呀碩 於 2008-02-24 09:18 PM 發表：

Setting Firecrackers and Fireworks

Regarded as the most exciting event, especially to children during the festival, setting firecrackers means biding farewell to the past year and welcoming the New Year. Fireworks have been popular for over 2,000 years, and have become a festival essential. When the clock announces the New Year, numerous households set off fireworks at almost the same time, creating a thunderous sound. Various multicolored fireworks are also displayed by official organizations. Today fireworks have become an indispensable part of celebrating grand festivals, of marriage, even of opening a new shop.

Paying New Year Visits

Paying New Year visits is a special way for people to express good wishes to each other. On the first day of the festival, in ancient times younger people had to salute the elderly by kowtowing; today they salute them by offering good wishes. In response, the older generation gives money wrapped in red paper. People also drop in at friends' houses, greeting one another with 'Happy New Year'. Recently, greetings sent by telephone or e-mail have become popular.

Eating Jiaozi

The indispensable food during spring festival is jiaozi. Made with flours and stuffed with different fillings, Jiaozi is usually eaten on New Year's Eve. Because its shape resembles the Chinese Yuanbao (a kind of money used in ancient times), eating jiaozi means wealth in the coming year. Also because different symbols for luck can be wrapped in them, great hope can be expressed. People wrap coins, candy, peanuts, or chestnuts in the jiaozi. People who eat one will be blessed with receiving different wishes, such as a coin for wealth, candy for sweet life, peanuts for health and longevity, and chestnuts for vigor.

Taboos

With good wishes cherished, people usually avoid unlucky behaviors during Spring Festival. Words like bad, dead, kill, ill, ache, etc. are not the welcome because people think bad things may happen if they say these words, and the whole year will be terrible. In addition, one should be careful when holding plates, cups and other fragile items. The jar holding rice must be full, and sweeping the floor is also strongly discouraged. In addition, hair cutting should be avoided until the second day of the second lunar month. Other taboos differ in different regions.

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呀碩 於 2008-02-24 09:17 PM 發表：

Spring Festival
Held on the first day of each year of the lunar calendar and lasting for weeks, the spring festival is regarded by the Chinese people as the grandest and most important annual festival, similar to Christmas Day for Occidental people. Originating during the Shang Dynasty (16th - 11th century BC), Spring Festival, which celebrates family reunion, is full of rich and colorful activities, and new hopes with the advent of spring and flowers blossoming. People from different regions and different ethnic groups celebrate it in their unique ways.
Spring Festival Traditions: During the period from the 23rd day of the previous lunar month to the event, every family does a thorough house cleaning and purchases enough food, including fish, meat, roasted nuts and seeds, all kinds of candies and fruits, etc, for the festival period. Also, new clothes must be bought, especially for children. Red scrolls with complementary poetic couplets, one line on each side of the gate, are pasted at every gate. The Chinese character 'Fu' is pasted on the center of the door and paper-cut pictures adorn windows. Everyone looks forward eagerly to the New Year.
On New Year's Eve, no matter where he is, every member will try his best to come back to enjoy the family reunion feast in which jiaozi in north China and niangao (a kind of sticky rice cake) in the south are the indispensable foods. Family members chat or watch special TV programs all night. To show respect for their ancestors, some families burn incense and prepare delicious food at home. Fireworks are set continuously, among which the midnight blasts are the most thunderous.
On the first day of Spring Festival, wearing their new clothes, people visit relatives and friends to extend New Year's greetings and invite them to visit. Next, people begin to visit their distant relatives. In cities and suburbs, colorful activities include Temple Fairs, Yangge dancing, and lion and dragon dancing.
The Spring Festival lasts until the Lantern Festival begins fifteen days later marking the end of the Chinese New Year. It is celebrated by Chinese people at home and abroad. Everyone immerses in the festive atmosphere, and exchanges wishes for a good harvest year.
Important Customs and Activities: Various customs and activities are handed down by Chinese people such as pasting Spring Festival scrolls, the character 'Fu', paper-cuts pictures, displaying firecrackers and fireworks, paying New Year visits, and eating jiaozi.
 Pasting Spring Festival Scrolls, Character 'Fu', and Paper-Cut Pictures
Originating during the Song dynasty (960 - 1279) and continuing through the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), creating spring scrolls or couplets is a special literary form characterized by concise, ingenious sentences to express people's wishes. A few days before the Spring Festival, people paste red scrolls with complementary poetic couplets with one line on each side of the gate to add festive atmosphere.
Pasting the Chinese Character 'Fu' is also a popular custom. Because 'Fu' in Chinese means 'Good Luck' or 'Happiness', by pasting this character on the center of the door, people show great hope to be happy. Nowadays, people like to paste it backward, for this means 'Fu' has come. Many beautiful design variations on the character 'Fu' can be found in markets and shopping malls.
Paper-cut is a famous Chinese traditional craft. During Spring Festival, people paste favorite paper cuts on windows not only for decoration and appreciation but also for delivering hope.

