I'm sure Chinese New Year isn't a new holiday for many of you. It wasn't for me either. I think the fact that it exists is well known, but the details about it are lesser known to those with no connection to the culture. Here is a basic rundown (from our Shanghainese neighbor):
The first date to mark on your calendar is Jan. 22, 2012, it’s the new year eve. This is the most important day of the year for families reunion. A feast, firework from 8pm to mid-night are traditional ways for locals to welcome the new year. The firework thing are getting a bit out of norm in the recent decade though. We will for sure hear fireworks through the night and the next day. Jan. 23, is the new year day, people go out to visit relatives, and giving out “Red envelop” ( real money in it, can be 100, 200…800, 1000). Only children gets redevelops…( this is the time of the year I wish I could have five kids or more). You’ve probably heard from your Ayi the tradition that no sweepings and cloth washing on the first day of a new year. Yes, it’s true. It’s said Good luck may be swept out or washed off on the first day. Besides that, we are supposed to only speak of happy and nice things this day.
The next date to mark is Jan. 26, the fourth day. From late afternoon to the morning of Jan. 27, it’s time to welcome CAI SHEN, God of wealth. Expect lots lots of fireworks. Locals typically get up early on the fifth day of new year (Jan. 27) because we believe CaiShen likes hard working people, yes, early birds get food.
Third date is Feb. 6. Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the new year. If we were living in the past century or earlier, this day would have been the only day in a year that young women were allowed to go out at night. It was the only night the whole night was bright, with thousands and thousands lanterns. It’s a tradition for locals to solve riddles and win prices that day, and also eat Tang Yuan/ Yuan Xiao, i.e., round dumplings made with sticky rice and sweat fillings. As you probably have notices, the round shape a lot times relates to “completeness” and “family reunion” in China.
To share with you my plan for the Chinese new year holiday:
first, do a thorough clean of my house before Jan. 22…when I still have Ayi to help.
Order three pieces of firework for the above mentioned three occasions.
Start to get the list of food for the new year eve and we will eat at home. (Chinese restaurants won’t have good chefs those days, all gone home).
Tour around the Lantern street in Yu Garden the weekend before Feb. 6. Buy the most expensive round dumplings (RMB20/pack) from Carrefour and eat (after boil) on Feb.6…
Oh, one more thing…to get a list of families who only have one child for my new year visit…haha… I have two kids. [sic]
Our family's CNY exposure started at school on Friday for this month's assembly. The Chinese New Year assembly included a professional dragon dance along with a professional yo-yo artist(?) and Tai-Chi master. Each class contributed an act as well. I took several videos during the assembly, but unfortunately I have had zero success uploading them to the blog.
On Saturday and Sunday evenings, the kids were happy to do the sparklers that Mr. Mao brought them! Sunday might be the coldest night we've had this winter, so we didn't stay out long. (There is some irony in this since CNY ushers in Spring!) There were a lot of fireworks around our neighborhood that night, as it was Chinese New Year's Eve. Plenty of people had warned us about this, so we were prepared, but I have to tell you, it was intense! Much more intense than 4th of July. The first round started around 7:30pm and lasted until 9pm. Our kids had a good view of the action from their bedroom windows and both ended up falling asleep (I'm not sure how that happened!) watching the fireworks from their beds. The second round started around 11:30 and lasted until after midnight. More came in the morning, but if there were any overnight, we all thankfully slept through them.
This week is a holiday for everyone, which means Monday was a day of rest, play, and general relaxation for our family. Plenty of restaurants are closed this week, and with no driver I had to stock up on groceries before the holiday. Our Ayi also has the week off. Today we decided to head downtown to see some Shanghai sights. We had hoped the crowds would be thin since we keep hearing there is a mass exodus from the cities as people head back to the more central areas of China to see their families during this week. The crowds were pretty standard, however, and despite our preparation, the museum we wanted to visit was closed. At least we were able to have a warm cup of hot chocolate before we headed back home. We may have to reset our expectations for the rest of the holiday week!
As a side note to CNY, I have struggled with the "gods" of Chinese New Year and was reminded on Sunday at church that God is the God of this city and I don't need to worry. So, while I can't embrace all of the CNY traditions, I can respect the history and learn about them and share what I've learned with you. Also, if any of you have fallen off the resolution wagon, this week offers you a fresh start - a second chance at a New Year's resolution! Happy Chinese New Year!
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