Let’s talk about a few countries that we know:
While Chinese people celebrate the New Year with great joy, people in some Asian countries also bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year with special folk activities. The New Year customs in these places have their own characteristics. The warm reunion of relatives and friends and the festive and lively "New Year's greetings" allow people to fully enjoy the New Year.
Koreans pay New Year greetings with etiquette
New Year greetings are the highlight of North Korean New Year customs. Early in the morning on the first day of the new year, the whole family gets up early and puts on new clothes, especially the little girls, who mostly wear colorful national costumes, looking lively and cute. The New Year greeting activity starts with offering sacrifices to ancestors. Various foods and wines are placed on the sacrificial table. The family kowtows to their deceased ancestors and then pays New Year greetings to the elders in the family one by one. The younger generation should kowtow to the elders in order of seniority and age, and wish the elders health and longevity. The elders prepare some simple gifts for the younger generation and give some lucky money to the children. It is also indispensable to pay New Year's greetings to the elders and teachers in the neighborhood, which reflects North Korea's beautiful customs of respecting the elderly and caring for the young and respecting teachers and education. Friends and neighbors will say blessings and words of encouragement to each other when paying New Year greetings.
Koreans attach great importance to ancestor worship and filial piety
Compared with staying up late on New Year's Eve, Koreans pay more attention to the "sacrifice and yearly worship" ceremony on the first day of the Lunar New Year. People will place the tablets or portraits of their ancestors according to their family tree, and place various offerings on the offering table. The offerings are placed in strict accordance with the rules of "fish in the east and meat in the west", "head in the east and tail in the west", "red in the east and white in the west", "raw in the east and cooked in the west" and "rice on the left and soup on the right". The whole family dressed in traditional ethnic costumes kowtowed to their ancestors in turn.
Vietnamese people stay up late during the New Year
Vietnamese people also have the custom of staying up late on New Year’s Eve. As soon as midnight arrives on the first day of the first lunar month, Vietnamese people begin to worship gods and ancestors. The five-fruit plate, which symbolizes the five elements of heaven and earth, is an indispensable offering. It not only expresses gratitude to the ancestors, but also wishes for happiness, health and good luck in the new year. After worshiping, people go to the temple with their families or friends to burn incense and pray for blessings. They will also break off a branch with new buds from the tree in the temple and put it on the altar devoutly after returning home. This move is called "asking for wealth" and the Vietnamese believe that it will bring good luck to the family.
Cambodian Chinese go to temples to offer incense
On New Year’s Eve, Cambodian Chinese usually go to temples to offer incense. The Khmer people, as aborigines, have gradually accepted this custom because of their belief in Buddhism. Every year at around 10 pm on New Year's Eve, Chinese and Khmer believers will go to an area in Kandal, a neighboring province of Phnom Penh, the capital, commonly known as the Golden Ou area. There is a Baosheng Temple located on the bank of the Baise River, a tributary of the Mekong River. It is well preserved and trusted by people.
The Indonesian Chinese value tradition
The Indonesian Chinese maintain the original Spring Festival customs. During the Lunar New Year, every family lights up lanterns and colors, old and young gather together, and it is a must for the elders to give red envelopes to the younger ones. For young people, going to temples to burn incense and worship Buddha is also an important part of it. The most important activity for Chinese Indonesians to celebrate the Spring Festival is to have New Year’s Eve dinner together with the whole family.
Singaporeans exchange New Year greetings for oranges
Singapore, a small country with convenient transportation, retains the custom of relatives and friends visiting each other’s homes during the first month of the year to pay New Year greetings. When visiting the New Year on the first day of the Lunar New Year, both adults and children will "wear new clothes and new hats" and bring two tangerines as gifts, which mean "good luck", "two grains of gold" and "good things come in pairs". The host also wants Two tangerines are given to the guests in return, which is commonly known as "exchanging tangerines" by Singaporeans.
