The Cultural Value of Chinese New Year: Historical Roots and Modern Significance

The Cultural Value of Chinese New Year: Historical Roots and Modern Significance By Yifan Liu INCLUDEPICTURE "https://images.chinahighlights.com/allpicture/2019/11/1db83c08531d424e8b96dbc4_cut_750x400_264.webp" \* MERGEFORMATINET Figure 1: Firecrackers during Chinese New Year in the community Image from: https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/festivals/chinese-new-year-firecrackers.htm Final Paper HIS 301 Dr. Casteel Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is China’s most significant holiday. The festival being critical in Chinese culture, marks the beginning of the Chinese lunar calendar, which means it is the first and the most important day in the Chinese calendar and is often characterized by a one-week official public holiday, family reunions, traditional practices, and several cultural celebrations passed down from previous Chinese generations. Every Chinese lunar calendar bears the name of a creature derived from Chinese folklore. With 12 zodiac animals, each year is named after an established order with the cycle repeated after every 12 years. Chinese zodiac animals include rat, Ox, tiger, rabbit, monkey, rooster, dog, pig, dragon, snake, horse, and sheep. For example, the year 2023 was the year of the Tiger, 2023 was the year of the rabbit, and the year 2024 which began on 10th February 2024 is considered the year of the Dragon. The start of each year is marked with celebrations with Chinese streets decorated with red lanterns, the sound of fireworks coming and going, and the colorful fireworks blooming in the sky, forming a beautiful landscape. This heralds the beginning of the Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year kicks off with a steaming reunion meal, along with the beautiful red lantern [Figure 3] waving in the breeze, and with a Chinese couplet with good fortune. The lunar calendar determines the spring festival each year and falls on the second new moon often after the winter solstice around December 21. With dates not specific, the festival often falls between January 21st and February 20 as defined by the Gregorian calendar. One notable question about this festival is “Why is it called the Spring Festival” yet it happens in winter? The festival is referred to as the spring festival because it often starts at the beginning of spring and for many Chinese people, it marks a new season and new beginning. This festival dates back to as early as the Shang Dynasty (160-1046 BC) which is about 3,500 years ago, a period where people used to conduct sacrificial ceremonies for their ancestors and goods every end and start of the year. With the festival rich with myths, one major Chinese mythology that tries to explain this festival is the story of the beast Nian, a lion-like beast, that would eat crops, people, and even livestock on New Year's Eve. To prevent this beast from eating crops, people, and livestock, people resorted to strategies such as leaving food outside their houses to scare Nian away, among other strategies such as scrolls and red lanterns on doors and windows. The focus of this paper is to trace the historical origins of the Chinese New Year, to examine its historical evolution, modern celebration, cultural significance, and impact on both the Chinese world and the global world.[“History of Chinese New Year,” Timothy S. Y. Lam Museum of Anthropology, June 16, 2022, https://lammuseum.wfu.edu/education/teachers/chinese-new-year/history-of-chinese-new-year/.] INCLUDEPICTURE "https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/red-lanterns-dan-huntley-photography.jpg" \* MERGEFORMATINET Figure 2: Chinese Couplet for Dragon Year 2024 Image from: My mother’s photo album Figure 3: Red Lantern Image from: https://photos.com/featured/red-lanterns-dan-huntley-photography.html Fully understanding the basis and evolution of this festival over the years starts uncovering the festival's historical evolution. According to records, the earliest form of the ancient Chinese lunar calendar dates back to the 14th century BC during the reign of the Shang Dynasty. During this period, the calendar was used majorly for dynastic operations, religious activities, and as a social guide, which means that it changed often as determined by the ruling emperor. Nonetheless, the calendar parameters were structured majorly based on lunar phases and solar solstices. After the Shang Dynasty was overthrown by the Zhou Dynasty in 1046 BCE, a calendar year was established by the new regime but it followed the same structure as it was in the Shang Dynasty where people continued to offer offerings and sacrifices to ancestors and gods every end and start of a calendar year. China established the Chinese Calendar in the Zhou Dynasty from 1046–256 BC; the word Nian (year) has been used since then. In the Chinese calendar, the first day of the month begins during the new moon. This means that Chinese New Year happens on different dates from the Gregorian calendar each year. People believed that there was a monster called Nian [Figure 4] who lived in the mountains and only came out of the mountains to the villages during Chinese New Year to find food resources. Whenever the monster came out it would take away the chicken, duck, pig, sheep, dog, and every living poultry and destroy everything in the village including people. The Monster Nian scared people away, and people living in the town could not reunite with family in the New Year. One year, a powerful master entered the village before the New Year, used red-colored paper to decorate the house, and used bamboo and firewood around the house. The Monster Nian came to the village as usual before the Chinese New Year's Eve, and it was hurt by the bright light of the red paper outside of the village and scared away by the sound of fireworks from the bamboo and firewood. Since then, the Monster Nian never returned to hurt the village and its people. By the Han Dynasty between 202 BC to around 22o AD Chinese New Year celebrations were common and changes made were rather than having the festival begin with the new moon, a fixed date, February 1 every year was fixed. Further adjustments to the festival were recorded during the Wei-Qing Dynasty, where the event was no longer centered on worshiping gods and ancestors but more on entertainment. Throughout the Qing dynasty (220 – 1911) China's New Year was redefined and it was this time that people started engaging in activities such as getting together to clear houses, prepare feasts, and stay up all night until cross over to the new year. With China experiencing great economic and social prosperity during the period 960-1911 (Tang, Qing, and Song dynasties), celebrations became more modern to match the changing times. People started using firecrackers, families, and friends started visiting each other to celebrate together, and the acts such as eating dumplings became more and more common. Other emerging occurrences during this period inclu...