[current_date format=l,] [current_date]

The Meaning of Happy Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival since the spring season in the Chinese calendar starts with lichun, the first solar term in a Chinese calendar year. The Chinese calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms, and while lichun usually lasts from Feb. 4 to Feb. 18, it marks the beginning of spring. The Chinese New Year is endowed with features of ancient Chinese culture. The festival starts earlier than the first day of the first lunar month; it starts from the 8th day or the 23rd or 24th day of the twelfth lunar month when the Kitchen god returns to Heaven to report to the Jade Emperor, the emperor of the heavens, on the activities of every household over the past year. And

The Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival since the spring season in the Chinese calendar starts with lichun, the first solar term in a Chinese calendar year. The Chinese calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms, and while lichun usually lasts from Feb. 4 to Feb. 18, it marks the beginning of spring. The Chinese New Year is endowed with features of ancient Chinese culture. The festival starts earlier than the first day of the first lunar month; it starts from the 8th day or the 23rd or 24th day of the twelfth lunar month when the Kitchen god returns to Heaven to report to the Jade Emperor, the emperor of the heavens, on the activities of every household over the past year. And the festival ends on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival. According to legend, the custom of the Spring Festival dates back to the rule of Emperor Shun, a legendary 23rd-22nd century BC leader of ancient China. Emperor Yao relinquished his leadership to Shun. After ascending to the throne, Shun offered sacrifices to Heaven, as well as to the mountains and hills. From then on, people referred to the day of the sacrificial ceremony as the first day of the new year, that is, the first day of the first lunar month. The ancients put much emphasis on astrology, a calendar, and studying the movement of heavenly bodies. It was believed that human affairs are correlated with the positions of celestial objects. The orbital period of the Earth moving around the Sun is a year in the calendar. The orbital period, divided into four seasons, starts with the first day of the first lunar month and ends at midnight of the 30th or 29th day of the 12 lunar month.

Among the numerous Legends of the Spring Festival, the legend of the Nian is the best-known.

The Nian, a ferocious beast with a lion’s head and a cow’s body, lived in the depths of the forest. The beast fed on animals in the mountains. But in winter when food was scarce, it ran out of the forest to attack villagers and animals. Therefore, as winter approached, the villagers felt scared when mentioning “Nian,” and panic spread quickly through the whole village.

Though the Nian was a ferocious creature, it was afraid of the color red, burning torches and loud noises. Therefore, during the winter every household attached a red board to their door and kept a pile of firewood burning outside the house. Then everyone stayed awake at night, hitting gongs and drums to make loud noises. Seeing the red doors and burning firewood in front of each household and hearing the deafening noises, the Nian was scared away from the village. Since then the beast had never appeared to attack the villagers and their livestock. The next morning, people congratulated each other on their survival and called this day a “new year.” As a result, on the Eve of the Chinese New Year people attach a red board to their door and leave a pile of firewood burning outside the house and they make loud banging sounds. The next morning, they also congratulate one another. This tradition has been passed down until now. That is the origin of attaching Spring Festival couplets written on red paper and setting off firecrackers during the Chinese New Year.

Traditions of Chinese New Year:

The Eve of the Chinese New Year is the last day of the year, that is, the evening prior to the arrival of a new year. Originally it means, “The eve that sends away the old year and ushers in a new year.” It bears the auspicious meaning that the old will be stripped away and the new will be greeted. There are three major things that day: to worship ancestors, to have a family reunion dinner, and to stay up late seeing the Old Year out and the New Year in. Offerings to the Divine will be placed on the altar at noon, with candles and incense burning. This ceremonious practice will last until the 5th day of the first lunar month. Fish, a symbol of abundance, is a required dish for the family reunion dinner. Following the dinner, comes the desirable moment for kids—to receive lucky money from the elderly. Then, children will stay up late to greet the new year, which is also considered a symbolic act of praying to the Divine for longevity of their parents.

Here is a list of don’ts during the Chinese New Year. To begin with, there is no trash dumping from the first day of the first lunar month. When sweeping the floor, one should start from the outer part and move on to the inner part, or good fortune will be swept outside. Trash shouldn’t be dumped until the 5th day of the first lunar month. Needles or knives shouldn’t be used during the festival so as to allow females who have toiled for a whole year to take a rest. Creditors shouldn’t force debtors to pay their debts during the festival so as to give them restful holidays. In addition, words indicative of ill omens should be avoided, nor can people take medicine, scold children, quarrel or break things.