More details
Koreans celebrate the Spring Festival: eat rice cake soup
The Chinese Spring Festival is also one of the largest traditional festivals in Korea. As a Korean daughter-in-law married in China, I have been studying and living in Beijing for several years. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, I miss my hometown, South Korea, the New Year celebrations in South Korea and my family there.
South Korea is a country that adheres very much to tradition. The Spring Festival is a festival based on ancestor worship and filial piety. It is a day to worship ancestors and pray for family safety. Today, the Spring Festival has also been given a new meaning by modern people, that is, it allows people to temporarily escape from the tense rhythm of urban life and gain a moment of peace and happiness. Therefore, wherever you go during the Spring Festival in Korea, you will be filled with an atmosphere of joy and auspiciousness.
There are many traditional customs during the Korean Spring Festival, including New Year makeup, New Year paintings, lucky fences, chasing luminous ghosts and other legends. The customs that have been passed down to this day include ancestor worship, year-old worship, virtue talks, "throwing four wooden sticks" and springboard customs. Chinese people eat rice cakes during the Spring Festival, and Koreans also have special foods that they eat during the Spring Festival, collectively called "New Year's meals." The most representative Spring Festival dish that has been passed down to this day is "rice cake soup". Ancient Koreans worshiped the sun, and the small white round rice cake slices represented the sun. Eating rice cake soup on the morning of the first day of the first lunar month represented welcoming the light of the sun. In addition, according to the original religious beliefs, it also represents the solemnity and cleanliness at the time of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, and the rebirth of all things. In the past, the soup used to make rice cake soup was made with pheasant soup. Now pheasants are rare, so beef or chicken soup is used instead. Central and northern regions also like dumplings filled with pheasant meat, mung bean sprouts, mushrooms and kimchi in rice cake soup. In addition, each family will also prepare food such as honey-glutinous oil fruit, cinnamon soup, eight-treasure rice and sliced ??meat to receive relatives and friends who come to pay New Year greetings.
Japanese New Year custom: Buying lucky bags to bring good luck
Japan: The Spring Festival was the most grand festival in Japan in the past. Every family decorated their houses with pines and cypresses, and the whole family gathered around the stove to stay up on New Year's Eve. At midnight, the temple bells rang 108 times and New Year greetings were exchanged the next day.
In Japan, there is a product called "lucky bag" during the New Year. The so-called lucky bag is an opaque bag containing goods. There are many kinds of lucky bags, including cosmetics, clothing, daily necessities, electrical appliances, anything that can be put into the bag. Prices range from 1,000 yen to tens of thousands of yen. Due to their popularity, lucky bags often begin pre-sale years ago.
They are also commodities, so why are lucky bags so popular? It turns out that lucky bags are very valuable. In a lucky bag worth 1,000 yen, there are often three or four items priced around 1,000 yen. Sometimes, in a lucky bag worth 20,000 yen, there may be a digital camera worth 30,000 to 40,000 yen. . In this way, buying lucky bags gives people the feeling of winning a big prize in the New Year. Of course, there are only a few lucky bags with such great value, but when they think about the possibility of winning the jackpot and at least being worth their money, consumers will naturally rush to buy them.
For merchants, this sales method has a much different effect than ordinary promotions. In general promotions, consumers come to purchase goods, and it is up to the consumer to decide how many items to buy. However, the items in the lucky bags are invisible and merchants can mix and match them freely. For consumers, lucky bags are of high quality and low price. It is said that few Japanese women can resist the temptation of lucky bags, and the name of the lucky bag is also very attractive. During the Chinese New Year, who doesn’t want to go home with blessings?
Watch the Mongolians during the Spring Festival: eating, drinking, singing and dancing
At the beginning of the new year, everything is renewed, and the Mongolian people in far northern China are also immersed in a strong atmosphere of joy.
Historically, the Spring Festival was not a traditional festival of the Mongolian people. However, due to the increasing number of Han people in the areas where the Mongolians lived, the people's customs also changed, making the Spring Festival a traditional festival for the Mongolian and Han people. ***Happy time to celebrate together!
