Staff Update from Maria Ng's
Year of the Rat
The Lunar New Year is an important annual celebration for
more than a quarter of the world’s population. Each year,
the Lunar New Year falls on a different day according to the
Western (Gregorian) calendar. This is because the Western
calendar is based on solar, not lunar, movements. Each Lunar
Year is associated with a specific animal for a cycle of
twelve animals. This year, the
Lunar New Year fell on January 26, 2009. It was the beginning of the Year of the
Ox and the end of
the Year of the Rat.
For Stony Brook students it was not a great day to start the
New Year since it was the first day of classes. Like
American Thanksgiving and Christmas combined, it is when
families all come together for a magnificent feast, red
envelopes containing money are given out, and then at
midnight the New Year is celebrated together. Students
couldn't be home on Sunday and in their dorms at the same
time so they either had to leave home early or come to SBU
on Monday. For those who live further than NYC, that was not
possible. Hopefully in future years, given the size of the
population at SB who celebrate the Lunar New Year, the
academic calendar will take it into account.
SB China alumni on the other hand, had a long vacation.
Business virtually shuts down as everyone returns to their
native homes. The transportation systems are packed to
capacity. Dan Shang in Shanghai wrote, "A 9-day holiday
relaxed me and most Chinese."
The Lunar New Year is
associated with many traditions. It is a time dedicated to
family. Traditionally, the New Year was highlighted with a
religious ceremony that honored the gods and the family’s
ancestors. The Lunar New Year lasts for fifteen days. The
celebration begins on New Year’s Eve with the onset of the
new moon, and ends with the Festival of the Lanterns fifteen
days later when the full moon appears.
Preparations for the New Year
may begin weeks before the actual day. The Lunar New Year is
a time of renewal. There are many traditions and rituals
associated with this important holiday. However, they all
center upon the central themes of liveliness, prosperity,
good luck and happiness. Superstitions are followed so that
the family may have a happy and prosperous year.
In their preparations for the
New Year, families will clean their houses from top to
bottom. The expulsion of dirt symbolizes the expulsion of
bad luck. Families will also decorate the house with paper
scrolls and couplets. Each scroll is engraved with blessings
and wishes for happiness, wealth, and longevity. Figures of
children in traditional Asian garments are hung in doorways.
They are seen as the personification of “good luck.” In some places, the practice of shopping for the perfect
plum tree is not dissimilar to the Western tradition of
buying a Christmas tree.
These preparations lead up to
the beginning of the New Year which begins not on New Years
Day but on New Year’s Eve. On the night of New Year’s Eve,
families gather together to eat a large feast, traditionally
including seafood and dumplings. The food that is chosen has
a specific significance. Like the decorations, they
symbolize prosperity, good luck, longevity and happiness.
After the feast, the family will stay up to play games and
talk until midnight. At the stroke of twelve, fireworks are
set off to bring in the New Year.
Each
animal is meant to represent something different. The ox
represents prosperity through fortitude and hard work. He is
intelligent, self-motivated, and has many friends. President
Barak Obama was born in the Year of the Ox and four days
after his inauguration, his New Year looked like it was off
to a good start.
Wikipedia describes the legend behind how much of the Lunar
New Year is celebrated in China.
"According to tales and
legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year
started with the fight against a mythical
beast called the Nian or "Year" in Chinese.
Nian would come on the first day of New Year
to devour livestock, crops, and even
villagers, especially children. To protect
themselves, the villagers would put food in
front of their doors at the beginning of
every year. It was believed that after the
Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn’t
attack any more people. One time, people saw
that the Nian was scared away by a little
child wearing red. The villagers then
understood that the Nian was afraid of the
color red. Hence, every time when the New
Year was about to come, the villagers would
hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on
windows and doors. People also used
firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From
then on, the Nian never came to the village
again. The Nian was eventually captured by
Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The
Nian becaume Laozu's mount."
The Lunar
New Year is a highly anticipated annual holiday. Many Asian
and Asian American organizations sponsor events to celebrate
this important day. In Chinatowns across America there are
parades with lion and dragon dancers and and
firecracker ceremonies.
While most have already occurred in NYC's
Chinatown, this coming weekend there will be
celebrations in Flushing and at Stony Brook.
Check out the AA E-Zine calendar to see
what's happening.
http://www.aasquared.org/calendar/calendar.pl
Congratulations and be prosperous!
In Cantonese: Gung hay
fat choy!
In Mandarin: Gong xi fa cai!
In Vietnamese: Chuc mung nam moi!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year
