Colorful New Year’s Celebrations Highlight Asia’s Rich Cultural Diversity
The start of a new year is an opportunity to look back on the events of the past year while also embracing the fresh beginning offered by a changing calendar. Across much of Asia, the start of a new year is an opportunity to honor ancient traditions to seek out fortune in the year to come.
Fireworks Bring Joy to China’s 'Chūn Jié’ Spring Festival
The lunar new year – also known as Chūn Jié (春節) – is considered one of the most significant Chinese holidays for the entire year. In fact, Chūn Jié is so important that celebrations last for three weeks from December 23rd to January 15th according to the lunar calendar. Families also come together during Chūn Jié, with millions of people traveling to their home towns to spend time with loved ones.
Chūn Jié is world renowned for its vibrant fireworks, a tradition that dates back to ancient beliefs that loud noises would ward off misfortune. According to Chinese folklore, the unique crackling sound produced by flaming bamboo trees were used to keep Nian (年) – a terrifying monster – away from towns and cities. Today, fireworks stand in for the burning bamboo to create a spectacular display in the skies above China on the night that the entire country celebrates the lunar new year.
Those in northern China mark the new year by eating dumplings while southern China prefers to celebrate with rice cakes or a warm bowl of rice cake soup. Chinese new year also features the release of ‘Kongmíng Dēng’ lanterns containing hopes and dreams for the coming year into the sky. Most houses in China also decorate the entrance to their homes with an upside-down display of the traditional Chinese character ‘福 (blessing)’ to invoking blessings.
Oshogatsu Provides a Window into the Soul of Japan
Unlike other Asian countries which reserve their primary New Year’s celebrations for Lunar New Year, Japan commemorates the start of a new year according to the Gregorian calendar. New Year’s Day in Japan is referred to as ‘Oshogatsu (お正月)’ and involves an entire week of celebrations.
Many Japanese mark the new year by taking an Oshogatsu pilgrimage known as ‘Hatsumode (初詣)’ which takes them to shrines or temples to pray for good luck and health in the coming year. Visitors to these shrines and temples form a massive crowd each year on Oshogatsu, drawing Omikuji paper fortunes or purchasing Omamori charms for luck in the new year.
Traditional New Year's foods include ‘Osechi (御節料理)’ cuisine. These dishes feature herring caviar which symbolizes prosperity and shrimp to represent longevity placed inside a special meal box. Japanese people also typically eat Soba buckwheat noodles on the night of December 31st as a way to provide a fitting finish to their year and welcome the new year.
In Korea, Another Year Means Another Bowl of Rice Cake Soup
In Korea, lunar New Year’s Day is referred to as ‘Seollal’. Koreans celebrate this holiday on January 1st as determined by the lunar calendar.
Though observances vary by family, most Koreans still practice a traditional ceremony called ‘Charye’ on the first morning of the year to honor ancestors and ask for blessings. After the ceremony, younger members of the family bow to their relatives and elders to show their gratitude and wish them good health in the new year. In return, elders then offer gifts or words of blessing.
The most common New Year’s food in Korea is rice cake soup. The soup features white rice cakes, as it is believed that this helps remove the mistakes of the past and provides a fresh start to the year. Eating rice cake soup for the new year also provides a tally of one’s age, and children are often asked how many bowls of rice cake soup they have consumed as an informal way to ask how old they are.
There are a wide variety of other New Year’s traditions in Korea, such as playing the traditional board game of ‘Yunnori’ and flying paper kites.
Thailand’s Songkran Festival Spreads Blessings to All
While most New Year’s celebrations occur on January 1st as determined by either the Gregorian or Lunar calendar, Thais have selected April 13th as the date to welcome the new year with the Songkran (สงกรานต์) festival.
April is the hottest part of the year in Thailand, and the monotony of the dry season is broken up by a massive water festival. Singkran is traced back to the tradition of pouring fragrant water on the hands and shoulders in the hopes of increasing soil fertility and harvest yield after the rainy season. During the festival, water is sprinkled on everyone – including passersby and even tourists. The water signifies blessings, meaning that no one is upset at getting wet on this important day.
On Songkran, Thai people return to their ancestral villages and the homes of relatives in order to bow to Buddhist ancestral tablets and share meals with their family. It is also common to visit local temples and offer food to Buddhist monks. Many people also pour water on statues of Buddha to represent the purification of sins and to prevent misfortune.
Vietnam’s ‘Tết’ Holiday Brings Good Fortune for the Whole Year
Vietnam’s Lunar New Year’s holiday is called ‘Tết’. Tết begins on December 23rd of the lunar calendar and lasts four days, but companies and schools usually take a two week break for the holiday. The Vietnamese consider Tết to be the biggest holiday of the year.
It is common to begin cleaning and repairing houses a month prior to Tết in order to welcome the souls of their ancestors to a freshly prepared house. However, cleaning must be complete by the start of the new year as any cleaning on New Year’s Day will sweep out all of the blessings. In addition, it is believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day determines fortune for the entire year. Therefore, many attempt to invite important people to their homes early in the year while avoiding unscheduled visits to other homes out of respect.
Banh chưng and Banh dai rice cakes are wrapped in banana leaves for Tết. Watermelons are also split open to check horoscopes, with the presence of red determining the family’s luck in the new year.