However, they celebrate the Spring Festival in the same way, but the Mongolians on the grasslands and the Mongolians living with Han people in the cities have very different ways of celebrating.
Colorful costumes
Mongolians on the grasslands still maintain their own traditions. During grand festivals, they wear colorful costumes, bring out the most delicious food, and invite Best friends and relatives came to their homes to drink fragrant kumiss, sing and dance to their heart's content, and taste the tender meat.
The Spring Festival is a great opportunity for grassland people to gather and communicate with each other. Since many Mongolians still maintain a nomadic romantic lifestyle on the grasslands, it is difficult for them to meet each other in normal times. They have been separated for a long time during the Spring Festival. Friends may meet at horse racing or wrestling conventions.
Regardless of the results of the competition, after a fierce battle on the court, when they meet in private, they will give each other khatas and snuff bottles to express their deep feelings of longing and blessing.
When relatives and friends celebrate the New Year together, they may feel strange to each other, because some relatives are far away from each other and may not have seen each other for ten years. His face has become unrecognizable!
I once saw a pair of brothers drinking in the same yurt, but they did not recognize each other. It was not until an old man broke the "trick" that the two brothers shed tears of joy!
How to celebrate in the city
Some Mongolians who grew up in the city have forgotten their mother tongue and become completely Chinese; some can still maintain their own ethnic circles, but they cannot Not affected by the overall environment, but adapt to the trend. Mongolians in the city have a completely different concept of the Spring Festival from the grassland. They have their own way of celebrating the Spring Festival, and they also have another set of things they learned from the Han people. Generally, they still retain some of their own celebration methods, such as eating hand-caught mutton, barbecue mutton skewers, singing while drinking, playing the morinouqin, etc., which are the Mongolian people's own way of celebrating festivals.
On the other hand, they also have the same celebration methods as the Han people, such as getting together with relatives, having dinner with friends, inviting bosses to their homes to promote relationships; setting off firecrackers, performing yangko, making dumplings, and children making new clothes, etc. programme.
For the Chinese Mongolians, setting off firecrackers at midnight is essential for the reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve and the transition between the old and the new year.
The reunion dinner is actually mainly about eating dumplings. Before midnight on the New Year, the whole family will gather together, laughing and making dumplings at the same time. Dumplings on New Year's Eve are very particular. First of all, everyone's dumplings must be the same size. This means that the whole family is equal and no one should bully anyone!
Secondly, the selection of dumpling fillings must not be careless. The selection of dumpling fillings on New Year’s Eve must have auspicious meanings. For example, you can't choose beef filling, because no one wants to be too "busy" in the new year; you can't choose carrots, because no one wants to become more and more confused; of course, you can't add garlic, which always counts as a sign. Not enough.
Auspicious dumpling fillings include "flying dragon" meat fillings, horse meat fillings, coriander fillings, leek fillings, mutton fillings, etc.
You can find auspicious signs from these, such as dragons leaping and tigers leaping, thousands of horses galloping, eating hot and spicy food, lasting for a long time, and three sheep prospering.
The sound of festive "explosion"
This dumpling meal on New Year's Eve must be served on the table when the clock strikes 12 times at midnight, symbolizing farewell to the old and welcoming the new, a complete success!
At the same time, the firecrackers and fireworks outside also exploded with the departure of the old year and the arrival of the new year. At this moment, the sky is filled with colorful flames, the ears are filled with the sound of festive "explosion", and the heart is filled with the joy of the New Year.
Wearing new clothes is the most important thing for children besides red envelopes. Although Mongolian children in cities have been attracted by those ridiculously expensive famous brands, there are still some Mongolian mothers. In order to prevent my children from forgetting that they are descendants of Mongolians, I will let them wear traditional clothes sewn by myself during the New Year. The deep love and painstaking efforts can be seen in the exquisite patterns and meticulous workmanship of the clothes. .
In fact, whether for Mongolians on the grasslands or Mongolians in the city, the New Year is a festival that they all attach special importance to.
