And the Happiest of New Years to you, as well, Xi.
On Jan 24, 1:33 am, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:
> http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/24/content_10712090.htm
>
> BEIJING, Jan. 24 -- We're two days away from what we the Chinese call
> Nian, Spring Festival.
>
> People from various ethnicities in different parts of the country
> celebrate the festival in their own different ways. But the point of
> the celebrations is the same for everyone - change.
>
> That's why people in many parts of the country traditionally
> believe they must stay up until midnight on the eve of the Lunar New
> Year and watch the very last minute of the passing year slip away from
> their grip.
>
> As the bell tolls, marking the arrival of the New Year, what seem
> like a million firecrackers go off in succession.
>
> Traditionally, this moment is called shousui, which means, to
> witness the moment one moves into an older age.
>
> By saying, "You cannot step twice in the same river, for fresh
> waters are ever flowing in upon you," Greek philosopher Heraclitus
> pointed to the fact that everything is in a state of flux. Likewise,
> every Lunar New Year is different. And the traditions marking the
> occasion make a lot of sense just for the differences.
>
> Traditionally, many would observe a ritual to pay tribute to their
> loved ones, who are no more. It's to tell their relatives in another
> world that they are still remembered, even though times have changed.
>
> My father, when he was alive, would place photos of my
> grandparents on a table with some food and fruits kept beside them,
> and burn three incenses.
>
> He would lead us to kowtow to these photos. My father told me that
> this was not superstition at all but a ritual to pay tribute to those
> who deserve to be remembered.
>
> Now, my father's photo is among the ones we put on that table
> every Spring Festival eve.
>
> The photos will be put away in the morning of the first day of the
> festival.
>
> But I believe, my daughter's generation will quite probably stop
> observing this tradition. That will be just one of the changes the
> festival will bring along in the coming years.
>
> One of the major changes that has already come along is that great
> food and new clothes are not as important as they used to be during
> the festival.
>
> For quite a number of years, the two weeks during Spring Festival
> was a period of time for people to entertain themselves with the food
> they could not taste the rest of the year. It was also the time for
> them to dress up in brand new clothing they spent quite a percentage
> of their savings on.
>
> Most people my age (in the 50s) remember as kids how eagerly we
> used to be looking forward to the Lunar New Year because of the great
> food and new clothes.
>
> Another reason was that parents were not supposed to blame
> children for any mistakes they committed during those two weeks.
>
> In my childhood, my parents and other adults in the family told me
> frequently that Spring Festival is a time for children.
>
> I feel the same way now when I have to stand for hours in line to
> buy train tickets to go to my parents' home. My enthusiasm for the
> festive season has been reduced by a certain degree.
>
> But no matter the hardships, families must reunite. No matter how
> far their homes, people will somehow manage to reach their families.
>
> This is the time for an old couple to meet all their children and
> for brothers and sisters to meet each other.
>
> Even many of those who have other options, like traveling to a
> scenic spot for their holidays, would choose to leave after the first
> day of the New Year.
>
> Even though all modes of public transport, especially trains, are
> over crowded this time of the year, it has never dampened people's
> enthusiasm for traveling home.
>
> The trips during this period are on a steady rise year after
> year.
>
> It's one of the reasons that the Spring Festival evening party
> broadcast by China Central Television Station on the eve has become so
> popular, as families sit together and watch the show while eating the
> reunion dinner. And once they're tired of discussing their lives and
> work, they have the performances to criticize and discuss.
>
> But this tradition of going home will soon change, too, as now,
> most people my age have just one child. The size of families is
> getting smaller. And so is the scale of family reunions.
>
> Of course the tradition of fireworks remains, and will probably
> remain forever. If anything, it has only become better with each
> passing year. It's not just because people like listening to bombs
> going off, but because more powerful and far prettier and fancy
> firecrackers are now produced.
>
> Sporadic bangs can already be heard once in a while, with only
> about 40 hours left to the moment people will be watching the hands of
> the clock tick away this year.
>
> I wish everybody a blessed beginning in the Year of the Ox.
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