By Yimu Pan, Global Ambassador from China
Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival and “Nian”年 in China, is one of the most important festivals in many East Asian countries. As its name shows, it is the New Year according to the lunar calendar. In the solar calendar, the commonly used calendar, Lunar New Year falls in the months of January or February, and each lunar new year is represented by 1 of the 12 creatures of the Chinese Zodiac – 2018 is the year of the Dog. As a Chinese person who has celebrated the Lunar New Year for years, I am going to introduce this fantastic representation of Chinese culture from varieties of aspects.
The Chinese word for Lunar New Year, “Nian”年, comes from an interesting story. A long time ago, there was a monster, Nian, coming out and eating people in a village on the New Year’s Eve. Those unarmed villagers had no way of defeating Nian. Coincidentally, an exorcist passed by and he knows Nian’s weakness, the color red. He told villagers to put up red paper on their front door, hold red envelope in their hands, and light up firecrackers. When Nian saw all the red around the village, the monster ran away and never came back. This story not only gives an eye-catching origin of the Lunar New Year in China, but also demonstrates the activities that we still do today. Red is the theme of this festival; People decorate their home with red items. The red paper those villagers put up is now called Spring Festival Couplets. People still hang them up by their front doors and they also have their wishes for the coming year written in couplets on these red papers. Red Envelopes (Packs) have been used for elders to give wishes to children. Red Envelopes are the children’s favorite because they always come with money inside.
Dumplings and Fishes are special foods eaten during the Lunar New Year celebration. Dumplings are also called “Jiao Zi” in China. They are the shape of one type of valuable currencies used in ancient China, which represents wealth. There is a story about the fish. People make a whole fish dish at New Year’s Eve but the fish is not meant to be fully eaten. It has to be saved until the next day. Such custom comes from a Chinese phrase 年年有余 Nian Nian You Yu (May every year ends with ample surplus). “Yu”余 pronounced the same way as fish “Yu”鱼in Chinese and “Yu”余 means surplus. This whole phrase means surplus for every year.
Lunar New Year is the time for family reunions. For financial reasons, countless number of people travel across half of China looking for jobs in cities to support their family back home. Those people work hard for a whole year and finally get a break during Lunar New Year. Millions of people travel thousands of miles to their home during this holiday. After the whole year of separation, they can finally see their children and parents.
Even in America, Many East Asian immigrants and visitors celebrate the Lunar New Year. Most common celebration is people getting together, playing games, watching performances and having a feast. These activities give people the taste of home when they are faraway. This celebration is much simpler than it is back home. However, the emotion that people hold for the Lunar New Year is the same wherever they are.
As an international student from China, this is my first year celebrating Lunar New Year away from home, and I can’t wait to watch performances and enjoy dinner at Penn State Harrisburg. This year, I am excited to be on the planning committee as a Global Ambassador to volunteer for this annual campus wide celebration, which is to be held on Friday, February 23, 6-9pm, in the Student Center of Capital Union Building. We welcome you to join us for the 2018 Lunar New Year celebration!
Note: All pictures featured are Penn State Lunar New Year 2017 celebration photos (courtesy of Penn State Harrisburg Global Ambassadors Program)