During the New Year, those prairie children dressed in bright costumes will travel long distances to the city to go shopping, see new things, and buy various New Year goods. At the same time, they must prepare enough for next spring. Tools for life.
Children who grow up in cities rarely know how to use their mother tongue. When they see their parents talking cordially to unfamiliar short and stocky men in a language they do not understand, they are confused as to why. Why do parents come here every year to talk to someone?
In fact, this place is specially prepared for these "black-faced visitors" from the grasslands, but residents in the city rarely come here to buy things.
The New Year is indeed different. People who should meet can always meet each other at the right time and at the right place. They can hear what they want to hear, say what they want to say, and share. Different happy stories.
This can add a festive atmosphere to the New Year, and can also set a stage for reunion next year.
Vietnamese celebrate the Spring Festival: glutinous rice and bean paste New Year rice dumplings
Vietnam is one of the few countries in the world that uses the lunar calendar, and it is also one of the few countries where the whole country celebrates the Spring Festival.
The Spring Festival is the largest and most lively traditional festival in Vietnam. Vietnamese people regard the Spring Festival as a day to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. They usually start selling New Year goods in mid-December of the lunar calendar to prepare for the New Year. Historically, the most indispensable items during the Vietnamese Spring Festival are probably flowers, rice dumplings, Spring Festival couplets, and firecrackers.
The flower market is one of the important activities during the Vietnamese Spring Festival. For example, in Hanoi, the flower market starts to get busy about 10 days before the Spring Festival. Vietnamese people’s favorite New Year flowers include gladiolus, dahlia, kumquat and peach blossom. In addition to flowers and bonsais, the flower market also sells various balloons, lanterns, toys, New Year pictures, Spring Festival couplets, calendars, etc., decorating several connected streets with colorful and joyful colors.
Make New Year rice dumplings with glutinous rice, pork and mung bean paste
Vietnamese people also have the habit of posting Spring Festival couplets during the Spring Festival. In the past, Spring Festival couplets were written in Chinese characters. After the pinyinization of the characters, most Spring Festival couplets are now written in Pinyin. Each Pinyin character is a square and has its own style.
In addition, Vietnamese people also like to paste the words "福" and "西西" and the images of blessing, fortune and longevity on their homes, as well as various traditional New Year pictures to express their best wishes and blessings for the new year. yearn for.
Local Chinese people must celebrate the Spring Festival with rice cakes and other foods, and the Vietnamese are no exception. Among them, the most national characteristics are New Year rice dumplings and glutinous rice cakes.
The making of New Year’s rice dumplings is the same as the rice dumplings we eat, but Vietnamese New Year’s rice dumplings are square and much larger. They are usually made of 200 grams of glutinous rice, with 200 grams of pork and 150 grams of mung bean paste wrapped in the middle. Wrapped in banana leaves. Legend has it that the New Year rice dumpling symbolizes the earth, the green color shows the vitality, and the pork and mung bean paste represent the birds, animals and vegetation.
In the past, Vietnamese people also set off firecrackers during the Chinese New Year, but since 1995, the Vietnamese government has banned private people from setting off fireworks during the Spring Festival.
Chinese people have the custom of staying up late on New Year’s Eve, and so do Vietnamese. On New Year's Eve, people put on festive costumes and flocked to the streets. Young women also wore Vietnamese cheongsam. At zero o'clock, when the radio station broadcasts the Spring Festival speech of the national leader, the festive atmosphere reaches its climax. Later, people picked a branch to take home. This custom is called "picking green". In Vietnamese, "green" and "lu" have the same pronunciation. "Cai Lv" means "Cai Lu", which means bringing good luck home.
The first guest in the New Year will bring good luck
Vietnamese people usually take a few days off during the Spring Festival, and they also have the custom of visiting relatives and friends’ homes for New Year greetings. The first guest to visit the home for New Year greetings is particularly valued as it is said that he will bring good luck to the host. The Vietnamese call it "Chongjia" or "Chongdi", and its meaning is close to "Chongxi". Therefore, Vietnamese people usually invite their closest and most respected friends as the first guests in the New Year.
