Besides China, which countries also celebrate the Spring Festival? What are the similarities and differences between customs?
The annual Spring Festival brings a festive atmosphere to China. Perhaps what many people don't know is that the Spring Festival is not only a traditional festival for China people, but also one of the important festivals in some neighboring countries of China. The origin of celebrating the Spring Festival in these countries is either influenced by the strong China culture in history or has a large Chinese population.
Customs of various countries:
South Korea
The festivals in Korea are basically the same as those in Han nationality. The main festivals in a year are Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. At the same time, Korea is a very traditional country. Koreans have always maintained the custom of greeting the New Year with the lunar calendar. China's Spring Festival is also one of the biggest traditional festivals in Korea. On New Year's Eve, the whole family stayed up all night, and the ancient music of gayageum and Dong Xiao brought people to a new level. Now, the Spring Festival has also been given a new meaning by modern people, that is, to free people from the tense rhythm of urban life for a while and get a moment of peace and happiness. Therefore, no matter where you go to Korea during the Spring Festival, it will be filled with a happy and peaceful atmosphere.
Paying New Year greetings is the most important custom in Korean Spring Festival. Nowadays, most people are used to wearing suits, but during the Spring Festival (the first day of the first lunar month), many people still like to wear traditional national costumes. Early in the morning, people put on national costumes to pay New Year greetings to each other. If children come to pay New Year's greetings, they should give lucky money. If you are an adult, you should treat each other with wine and food. The most interesting custom on the first night of the first lunar month is to catch "luminous ghosts". It is said that on this day, "luminous ghosts" wander from house to house, try on everyone's shoes and take them away if they fit. Anyone who loses his shoes on this night can imagine his luck. Therefore, on this night, most people put their shoes in the back room, turn off the lights and go to bed early, and even put a sieve or basket on the post or gate, because the "luminous ghost" has the habit of counting everything. When the "luminous ghost" sees a sieve or basket, it will count the meshes on it, and it will light up after counting.
In addition to the Spring Festival, Koreans also celebrate the Lantern Festival, but they call the fifteenth day of the first month "Shangyuan" and "King's Day". On this day, we should go on a diet, eat five kinds of five-grain rice cooked with more than five kinds of grains and pray for a bumper harvest. The most representative folk games on the fifteenth day of the first month are releasing mice and flying kites. Setting fire to rats means burning weeds on the ridge of the field on the fifteenth night of the first month to drive away ghosts and welcome the spring. On this day, most of the kites released hang banners of "Go to misfortune and welcome happiness". When the sun goes down, people will break the silk thread and fly kites, so that disasters can fly away with kites.
It is hard to believe that South Korea also has the Spring Festival travel rush peak, which often causes traffic jams. In Spring Festival travel rush in 2003, 30 million Koreans moved, and expressway, railway stations and passenger stations were crowded.
North Korea; South Korea
In recent years, North Korea has also begun to celebrate the New Year according to the old calendar, exchanging New Year greetings and giving red envelopes to children. North Koreans attribute all this to leader Kim Jong Il, who believes that this is the greatest favor that Kim Jong Il has given to the people. The North Korean media stressed in the report that "according to the instructions of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the Lunar New Year is a folk festival in North Korea, and every household should celebrate the New Year happily". In fact, North Korea and China have many similarities in celebrating the Spring Festival. On the first day of the new year, they pay New Year greetings to the elderly, while the children wear new clothes and get red envelopes. However, the only difference is that they don't need a ride home for a reunion dinner, and they don't have to endure the pain of traffic jams, because North Korea sends New Year greetings to relatives and friends by writing letters or cards. North Korean men think that the Spring Festival is a "drinking festival", where relatives and friends get together and have a good drink. On the other hand, women will wear traditional hanbok. In addition, North Korea also held some folk celebrations.
