| 1st Blog Series: Chinese New Year |  |
Work Woes… Again |
12:00 am
Chinese New Year: How It Began
Chinese words used in this post:
Nien (Year) & Kong-Si (Congratulations)
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There are many stories about the beginnings of Chinese New Year (CNY). Some myths, some practical.
The most widely known myth is not exactly a happy tale. Legend tells of a wild beast named Nien (Chinese for year) that would come out every New Year’s eve to attack and kill villagers. To scare away the beast, villagers started making loud noises with firecrackers, pasted red paper everywhere (for they believe that Nien was afraid of red) and used tons of bright lights. The next morning, as feelings of triumph and success fill the air at successfully keeping Nien away for another year, people would greet each other with kong-si , or “congratulations.”
A more practical and down-to-earth explanation is that the end of the year also meant the end of a harsh winter in China. Families would gather together after the tough season to see who was still alive, to celebrate the start of a better life and wish each other good luck and prosperity for the new year.
Historically, the date of CNY has been set according to the emperor that ruled China at that time. For a few years, CNY was actually based on the Gregorian calendar (Western Calendar). It was only after the Chinese Revolution and the start of the Communist government did the Chinese Lunar calendar became the master calendar that ruled all Chinese holidays, including CNY.
CNY typically happens around late January and early February. This year, 2009, it starts on 26th January 2009 and runs 15 days. In China, that means 15 days of public holidays.
In Singapore, that means 2. *grimace* (Part of being a racial and religious equal country. Every major religion and race gets 2 days of holidays a year. That’s it. I’m sure non-Chinese would enjoy 15 days of CNY public holidays! I don’t think I’ll hear anyone complaining. Well, except the Government.)
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Heard that before.
But thanks for sharing 
Am I understanding right that you only get the 26 & 27th off for holiday in 2009, then? Do you really mean a total of two days of holidays for the whole year? This is educational for me. I have not heard these things before. Bless you.