Long ago, in the Warring States Period, the haunting sound of the village alarm gong crashes through the valley. It was the first day of the lunar calendar, an auspicious day, but luck was in a sour mood. From the bowels of the great mountains, the huge, encroaching beast could be seen, rumbling forth relentlessly, and blocking out the sun. Was it a lion? A snake? A dog? A dragon? A water buffalo? Or a magical amalgamation of them all, crafted by the gods?
The fierce, magical Nian would come on the first day of New Year to devour livestock, crops, and even villagers - especially the children - but the villagers knew what was needed to be done. Red vestments, lanterns and red spring scrolls attached to doors and windows were sure to deter the beast, as would the sharp crack of newly-invented Chinese firecrackers. And fragrant foodstuffs placed on the doorsteps were certain to distract the beast's attention away from dearer prey . . .
Lunar New Year falls on a different day each year, and this year, the festivities begin the Year of the Dragon on 23 Jan 2012. This time of celebration is two weeks long, and is the Asian equivalent to Christmas and New Year's put together.
Red couplets and red lanterns are displayed on the door frames and light up the atmosphere. The air is filled with strong Chinese emotions. In stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and other cities, products of a traditional Chinese style [appear]. Buy yourself a Chinese-style coat, get your kids tiger-head hats and shoes, and decorate your home with some beautiful red Chinese knots, then you will have an authentic Chinese-style Spring Festival. — Xinwen Lianbo, 01 Jan 2010
Thus begins the age-old traditions, protocols, interpersonal interactions, quests for luck in the year ahead, reverence for ancestors, and most of all, the best of all yearly gastronomical delights for 15 long days.
1st Day
The first day is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth, officially beginning at midnight. Some consider lighting fires and using knives to be bad luck on New Year's Day, and people also abstain from killing animals, so all food is prepared the day before. For Buddhists, the first day is also the birthday of Maitreya Bodhisattva, the "Buddha-to-be", so Buddhists, especially, abstain from meat consumption today. Noodle dishes are prevalent - families may serve uncut noodles, which represent longevity and long life.
Some families may invite a lion dance troupe as a symbolic ritual to usher in the Lunar New Year as well as to evict bad spirits from the premises. Members of the family who are married also give hóng bāo (Cantonese: lai sze) red packets containing cash to junior members of the family, mostly children and teenagers. Even denominations only are placed in these festive envelopes - 8 yuan is common because the number 8 is lucky.
Lion Dance for School Children
Most importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time when families visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended family, usually their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents.
2nd Day
Incense is burned at the graves of ancestors as part of the offering and prayer ritual and married daughters visit their birth parents. Families are extra kind to their dogs and feed them well on this day, as it is believed that the second day is the birthday of all dogs.
3rd and 4th Day
It's considered bad luck for the whole year to get into an argument on these days! The third day of the New Year is allocated to visiting the deceased instead - best not to visit with the living, just in case!
5th Day
In northern China, people eat jiǎozi (traditional Chinese: 餃子), or dumplings on the morning of Po Wu (破五). This is also the birthday of the Chinese god of wealth. Sometimes, children may find a coin in their jiǎozi !
Here's a simple recipe for jiǎozi:
Garlic Chive & Ginger Pork Dumplings
Minced pork, 1 pound
Chinese celery, washed and coarsely chopped, 1/2 bunch
Garlic chives, florets removed and chopped, 1/2 bunch
Fuji apple, minced, 1/4
Minced ginger, 1 tsp
Soy sauce, 1.5 tbsp
Sugar, 1/2 tsp
Sesame oil, 1 tbsp
Corn starch, 1 tbsp
Dash of sea salt
Pepper
Round wonton wrappers, 1 package
Beaten Egg to serve as the glue to seal the dumpling
Mix all the filling ingredients. To assemble a dumpling, place a wonton wrapper in your left palm. Spoon about 1/2 a spoonful of filling into the center. Using a pastry brush, wipe egg all around the filling, to the edges of the dumpling. Fold dumpling into a half moon, pressing with your fingers to seal the top, and then tuck the left and right edges in. Press to seal.
