacation, while all working adults will get seven days off. During the Spring Festival, everyone in China heads home, representing the biggest mass migration of people on Earth every year. This is known in Chinese as Spring Festival travel season (春运 – chūn yùn). There are many traditions and customs associated with this holiday.

Nian - the horrible beast.

In Chinese mythology, this holiday stems from the story (故事 – gù shi) of a beast called Nian (年兽 – nián shòu), who lived under the mountains or the sea. Once a year, the beast will come out of hiding to attack and even people. Worst of all, it was especially fond of children. As the story goes, it attacked a village one year, ravaging crops and eating people. From then on, the villagers would flee the village every year in order to avoid the devastation. However, one year an old man came to the village and asked a local grandma if he could stay in her home. She obliged, although she and the others thought the man would surely die. Once again, all of the villagers ran away, while the old man stayed behind.
Girls at the annual flower market at Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

That night, Nian showed up just like always. However, this year things were different, as it noticed red (红色 -hóng sè) paper on the gate. Then it heared the crackeling of firecrackers (烟花 – yān huā), which terrified the monster. In the middle of the home stood the old man, dressed in red from head to toe. The abundance of red and the loud sounds of the firecrackers were too much for Nian to bear, and he fled in fear. The next day, the villagers returned, surprised to see the old man had survived. Annual Flower Market, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

From that year on, they decided to wear red robes and light firecrackers in order to scare away the beast. Luckily, their plan worked, and the evil Nian was scared away for good. It never bothered that village again, and while it is still believed to exist, it is said that the Nian is scattered amongst the mountains and will never appear in front of humans again. Annual Flower Market, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

From this story come many of the Spring Festival traditions, such as decorating homes with all things red, lighting firecrackers, and performing a lion dance. In the days leading up to the official New Year celebration, there are many things to do. Many of the modern day preparations for Chinese New Year can also be traced back to an ancient myth…

The Kitchen God
In Chinese mythology, there is a Kitchen God (灶君 – Zào Jūn – lit. “stove master”) who protects the home and the family. As the story goes, on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, just before the Spring Festival, Zao Jun returns to heaven to report back to the Jade Emperor (玉皇 – yù huáng) about the activities of every household. After seeing Zao’s report, the Emperor will either reward or punish a family, based on what he has heard. In order to have a positive report passed on to the Jade Emperor, families will do many things.
To begin with, it is important to clean the house (打扫房子 – dǎ sǎo fáng zi) inside and out. In addition to pleasing Zao Jun, it is believed that this sweeps away bad luck from the past year, and prepares the home for the good luck of the new year. Also, people will decorate their homes and their front doors with all sorts of red decorations and the particular animal that represents the coming year. Before the New Year (which started on Feb. 3 for the record), the old decorations are taken down and new ones are put up, where they will stay for the duration of the year. Also, for the new year, everything must be new – new clothes, new shoes, and a new haircut.

New Year’s Eve

On New Year’s Eve (除夕 – chú xì), families will gather together to have a huge dinner (年夜饭 – nián yè fàn). In the northern part of China, most people will eat dumplings (饺子 – jiǎo zi), which are symbols of wealth as the represent ancient Chinese currency. Some will even add a few coins into a few of the dumplings, and whoever ends up eating those will enjoy great luck and prosperity in the new year. Down south, people will cook up a special New Year cake (年糕 – nián gāo), made of gluttinous rice flour. This is another play on words, as it can also mean “a more prosperous year.”
Annual Flower Market, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Another famous tradition for Chinese New Year is the lighting off of firecrackers (放鞭炮 – fàng biān pào). As I mentioned in Part One, it is believed that doing so helps keep the evil Nian beast away, as well as other evil spirits in general. Around Spring Festival, it is not uncommon to hear firecrackers going off all day long, and on New Year’s Eve, it seems as if they never stop.