In addition to visits between relatives and friends, during the New Year period, various cultural and entertainment activities are held in streets, parks and public entertainment venues across Vietnam for several days, including performances of traditional Vietnamese dramas, songs and dances, acrobatics, martial arts, wrestling, There are lion dances, swings, human chess, cockfighting, bird fighting and other folk activities. The whole of Vietnam is immersed in a festive atmosphere.
Celebrating the Spring Festival in Singapore: Strong Southeast Asian Characteristics
The Lunar New Year is approaching. In Singapore, where nearly 80% of the Chinese population is Chinese, it is undoubtedly the most important and atmospheric festival of the year. As soon as Christmas is over, the streets, alleys and business districts are dressed in traditional Chinese New Year costumes. Red lanterns of all sizes are hung high, and New Year pictures are put up. The atmosphere is full of joy. There is an endless stream of people buying New Year’s goods in various traditional Chinese shops in Chinatown, and traditional New Year songs are played in the streets and alleys. It’s so lively!
List of Chinese New Year Celebrations
Chinatown Lunar New Year Lighting Celebration: From January 15 to February 28, there will be more than 400 Chinese New Year Markets in the bustling Chinatown New Year goods stalls sell a variety of festive gifts. Buy new year goods here and feel the rich Spring Festival atmosphere! Don’t miss the countdown carnival on New Year’s Eve on February 8, and join the locals in celebrating the new Year of the Rooster!
Spring comes to the riverside to welcome the New Year: From February 7th to February 23rd, Spring comes to the riverside to welcome the New Year. It is a grand carnival to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, and have fun with the whole family! The annual program is exciting, rich and all-encompassing, lasting for more than 10 days.
Qisi Dream Chingay Parade: Preview at 7:00 pm on February 18th, official parade at 7:30 pm on February 19th. Now in its 33rd year, the "Chingysi Dream Parade" brings together carefully designed float parades, gorgeous costumes, amazing martial arts performances, and graceful dance moves by dancers every year!
Sentosa Flower Festival 2005: From February 9th to 20th, don’t miss the Flower Festival held at Sentosa Fountain Garden! The colorful flowers and tropical natural plants are rare for you to see.
Spring is here: From January 13 to February 23, performers and handicraft masters from all over China will bring you a series of exciting programs at Raffles City Shopping Mall. This one-month event allows you to enjoy exquisite performances of music, dance and acrobatics that combine traditional Chinese culture with modern styles.
A must-try Southeast Asian food
Hainanese chicken rice: steamed tender chicken and rice cooked in chicken broth. Laksa: coconut milk curry sauce with thick rice noodles, shrimps, eggs, shredded chicken and raw clams.
Stir-fried vermicelli: wide white vermicelli stir-fried with dark sweet sauce, bean sprouts, fish cakes, Chinese sausage and raw clams.
Hokkien Prawn Noodles: thin noodles, shrimps, cuttlefish slices and pork stir-fried together. Indian pie: a pie filled with beef or mutton and eaten with curry sauce.
Curry fish head: The large fish head is cooked with vegetables and curry powder, and eaten with rice. It is sweet and appetizing. If paired with a glass of frozen lemon juice, it will be even more unforgettable!
Satay: BBQ meat skewers, ingredients include Malay rice dumplings and cucumbers, dipped in spicy peanut sauce.
Luo Za: Local salad, including fruits and vegetables, such as cucumber, bean sprouts, pineapple, white radish, dried tofu and even mango and cuttlefish.
Nyonya cake: a dessert that combines Chinese and Malay traditions and is famous for its color, flavor and flavor. It is made of glutinous rice, cassava, pandan leaves and various tropical fruits such as banana, durian and coconut.
Chili Crab: A delicious seafood cooked with thick tomato curry sauce and hard-shell crab. You can do as the Romans do and eat it boldly by dipping the white bread in the chili sauce with your hands. It is so delicious that you will suck your fingers.