There are some popular Chinese New Year nursery rhymes. Among them is the First Lunar Month Rhyme, beginning with, “Awaken early the first day of the year, also early the second day, and sleep in third day.” The first 15 days of the first lunar month are bestowed with differing meanings. For instance, people awaken early to worship deities and ancestors or to visit temples to pray for good fortune. Then the young have to pay the elderly a courtesy call. The second day is the day for married daughters to visit their parents. According to legend, the third day is the day for mice to get married. Therefore, everyone goes to bed early lest they should interfere with the wedding of mice. The 7th day is a birthday for humanity. According to the Divination Book, Heaven began to create beings on earth the first day of the first month. “On the 1st day chickens were created, the 2nd day dogs, the 3rd day pigs, the 4th day sheep, the 5th day cows, the 6th day horses, the 7th day humans, and the 8th day valleys.” The 15th day of the first month is called the Lantern Festival, also known as Shangyuan Festival, when people hang out various beautiful lanterns to celebrate the first full moon of the Lunar year. The 15th day of the 7th lunar month is Zhongyuan Festival, while the 15th day of the 10th lunar month is Xiayuan Festival. The three festivals are called the Sanyuan Festivals.

Of all the poems in praise of the Spring Festival, the catchy one is Yuan Day by Wang Anshi (1021-1086), a statesman and poet of the Song Dynasty.

Amid the noises of firecrackers the old year goes away,
With the warmth of spring breeze we enjoy Tusu wine.
Streaming morning sun rays on the front door of each household,
New couplets are shining with old ones gone.

Yuan Day refers to the first day of the first lunar month.

Tusu wine is traditionally drunk during the Spring Festival to expel epidemic diseases and to disperse cold. Several kinds of Chinese herbs are immersed in wine to make Tusu wine. It is said the original ingredients of the wine is a prescription by Hua Tuo, a renowned pharmacist during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) and Three Kingdoms Period (189-280).

By : Lin Meiying

Tag

More on this topic

More Stories

SubscribeNewsletter@2x
Refreshing and Insights
at No Cost to You!

Cancel anytime

Latest Articles

Leave a Reply

Trending

Top Products

Contact us

Wherever & whenever you are,
we are here always.

The Middle Land

100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 700 Santa Monica, CA 90401
Footer Contact

To Editor


Terms and Conditions

October, 2023

Using our website

You may use the The Middle Land website subject to the Terms and Conditions set out on this page. Visit this page regularly to check the latest Terms and Conditions. Access and use of this site constitutes your acceptance of the Terms and Conditions in-force at the time of use.

Intellectual property

Names, images and logos displayed on this site that identify The Middle Land are the intellectual property of New San Cai Inc. Copying any of this material is not permitted without prior written approval from the owner of the relevant intellectual property rights.

Requests for such approval should be directed to the competition committee.

Please provide details of your intended use of the relevant material and include your contact details including name, address, telephone number, fax number and email.

Linking policy

You do not have to ask permission to link directly to pages hosted on this website. However, we do not permit our pages to be loaded directly into frames on your website. Our pages must load into the user’s entire window.

The Middle Land is not responsible for the contents or reliability of any site to which it is hyperlinked and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed within them. Linking to or from this site should not be taken as endorsement of any kind. We cannot guarantee that these links will work all the time and have no control over the availability of the linked pages.

Submissions 

All information, data, text, graphics or any other materials whatsoever uploaded or transmitted by you is your sole responsibility. This means that you are entirely responsible for all content you upload, post, email or otherwise transmit to the The Middle Land website.

Virus protection

We make every effort to check and test material at all stages of production. It is always recommended to run an anti-virus program on all material downloaded from the Internet. We cannot accept any responsibility for any loss, disruption or damage to your data or computer system, which may occur while using material derived from this website.

Disclaimer

The website is provided ‘as is’, without any representation or endorsement made, and without warranty of any kind whether express or implied.

Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It is your responsibility to ensure any products, services or information available through this website meet your specific requirements.

We do not warrant the operation of this site will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected, or that this site or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or represent the full functionality, accuracy and reliability of the materials. In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including, without limitation, loss of profits, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damages whatsoever arising from the use, or loss of data, arising out of – or in connection with – the use of this website.

Privacy & Cookie Policy

October, 2023

Last Updated: October 1, 2023

New San Cai Inc. (hereinafter “The Middle Land,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) owns and operates www.themiddleland.com, its affiliated websites and applications (our “Sites”), and provides related products, services, newsletters, and other offerings (together with the Sites, our “Services”) to art lovers and visitors around the world.

This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) is intended to provide you with information on how we collect, use, and share your personal data. We process personal data from visitors of our Sites, users of our Services, readers or bloggers (collectively, “you” or “your”). Personal data is any information about you. This Policy also describes your choices regarding use, access, and correction of your personal information.

If after reading this Policy you have additional questions or would like further information, please contact us.

PERSONAL DATA WE COLLECT AND HOW WE USE IT

We collect and process personal data only for lawful reasons, such as our legitimate business interests, your consent, or to fulfill our legal or contractual obligations.

Information You Provide to Us

Most of the information Join Talents collects is provided by you voluntarily while using our Services. We do not request highly sensitive data, such as health or medical information, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, etc. and we ask that you refrain from sending us any such information.

