In the West, Christmas is the most important holiday of the year, and the New Year only takes place on January 1, so Westerners are quite unfamiliar with the Lunar New Year holiday that lasts for many days with traditional activities of Vietnamese people. easterner.
Let’s discover 10 things about the New Year of the East that make Westerners “eyes round and flat” :
According to legend, many of the traditional activities that take place during the Lunar New Year are rooted in an ancient fear of Nian – a ferocious monster that will wait until the first day of the year to “terrorize” the villagers. Following the advice of a wise old sage, the townspeople made loud noises from drums and fireworks and used red to scare the monster away. This is still an indispensable activity on New Year’s Day.
Although the forms to honor the Lunar New Year have changed over the years, it was originally seen as an opportunity for families to clean up the worship area in the home. The ancients believed that after cleaning the worshiping area, the gods would visit the family in the new year. To this day, Tet is still seen as a time to clean the house, and this work must be completed before welcoming the new year.
Every year, as the Lunar New Year approaches, hundreds of millions of people from all over the world will go home to celebrate Tet. (Photo: Istock).
Because the Lunar New Year emphasizes on tightening the ties of blood and close family ties, every year around the time of the Lunar New Year, hundreds of millions of people from all over the world will go home to celebrate Tet. The most commonly used means of transport are cars, trains, planes and other modes of transportation and during the 15-day Tet holiday period, it is estimated that nearly three billion trips will be made.
Not everyone in the East is a unanimous believer in the do’s and don’ts of the Chinese New Year, but most people do their best to adhere to some very special taboos. During the first days of the new year, going to the hospital or taking medicine is said to make the owner ill for the whole year; lending or borrowing money will make the homeowner more indebted; or crying children can bring bad luck.
In China, when you are in your thirties and still single, this can be annoying, as family and relatives will constantly “question” you about this during the New Year. So when people who are still “alone” return home to visit their parents, they will hire people to pretend to be lovers, pretending to be in a relationship to avoid trouble from their parents. A person posing as a boyfriend or girlfriend can earn an average of 5 a day.
If someone gives you a red envelope, it’s best to accept it with both hands and avoid opening it in front of them. (Image: Istock).
A common tradition during Chinese New Year is to give red envelopes containing money. (red represents energy and fortune). The money in the envelopes are new bills, no folds; Old, wrinkled money is considered a sign of laziness. People often keep envelopes with money in hand when going out, just in case they meet someone they need to “lucky”. If someone gives you a red envelope, it’s best to receive it with two hands and avoid opening it in front of them.
Fireworks are a major part of spring festivals in the East, and there’s a lot that goes wrong with this tradition. Pollution levels in cities like Beijing can increase 15 times after a New Year’s Eve fireworks display. In 2016, Shanghai banned fireworks in urban areas.
White clothing is also believed to bring bad luck. In some Eastern countries, especially China, both black and white dress are traditionally associated with mourning and should be avoided during the lunar month. Colorful, red clothes are popular these days because they symbolize good luck.
Cherries are a popular food during the Lunar New Year in many Eastern countries, needing a huge source of cherries to meet the needs of people on this occasion. Last year Singapore Airlines flew four consecutive flights to transport cherries to Southeast and North Asia. More than 300 tons were delivered in time for the festive season.
Have you ever wondered where the name Lunar New Year comes from? The Lunar New Year originated in China, because of the days of Vietnam’s domination, Vietnamese culture was influenced by the Chinese. Nguyen Dan is a Vietnamese word of Chinese origin, the word “Nguyen” means “first, the beginning”, the word “Dan” means “morning”. Lunar New Year means: “The morning of the beginning of a year, the beginning of the spring period”. The word Tet is a Vietnamese word of Chinese origin, called a deviation from the Chinese syllable. Lunar New Year means luck and fresh.