“Yu Sheng” is another must-try Chinese New Year delicacy. Fresh sashimi is served with an appetizing Chinese salad mixed with a variety of vegetables, sesame seeds, crispy nuts and other ingredients.
A must-visit market
Chinatown New Year Market: Shopping experts, please go! The New Year’s market with local characteristics, cheap prices and good quality will let you feel the stronger New Year atmosphere!
New Year Special Price Market: From January 28 to February 8, from 5pm to 10pm, at the junction of Lorong Aso and Hougang Road, the bustle of Aljunied-Kengwangan District The Spring Festival atmosphere is like a condensed version of Chinatown! The place is full of attractive bright lights and rich cultural performances.
Arbor Center Garden Party 2005: From January 26th to February 8th and from February 12th to March 13th, Singapore’s largest garden event will bloom for you! Whether it’s artificial flowers or garden planting tools, you can find them all in this garden, not to mention the fragrant and gorgeous flowers that fill the garden!
Esplanade Huayi Festival: From February 11th to 20th, the Huayi Festival, entering its third year, will present you with outstanding modern and traditional art performances from the Chinese art world. You can enjoy classical Let Huayi take you into an unforgettable artistic realm with the superb skills of guitarist Yang Xuefei, or watch the dance performances of the Sunway Dance Company from New York.
Orchard Road, a shopping paradise: For tourists who love fashion brands, Orchard Road is the shopping paradise you have been waiting for! Shopping malls such as Centrepoint, Takashimaya, Paragon or Wisma Plaza, and department stores such as Isetan, Metro or Lawson, can easily satisfy your desires and allow you to enjoy shopping!
A must-see attraction
Jurong Bird Park: Why not take advantage of the Chinese New Year to visit the largest and most famous bird park in Southeast Asia? After watching the wonderful bird show and visiting the park, you can enjoy the must-try "Yu Sang" meal at FlamingoCafe with your family and friends!
Singapore Zoo: "Axing" the gorilla, the auspicious representative of the zoo that everyone loves, will warmly welcome you with its long arms! Just five minutes away, you can visit the world's most prestigious and world-first Night Safari. Step into the dense tropical forest, spy on nocturnal wildlife, and experience thrilling experiences!
Asian Civilizations Museum New Year Celebration: The Asian Civilizations Museum is a place suitable for the whole family to celebrate the Spring Festival! Here you can make red packet envelopes and lanterns with your hands, and watch a hilarious puppet show.
Japanese New Year custom: Buying lucky bags to bring good luck
Japan: The Spring Festival was the most grand festival in Japan in the past. Every family decorated their houses with pines and cypresses, and the whole family gathered around the stove to stay up on New Year's Eve. At midnight, the temple bells rang 108 times, and the next day they wished each other happy New Year.
In Japan, there is a product called "lucky bag" during the New Year. The so-called lucky bag is an opaque bag containing goods. There are many kinds of lucky bags, including cosmetics, clothing, daily necessities, electrical appliances, anything that can be put into the bag. Prices range from 1,000 yen to tens of thousands of yen. Due to their popularity, lucky bags often begin pre-sale years ago.
They are also commodities, so why are lucky bags so popular? It turns out that lucky bags are very valuable. In a lucky bag worth 1,000 yen, there are often three or four items priced around 1,000 yen. Sometimes, in a lucky bag worth 20,000 yen, there may be a digital camera worth 30,000 to 40,000 yen. . In this way, buying lucky bags gives people the feeling of winning a big prize in the New Year. Of course, there are only a handful of such value-for-money lucky bags, but when they think about the possibility of winning the jackpot and at least being worth their money, consumers will naturally rush to buy them.
For merchants, this sales method has a much different effect than ordinary promotions. In general promotions, consumers come to purchase goods, and it is up to the consumer to decide how many items to buy. However, the items in the lucky bags are invisible and merchants can freely match them. For consumers, lucky bags are of high quality and low price. It is said that few Japanese women can resist the temptation of lucky bags, and the name of the lucky bag is also very attractive.
During the Chinese New Year, who doesn’t want to go home with blessings?