Here are the types of personal data that you voluntarily provide to us:

  • Name, email address, and any other contact information that you provide by filling out your profile forms
  • Billing information, such as credit card number and billing address
  • Work or professional information, such as your company or job title
  • Unique identifiers, such as username or password
  • Demographic information, such as age, education, interests, and ZIP code
  • Details of transactions and preferences from your use of the Services
  • Correspondence with other users or business that you send through our Services, as well as correspondence sent to JoinTalents.com

As a registered users or customers, you may ask us to review or retrieve emails sent to your business. We will access these emails to provide these services for you.

We use the personal data you provide to us for the following business purposes:

  • Set up and administer your account
  • Provide and improve the Services, including displaying content based on your previous transactions and preferences
  • Answer your inquiries and provide customer service
  • Send you marketing communications about our Services, including our newsletters (please see the Your Rights/Opt Out section below for how to opt out of marketing communications)
  • Communicate with users who registered their accounts on our site
  • Prevent, discover, and investigate fraud, criminal activity, or violations of our Terms and Conditions
  • Administer contests and events you entered

Information Obtained from Third-Party Sources

We collect and publish biographical and other information about users, which we use to promote the articles and our bloggers  who use our sites. If you provide personal information about others, or if others give us your information, we will only use that information for the specific reason for which it was provided.

Information We Collect by Automated Means

Log Files

The site uses your IP address to help diagnose server problems, and to administer our website. We use your IP addresses to analyze trends and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use.

Every time you access our Site, some data is temporarily stored and processed in a log file, such as your IP addresses, the browser types, the operating systems, the recalled page, or the date and time of the recall. This data is only evaluated for statistical purposes, such as to help us diagnose problems with our servers, to administer our sites, or to improve our Services.

Do Not Track

Your browser or device may include “Do Not Track” functionality. Our information collection and disclosure practices, and the choices that we provide to customers, will continue to operate as described in this Privacy Policy, whether or not a “Do Not Track” signal is received.

HOW WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION

We may share your personal data with third parties only in the ways that are described in this Privacy Policy. We do not sell, rent, or lease your personal data to third parties, and We does not transfer your personal data to third parties for their direct marketing purposes.

We may share your personal data with third parties as follows:

  • With service providers under contract to help provide the Services and assist us with our business operations (such as our direct marketing, payment processing, fraud investigations, bill collection, affiliate and rewards programs)
  • As required by law, such as to comply with a subpoena, or similar legal process, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements
  • When we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect rights or safety, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request
  • With other users of the Services that you interact with to help you complete a transaction

There may be other instances where we share your personal data with third parties based on your consent.

HOW WE STORE AND SECURE YOUR INFORMATION

We retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you Services. If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer use your personal data, contact us. We will retain and use your personal data as necessary to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

All you and our data are stored in the server in the United States, we do not sales or transfer your personal data to the third party. All information you provide is stored on a secure server, and we generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal data we process both during transmission and once received.

YOUR RIGHTS/OPT OUT

You may correct, update, amend, delete/remove, or deactivate your account and personal data by making the change on your Blog on www.themiddleland.com or by emailing our customer service. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe.

You may choose to stop receiving Join Talents newsletters or marketing emails at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions included in those communications, or you can contact us.

LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES

The Middle Land include links to other websites whose privacy practices may differ from that of ours. If you submit personal data to any of those sites, your information is governed by their privacy statements. We encourage you to carefully read the Privacy Policy of any website you visit.

NOTE TO PARENTS OR GUARDIANS

Our Services are not intended for use by children, and we do not knowingly or intentionally solicit data from or market to children under the age of 18. We reserve the right to delete the child’s information and the child’s registration on the Sites.

PRIVACY POLICY CHANGES

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes to our personal data processing practices. If any material changes are made, we will notify you on the Sites prior to the change becoming effective. You are encouraged to periodically review this Policy.

HOW TO CONTACT US

If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy, please contact customer service or send us mail at:

The Middle Land/New San Cai
100 Wilshire Blvd., 7th Floor
Santa Monica, CA 90401
USA

Article Submission


Logout

Are you sure? Do you want to logout of the account?

New Programs Added to Your Plan

March 2, 2023

The Michelin brothers created the guide, which included information like maps, car mechanics listings, hotels and petrol stations across France to spur demand.

The guide began to award stars to fine dining restaurants in 1926.

At first, they offered just one star, the concept was expanded in 1931 to include one, two and three stars. One star establishments represent a “very good restaurant in its category”. Two honour “excellent cooking, worth a detour” and three reward “exceptional cuisine, worth a

 

February 28, 2023        Hiring Journalists all hands apply

January 18, 2023          Hiring Journalists all hands apply

More

Leave a Reply

Forgot Password ?

Please enter your email id or user name to
recover your password

Roaster-JT
Thank you for your participation!
Back to Home
Roaster-JT
Thank you for your subscription!
Please check your email to activate your account.
Back to Home
Roaster-JT
Thank you for your participation!
Please check your email for the results.
Back to Home

Login to Vote!

Thank you for your participation,
please Log in or Sign up to Vote

Thank you for your Comment

Back to Home

Reply To:

New Programs Added to Your Plan


Login Now

123Sign in to your account