Tao Jones
02-03-2011, 02:13 PM
Culture Corner #7: Happy New Year (Part 2)!
Welcome to the Culture Corner
Welcome back to the Culture Corner with Tao Jones. If you’re new to the Culture Corner, this is a little column that is your guide to the world. It’s great to be a hero, but if you don’t understand what it is you’re trying to save, then it’s a little harder to appreciate it. That’s what I’m here for. Each column, I’m going to take a part of Chinese culture in our games and explain it in a little more depth.
Is it New Year again already?
It’s February 3rd, 2011, so Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! We’ll provide continued coverage of the Chinese New Year in this article. As you all probably remember, the Chinese calendar is partially based on the phases of the moon, so it’s not in sync with the Gregorian calendar. Every year is associated with an animal, and Chinese New Year also begins as Spring does, which leads to it sometimes being referred to as the Spring Festival.
So what happens?
When people think about Chinese New Year, some of the first images that come to mind are that of the Chinese New Year Parade, especially the one in San Francisco. This parade was actually not something that began in China, but right there in San Francisco. In the 1800s, many Chinese immigrants lived in the city. Now, Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in the whole culture, and these immigrants wanted to show it to those unfamiliar with the holiday, so they decided to demonstrate using a parade, a custom that Americans were already familiar with.
http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/3382/yearofoxchinesenewyearp.jpg
Thankfully, reality TV had yet to be invented.
During the parade, the features that tend to stand out the most are the lion dance and firecrackers, as well as a massive amount of the color red. While they’re fantastic to look at, a curious mind might wonder what, exactly, this has to do with the passing of one year to another, or what they have to do with each other. Well, like the zodiac animals, this has a story behind it too.
The Story of Nan
A long time ago, there lived a ferocious beast called Nian. At the beginning of every year, Nian would go into villages and eat their livestock, as well as the occasional child not quite fast or smart enough to get indoors before his arrival. As you can probably imagine, this was not a great way to start off the new year. People shut themselves inside and left food outside so Nian would eat that instead.
The villagers were terrified, but there was little else they could do. However, one year, people discovered that Nian was afraid of the color red. Sources differ on exactly how this was discovered. Some say that he ran across a child wearing red and ran away. Another story has an old man simply tell it to the villagers. Some others say that he ran away from a small fire. Whichever way it happened, Nian had a weakness, and people could exploit it.
The next year, when Nian came, he saw a perplexing sight. Red scrolls and red lanterns were hung up everywhere. This scared it, but people were also setting off fireworks or banging pots and pans together, creating a lot of loud and scary noises. The sight of all that red, along with the noise of the fireworks and pots and pans, drove off Nian. From then on, people would decorate the cities with red and set off fireworks on the first day of every year, and the monster never returned, although some say the Taoist Hongjun Laozu captured him and used him as a mount. The New Year became a cause for celebration, and the color red and fireworks were forever associated with it. Nian himself was associated with lion dances, and you’ll see all three in any Chinese New Year parade you happen to attend.
http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/2151/sfchinesenewyearp106079.jpg
In Nian’s defense, if you were made made of paper and wood, even little sparks would probably scare you.
What have we always said is the most important thing?
The parades are pretty flashy, but there’s a much larger side to the Chinese New Year that most people who aren’t taking part won’t see. Every year, people who celebrate the new year return home to their parents and their families to eat dinner together. Every Chinese New Year marks the largest human migration in the world as billions of people all over the world make their way home to spend time with their family.
http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/2910/fulushouhongbao.jpg
For kids, it’s a lot like Christmas, except you know exactly what you’re going to get..
Businesses also take a break for the Chinese New Year weekend. Wait, did I say weekend? I meant for the entire first of two weeks of the Chinese New Year celebration. Chinese New Year is celebrated for fifteen days, and that’s a lot to cover. Enough to cover that I’ll have to leave some for another time.
Until next time, take care. 再見!
Discuss the Culture Corner in the Culture Corner General Discussion Thread (http://us.changyou.com/forum/showthread.php?p=42376).