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怡"" 於 2008-02-24 01:04 PM 發表：

傑的:
festivalThe tradition of using a baby to signify the new year was begun in Greece around 600 BC. It was their tradition at that time to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth. Although the early Christians denounced the practice as pagan, the popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth forced the Church to reevaluate its position. The Church finally allowed its members to celebrate the new year with a baby, which was to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus. The use of an image of a baby with a New Years banner as a symbolic representation of the new year was brought to early America by the Germans. They had used the effigy since the fourteenth century.
FOR LUCK IN THE NEW YEAR
Traditionally, it was thought that one could affect the luck they would have throughout the coming year by what they did or ate on the first day of the year. For that reason, it has become common for folks to celebrate the first few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends. Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing in of a new year. It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring either good luck or bad luck the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that visitor happened to be a tall dark-haired man.Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune.
Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by consuming black-eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day. AULD LANG SYNE
The song, "Auld Lang Syne," playing in the background, is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700's, it was first published in 1796 after Burns' death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scotch tune, "Auld Lang Syne" literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days." The lyrics can be found here.

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怡"" 於 2008-02-24 01:03 PM 發表：

傑的:
festivalThe tradition of using a baby to signify the new year was begun in Greece around 600 BC. It was their tradition at that time to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth. Although the early Christians denounced the practice as pagan, the popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth forced the Church to reevaluate its position. The Church finally allowed its members to celebrate the new year with a baby, which was to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus. The use of an image of a baby with a New Years banner as a symbolic representation of the new year was brought to early America by the Germans. They had used the effigy since the fourteenth century.
FOR LUCK IN THE NEW YEAR
Traditionally, it was thought that one could affect the luck they would have throughout the coming year by what they did or ate on the first day of the year. For that reason, it has become common for folks to celebrate the first few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends. Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing in of a new year. It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring either good luck or bad luck the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that visitor happened to be a tall dark-haired man.Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune.
Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by consuming black-eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day. AULD LANG SYNE
The song, "Auld Lang Syne," playing in the background, is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700's, it was first published in 1796 after Burns' death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scotch tune, "Auld Lang Syne" literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days." The lyrics can be found here.

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phoenix1015 於 2008-02-22 09:22 PM 發表：

專題:Lantern Festival originLantern Festival is the traditional political integrity, this traditional festival, was relating in the ancient times with the Spring Festival. Lantern Festival acquiring fame, because its vulgar activity in one year first month (Yuan) 15 (night) holds day and night, therefore Is called the Lantern Festival. Lantern Festival also calls " Lantern Festival " , " Evening of the lantern festival " , because this holiday's major activity is the night puts the lamp, therefore. In addition, Lantern Festival also calls " First fullmoon " , " Lantern festival " , this is the view which borrows from Taoism. Lantern Festival is the folk multicolored holiday, is also the Spring Festival final one day, passed this day later all restore the habit, therefore the folk will celebrate warmly, will therefore have name of the little new year's.中文" 元宵節的起源元宵節是傳統的大節，這個傳統節日，在古代是同春節聯繫著的。元宵節的得名，因其節俗活動在一年的第一個月（元）的十五日夜（宵）舉行，故稱為元宵節。元宵節也叫"燈節"、"燈夕"，因為這個節日的主要活動是夜晚放燈，故名。此外，元宵節也叫"上元"、"上元節"，這是從道教借來的說法。元宵節是民間多彩多姿的節日，也是春節最後的一天，過了這天後一切恢復常態，所以民間會熱烈慶祝，故有小過年之稱。　

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