Rooster launches New Year in China

When in late January or the beginning of February our TV screens show scenes of celebrations in China, few people in Malta comprehend why the Chinese celebrate their New Year much later than we do in the West. I asked Mr. Reno Calleja, the former Labour Minister and a China enthusiast for more than 25 years, to explain this difference. Mr. Calleja is the current President of the Malta-China Friendship Society and in Malta is considered as one of the most knowledgeable persons on China and the Chinese. Mr Calleja writes:

The Chinese have just celebrated their new year which started on the 9th of February and ended two weeks later with the lantern festival. For western people, who always celebrate the New Year on the 1st of January, it is incomprehensible and sometimes confusing why the Chinese New Year, always falls on different dates each year.

This year the Chinese New Year fell the on Friday 9th of February. Last year it fell on January 22nd. The reason for this is that in China, the beginning of the year is determined by the Chinese calendar which is a combination of lunar and solar movements (lunisolar). Every few years, the Chinese insert an extra month to the year. This is the same as adding an extra day to the leap year. That is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.

Countries who have adopted Confucianism and Buddhism adopted this calendar. So have those countries whose cultures were influenced by the Chinese, like the Koreans, Tibetans, Vietnamese and even the pagan Bulgars. The Chinese New Year starts on the first day of the New Year that contains a new moon. It ends l5 days later on the Lantern Festival. This occurs around the time of the full moon, since its lunation (the period of time the moon takes to make one complete revolution around the earth) is about 29.53 days in duration. Thus in the Gregorian calendar, the Chinese New Year falls between January 21st and February 22nd

All calendars are based on civil and religious observances. The Egyptian calendar consisted of 12 months of 30 days each, followed by five added days, giving the year 365 days. The Muslims, followers of Muhammad, still use a calendar in which the year has 12 lunar months. Hence the month is either 29 days or 30 days. There are 12 months in the Islamic year, which are either 354 or 355 days. The Hebrew Calendar is also based essentially on the moon.

Julius Caesar threw over the lunar month completely. He gave the western world a year that contains 365 days, inserting an additional day every four years. The allotment of days to each of the 12 months, as dictated by Caesar, survives to this day. In 1577, Pope Gregory X111, further reformed the Julian calendar for civil and ecclesiastical purposes.

New Year’s Eve and New Years Day in China is for family re-unions and thanksgiving - very similar to Thanksgiving Day in the United States. To the Chinese their New Year is for them what Christmas is to the Christian world. While we take different gifts when we visit our families for the Christmas or New Year’s lunch, the Chinese children and relatives take a bag of oranges and tangerines when they re-unite with their families.

The arrival of New Year in China is a very important event. It is time when the Chinese clean their houses, repay their debts, enjoy feasts, distribute red envelopes that hold gifts, remembering the ancestors and above all renew family ties. The Chinese families decorate their living room with vases of pretty blossoms and bowls of oranges and tangerines. They display trays filled with varieties of dried sweet fruit. On the walls and doors of their houses, they write poetic phrases and messages such as May you enjoy continuous good health or May the Star of Happiness. The Star of Wealth and Star of Longevity Shine on You.

On New Year’s Eve a reunion dinner is held for members of the family, near and far. The New Year’s Eve Dinner is very large and traditionally includes chicken. Fish and vegetables are also included since whole steamed fish is a symbol of long life and good fortunes. Noodles are served uncut as this represents long life. For desert, the Chinese serve a steamed gluttonous rice pudding and gluttonous rice wrapped in leaves, which is considered a delicacy.

The Chinese New Year brings with it l5 days of festivities until the Lantern Festival known as Yuan Sui, in the Chinese language. Some years ago I was fortunate to be in Shenzen, during this festival. It has left on me, a lasting impression. On New Year’s Day, the Chinese put up red paper decorations, set off firecrackers and beat drums and gongs to scare off Nian. According to thousands of years of traditions this was a man eating dragon. On the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, every door of the house and even windows, have to be opened to allow the old year to go out and the new year to come in.

As in the case of the Yuletide festivities in the West, the Chinese New Year brings with it fifteen days of the best food the families can afford. Probably many Chinese families deny themselves many necessities throughout the year to have enough money to spend during these fifteen days. More food is consumed during the New Year celebrations in China than at any other time of the year. Vast amounts of traditional food are prepared for family and friends.

Every traditional Chinese household usually have blooming plants. To the Chinese these symbolize rebirth and growth. Flowers are symbolic of wealth and a high position in one’s career. If a plant blooms on New Year’s Day, the family owning that plant will have prosperity.
As in the case of the Christmas and New Year period in the West, most offices, factories and businesses are closed for the fifteen days of festivities marking the Chinese New Year. So do not plan any business trips during this period.

Why is every New Year in China tied up with an animal?

Chinese astrology has 12 animals representing an l2 year cycle based on the lunar calendar. These are the horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit and the Dragon. This year it is the year of the rooster. Last year it was the year of the Monkey and next year, 2006, it would be the year of the dog. In oriental astrology, each animal has an underlying different personality. Each animal has a symbolism which is distinct from the western perception of animals. For example a Westerner would not take it kindly if you call him a rat or a pig.

In the orient however a pig or a rat represents success, ingenuity and respectability. While in western astrology the personality of a person is attached to the month we were born, in Chinese astrology the year of birth is represented by an animal. However like in the western astrology the Chinese believe that a person’s destiny is determined by the year of birth. They take this so seriously those parents often consult astrologers about the prospective spouses of their children. They often reject suitors who have inauspicious birth dates.


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