5 Strange Things About Lunar New Year
It‘s the time of the year again when the Chinese-speaking world celebrates “new year”.
Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, is the most important holiday not just in Taiwan but also in countries throughout East Asia. For example, countries such as South Korea and Indonesia celebrate Lunar New Year as well.
Except for red envelopes, big meals, and grand family gatherings, there are more to this holiday. Here are five things about Lunar New Year that you’ve probably wondered for a while. I have answers for you.
1. Date Changes Every Year
Unlike Christmas always falls on December 25th, the date of Lunar New Year varies every year. That’s because it follows the lunar calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar.
The lunar calendar is created based on agriculture schedule. It states weather changes for farmers, so they know when to sow the seeds and when to harvest. The lunar calendar is shorter than the Gregorian calendar with its leap year system to keep up with the earth’s orbit around the sun. Therefore, Lunar New Year generally falls between mid-January and mid-February. We are one month later than the rest of the world.
In Taiwan, the lunar calendar will be announced with the Gregorian calendar six months before the coming year. People will know when Lunar New Year and other holidays will be in advance and plan their vacation accordingly.
2. Red Scares Away the Monster
If you wonder when Lunar New Year starts, simply look around you and see if you can spot the color red. It starts two weeks before on shopping mall decorations and holiday advertisements. Most importantly, red is on the spring couplets we put on the door of our house.
Why we’re so obsessed with the color red? It has to do with the Lunar New Year myth. Everything started with a monster.
Long long time ago, Lunar New Year’s Eve was not a time for celebration. It was a time when the monster attacked the village and ate people alive. Villagers had no idea what to do but pray.
One day, an old man passed by. He must be a man with magic because he happened to know how to deal with the monster. “Red can scare away the monster,” he said with confidence.
Villagers believed him and put the color on their doors. The monster was dazzled by the color red and never came back again.
3. Money: Best Gift Ever
Gifts are for Christmas. For Lunar New Year, we send money as gifts. It seems less romantic but much more practical. Money is probably the most useful gift ever. You get to spend on the things you truly want rather than flooding your house with the things you don’t need.
On Lunar New Year’s Eve, adults put “lucky money” in red envelopes and give it to the kids. The tricky part is the definitions of “adults” and “kids” in this case. Who has to give away money and who is qualified to accept it?
Every family is different. Some parents stop giving red envelopes to kids once they graduate from college. It indicates that they are grow-ups now and should be able to stand on their own two feet.
However, some of the lucky folks still receive lucky money in their late 20s because they are not married yet. For some parents, that’s the “official moment” when kids leave their original family and start a new life with the new family they build. Before getting married, they are still kids.
4. People Stay Up All Night
Lunar New Year is about family gathering. Except for lucky money, the big meal is also essential to the holiday. The big meal can be really big because literately everyone joins the dinner, including those relatives you barely know. All the uncles, aunts, and cousins are in.
After the big new year dinner, the family stays up late all the way till midnight. We know how difficult it is to find some topics in common with the relatives you hardly remember their names. So, we usually bond by playing 麻將 (Mahjong).
Think of Mahjong as a poker game for four with a set of complicated rules. You don’t have to know your three competitors in person to enjoy the game. As long as you know the rule, the four of you can play Mahjong all night long till the sun comes up.
For those who don’t play Mahjong in the family, they binge-watch movies instead.
5. Gods Also Need A Vacation
Lunar New Year is not just for human. The gods take a long break at this time of the year as well. We take five days off, whereas they have ten more days in their world.
Throughout the year the gods stay in the world of human to protect them and listen to their wishes. Six days before Lunar New Year, we thank them with a grand feast and send them back to the sky.
They get to enjoy their vacation in the mansions up in the air till the fourth day of new year. After that, they come back on duty in the human world. We throw a welcome party for them before we the normal human being start working.
Lunar New Year stories and rituals are more or less the same throughout the Chinese-speaking countries. If you visit Taipei around this time of the year, go to DaDaoCheng to experience the new year fever. The crazy new year shopping is going to blow your mind.
Also, this is a great time to visit some temples. People go to temples to wish for a good year when it starts. Temples will be full of worshippers. (Read this: 6 Temples to Visit in Taipei)
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