If steaming, dumplings are finished when slightly wrinkled and the filling feels tender, but solid (about 15 minutes). If boiling, drop dumplings into a rolling boil, lower heat to medium. Dumplings are cooked when floating in about 4 minutes. Serve hot with citrus dipping sauce.
One of the most definitive works on Asian potstickers can be found here.
7th Day
The seventh day, traditionally known as renri (人日), the common man's birthday, the day when everyone grows one year older. It is the day when raw fish salad, yusheng, is eaten. People get together to toss the colourful salad and make wishes for continued wealth and prosperity. For many Chinese Buddhists, this is another day to avoid meat - the seventh day commemorating the birth of Sakra Devanam Indra.
8th Day
Another family dinner to celebrate the eve of the birth of the Jade Emperor. Everybody should be back to work by the 8th day. All of government agencies and business will stop celebrating by the eighth day.
9th Day
This is the birthday of the Jade Emperor of Heaven (天宮) in the Taoist Pantheon, and people offer prayers. This day is especially important to Hokkiens. Come midnight of the eighth day of the new year, Hokkiens will offer thanks giving prayers to the Emperor of Heaven. Incense, tea, fruit, vegetarian food or roast pig, and paper gold is served as a customary protocol for paying respect to an honored person.
10th Day
The alternative day when the Jade Emperor's birthday is celebrated. Sometimes, it's both days.
13th Day
On the 13th day people will eat pure vegetarian food to clean out their systems due to consuming too much food over the last two weeks.
This day is dedicated to China's greatest general, Guan Yu, also known as the Chinese God of War. He represents loyalty, strength, truth, and justice. According to history, he was tricked by the enemy and was beheaded.
Almost every organization and business in China will pray to Guan Yu on this day. Before his life ended, Guan Yu had won over one hundred battles and that is a goal that all businesses in China want to accomplish. In a way, people look at him as the God of Wealth or the God of Success.
15th Day
The fifteenth day of the New Year is celebrated as yuán xiāo jié (元宵节). Rice dumplings tangyuan (traditional Chinese: 湯圓; pinyin: tāngyuán), a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, is eaten this day. Candles are lit outside houses as a way to guide wayward spirits home. This day is celebrated as the Lantern Festival, and families walk the street carrying lighted lanterns.
Tāngyuán Sweet Soup
1 cup glutinous rice flour
4 ounces water
Brown sugar to taste
Food coloring (optional)
Fresh ginger (optional)
Pour the glutinous rice flour in a bowl and slowly add water until the mixture becomes the texture of dough. You may not need the entire 4 ounces of water to reach the proper consistency. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes. You can divide the dough in half and add food coloring to one half.
Pinch off pieces of the dough and roll it into small balls. Drop the balls into boiling water and cook them until they float - about 5 to 10 minutes. While the balls are cooking, prepare a sweet soup by boiling water and adding brown sugar. Put the cooked balls, adding fresh grated ginger into the soup and serve.
Tāngyuán can also be stuffed with a paste made from peanut butter, black sesame seeds or red beans.
This day often marks the end of the Chinese New Year festivities.
Greet each other this time of year by saying "Gung hei fat choi!", which loosely translates to "Congratulations and be prosperous" (pinyin: gōng xǐ fā cái). Children and teenagers will sometimes jokingly say (Traditional Chinese: 恭喜發財,紅包拿來, pinyin: gōng xǐ fā cái, hóng bāo ná lái Cantonese: 恭喜發財,利是逗來), roughly translated as "Congratulations and be prosperous, now give me a red envelope!"
Banksters . . . just kidding! :-)
Note: Revised and updated for the current season. Original content published on 06 Feb 2010.