Images taken from Wikimedia Commons.
Welcome to the Culture Corner
Welcome back to the Culture Corner with Tao Jones. If you’re new to the Culture Corner, this is a little column that is your guide to the world. It’s great to be a hero, but if you don’t understand what it is you’re trying to save, then it’s a little harder to appreciate it. That’s what I’m here for. Each column, I’m going to take a part of Chinese culture in our games and explain it in a little more depth.
Is it New Year again already?
It’s February 3rd, 2011, so Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! We’ll provide continued coverage of the Chinese New Year in this article. As you all probably remember, the Chinese calendar is partially based on the phases of the moon, so it’s not in sync with the Gregorian calendar. Every year is associated with an animal, and Chinese New Year also begins as Spring does, which leads to it sometimes being referred to as the Spring Festival.
So what happens?
When people think about Chinese New Year, some of the first images that come to mind are that of the Chinese New Year Parade, especially the one in San Francisco. This parade was actually not something that began in China, but right there in San Francisco. In the 1800s, many Chinese immigrants lived in the city. Now, Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in the whole culture, and these immigrants wanted to show it to those unfamiliar with the holiday, so they decided to demonstrate using a parade, a custom that Americans were already familiar with.
http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/3382/yearofoxchinesenewyearp.jpg
Thankfully, reality TV had yet to be invented.
During the parade, the features that tend to stand out the most are the lion dance and firecrackers, as well as a massive amount of the color red. While they’re fantastic to look at, a curious mind might wonder what, exactly, this has to do with the passing of one year to another, or what they have to do with each other. Well, like the zodiac animals, this has a story behind it too.
The Story of Nan
A long time ago, there lived a ferocious beast called Nian. At the beginning of every year, Nian would go into villages and eat their livestock, as well as the occasional child not quite fast or smart enough to get indoors before his arrival. As you can probably imagine, this was not a great way to start off the new year. People shut themselves inside and left food outside so Nian would eat that instead.
The villagers were terrified, but there was little else they could do. However, one year, people discovered that Nian was afraid of the color red. Sources differ on exactly how this was discovered. Some say that he ran across a child wearing red and ran away. Another story has an old man simply tell it to the villagers. Some others say that he ran away from a small fire. Whichever way it happened, Nian had a weakness, and people could exploit it.
The next year, when Nian came, he saw a perplexing sight. Red scrolls and red lanterns were hung up everywhere. This scared it, but people were also setting off fireworks or banging pots and pans together, creating a lot of loud and scary noises. The sight of all that red, along with the noise of the fireworks and pots and pans, drove off Nian. From then on, people would decorate the cities with red and set off fireworks on the first day of every year, and the monster never returned, although some say the Taoist Hongjun Laozu captured him and used him as a mount. The New Year became a cause for celebration, and the color red and fireworks were forever associated with it. Nian himself was associated with lion dances, and you’ll see all three in any Chinese New Year parade you happen to attend.
http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/2151/sfchinesenewyearp106079.jpg
In Nian’s defense, if you were made made of paper and wood, even little sparks would probably scare you.
What have we always said is the most important thing?
The parades are pretty flashy, but there’s a much larger side to the Chinese New Year that most people who aren’t taking part won’t see. Every year, people who celebrate the new year return home to their parents and their families to eat dinner together. Every Chinese New Year marks the largest human migration in the world as billions of people all over the world make their way home to spend time with their family.
http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/2910/fulushouhongbao.jpg
For kids, it’s a lot like Christmas, except you know exactly what you’re going to get..
Businesses also take a break for the Chinese New Year weekend. Wait, did I say weekend? I meant for the entire first of two weeks of the Chinese New Year celebration. Chinese New Year is celebrated for fifteen days, and that’s a lot to cover. Enough to cover that I’ll have to leave some for another time.
Until next time, take care. 再見!
Discuss the Culture Corner in the Culture Corner General Discussion Thread (http://us.changyou.com/forum/showthread.php?p=42376).
Images taken from Wikimedia Commons.