Viet Nam
Due to the profound influence of the strong Chinese culture in history, Vietnam is one of the few countries in the world that use the Lunar New Year, and it is also one of the few countries that celebrate the Spring Festival nationwide. The Spring Festival is also the largest and most lively traditional festival among Vietnamese people. Vietnamese regard the Spring Festival as a day to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Generally, preparations for the Spring Festival begin in the middle of February of the 65438+ lunar calendar. In the past, flowers, Chinese New Year's jiaozi, Spring Festival couplets and firecrackers were probably the most indispensable things for Vietnamese Spring Festival. On the eve of the Spring Festival every year, many Vietnamese people go to the border cities of China to buy Spring Festival couplets and other new year's goods with strong Spring Festival characteristics. In Vietnam, the flower market is one of the important activities of the Vietnamese Spring Festival. For example, in Hanoi, the flower market began to be lively about 10 days before the Spring Festival. Vietnamese favorite annual flowers are gladiolus, dahlia, kumquat and peach blossom. In addition to flowers and bonsai, the flower market also sells all kinds of balloons, colored lights, toys, New Year pictures, Spring Festival couplets, calendars and so on. , make the connected streets colorful and jubilant. Vietnamese also have the habit of posting Spring Festival couplets during the Spring Festival. In the past, Spring Festival couplets were written in Chinese characters, but now most Spring Festival couplets are written in pinyin, and each pinyin word is a square with its own style. In addition, Vietnamese people also like to paste the words "Fu" and "Xi" and the images of Fu, Lu and Shouxing at home, as well as various traditional New Year pictures to express their good wishes and yearning for the New Year.
Vietnamese people take a few days off as usual during the Spring Festival, and also have the custom of visiting relatives and friends. The first visitor to pay New Year's greetings is especially valued. It is said that he will bring good luck to his master. Vietnamese people call it "rushing home" or "rushing to the ground", meaning close to "rushing to happiness". Therefore, Vietnamese usually invite their closest and most respected friends as the first guests of the Spring Festival. In addition to mutual visits between relatives and friends, during the Spring Festival, streets, parks and public places of entertainment throughout Vietnam held various entertainment activities for several days, performing traditional Vietnamese dramas, songs and dances, acrobatics, martial arts, wrestling and lion dancing, as well as folk activities such as swinging, playing chess, fighting cocks and shooting birds. The whole of Vietnam is immersed in the festive atmosphere.
Malaysia
There are many Chinese, and the Spring Festival is also an important festival in Malaysia, although it is mainly celebrated by Chinese. On New Year's Eve, the whole family has a reunion dinner together, so we can't sweep the floor on the first day of the New Year's Day. People who believe in God should be vegetarian on New Year's Day. Moreover, on the first day of New Year's Day, people usually stay at home to receive New Year greetings from compatriots of other ethnic groups, such as Malays and Indians, and do not visit relatives and friends until the next day. After the third and fourth grades, there began to be various opera performances. There will also be collective worship in Kuala Lumpur, the capital.
Another interesting traditional activity is that on the 15th day of the first month, unmarried men and women throw apples at women and love women men throw oranges. I hope I can find a Mr. Right or a gentle girl in the future.
Singapore
Chinese account for more than two-thirds of Singapore's total population, so it goes without saying that the Spring Festival is the most important festival in Singapore. On the eve of the Spring Festival in 2004, AC Nielsen conducted a telephone interview with more than 0/000 adults in Singapore/KLOC, and found that 37% of Singaporeans said that Lunar New Year was their favorite holiday. Christmas is the favorite holiday of 24% Singaporeans, ranking second. The survey also found that older Singaporeans, that is, people over the age of 30 and those blue-collar workers, said they prefer the Lunar New Year, while young people, students, professionals and white-collar workers aged 65,438+05 to 29 prefer Christmas.
Chinese Singaporeans celebrate the New Year just like people in China. Just after the New Year, people began to buy new year's goods and new clothes, especially all kinds of red clothes, for good luck. Clean the house before the Spring Festival and spend the coming year quietly. On New Year's Eve, the most important thing is to have a reunion dinner. Many families eat hot pot, and all scattered family members should get together as much as possible on New Year's Eve. The children didn't go to bed until midnight to welcome the New Year, thinking that it would prolong their life.
Singaporeans have other customs to celebrate the Spring Festival. For example, people usually invite a lion dance team composed of students to perform at home. When gongs and drums ring and the lion dances, it will drive away bad luck and usher in good luck. Chinese Singaporeans exchange "red envelopes", hang red flags and eat fish to show their faith. Eating fish in the New Year means good luck. Fish and vegetables are placed in a disk, sprinkled with pepper and seasoning, and all kinds of ingredients are stirred up with chopsticks. It is said that this move symbolizes wealth and luck in the future career. The happiness of Chinese in Singapore includes four aspects, namely, luck, wealth, peace and longevity. China people believe that peace, longevity and prosperity can be achieved through subjective efforts, but luck is unknown, so most China people put a word "Fu" on the red background and gold at home. Bats flying with wings are often printed on New Year cards because bats have the homonym of "blessing". Another word for luck is "Ji", and "orange" is homophonic with "Ji". It can be seen that local Chinese are used to eating oranges during the Spring Festival. There is also a plate of apples painted on the New Year card, which means "peace". Lotus also has the meaning of "peace", in addition, it also has the meaning of cleanliness, because it is muddy but not stained. There are many other symbols, such as bamboo symbolizing civilization, strength and learning; Plum blossom, the flower of the New Year. "Fish" and "fish" in China are the same word, so some New Year cards are printed with goldfish swimming in the lotus pond.
the Philippines
The Philippines also has a large number of Chinese. For a long time, Chinese and overseas Chinese have celebrated the Spring Festival. After a long time, this custom has also affected the whole society. On June 65438+1October 65438+April, 2004, Philippine President Arroyo declared the Spring Festival a national "working holiday" in recognition of Chinese contributions to Philippine society. She also instructed government officials to cooperate with Manila city government to organize a series of activities to celebrate the Spring Festival. When Arroyo announced this decision, she specially put on the red cheongsam that she wore when taking photos with other leaders at the 200 1 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Shanghai to attend the luncheon, so as to narrow the distance with China people. She said, "Because the Spring Festival is coming, I put on this suit especially." 65438+1October 2 1 On New Year's Eve, Arroyo also went to the incense-filled Xinyi Temple in Manila to listen to the New Year bell, put on the "head incense" with the Chinese, prayed for good luck in the Year of the Monkey, and won re-election in the presidential election last May.
Thailand
During the Spring Festival in 2004, Queen Sirikit and Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand went to Chinatown in Bangkok to celebrate the Spring Festival with overseas Chinese in Thailand. A grand Spring Festival celebration was also held at Yaohuali Road in Bangkok's Chinatown. 1On the afternoon of October 22nd, Queen Sirikit and Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand went to Chinatown to celebrate with the people. In front of the Chongsheng archway at the entrance to Chinatown, Queen Sirikit and her party watched with great interest the wonderful performance of the China Art Troupe, which is visiting Thailand. In a Chinese hospital in Chinatown, the Queen personally unveiled the hospital100th anniversary archway. The Queen and her party then visited a Chinese-run gold shop and went to Chinatown to establish Longlian Temple, the earliest temple in China, to worship Buddha and become a monk.
Japan
In Japanese eyes, Spring Festival is one of the most important festivals in a year. Years ago, almost every household decorated their doorways with bamboo leaves, pine branches, straw ropes and white paper strings. Pine and bamboo represent evergreen, and white paper strings represent purification and ward off evil spirits. In Zhonghua Street in Yokohama and Nanjing Town in Kobe, the two largest Chinese streets in the world, the grand celebration of the Spring Festival usually lasts for nearly a month. These various traditional activities, such as roller boating, walking on stilts and lion dancing, are as lively as temple fairs in China.
China's culture, especially the Spring Festival, has been gradually absorbed by countries all over the world, so it will surely become a worldwide festival before long! ! !