CELEBRATING THE NEW YEAR!
In Taiwanese style
En-Tzu Yang (Tamkang University)
In Taiwan, it is customary to celebrate the New Year in the January of the lunar calendar. Of course, we also greet the New Year happily with everyone else who goes by the solar calendar too – but for Chinese people, it is not really the New Year until January comes in the lunar calendar. Because the months are different in the two calendars, the lunar New Year takes place from around the end of January to the beginning of February in the solar calendar.
The most important thing about the New Year is considered to be how families that are scattered in various places go back to gather at their original home, to offer prayers to their ancestors, eat together, and so on. Special dishes of the season differ according to the region, but in many cases, the names of the dishes and ingredients have something to do with words of good luck. For example, the phrase 年年有餘 (niánnián yǒu yú) means that “Next year will also be a warm life (with ample wealth).” Also, 餘 (yú, meaning “surplus”) in Chinese has the same sound as 魚 (meaning “fish”), so it can be said that fish dishes are a standard of New Year’s cooking. In the old days, people generally cooked these dishes at home; but today, since eating out has become more convenient, there are more families that go to restaurants to eat New Year’s dishes or order them to be delivered to their homes.
Other indispensable elements to the New Year include firecrackers, gifts of money, and 春聯 (chūnlián, meaning “spring scrolls”). At New Year’s time, one can see the red spring scrolls and red decorations everywhere in the city. On top of that, there are the sounds of the firecrackers, which add to the bustling, lively atmosphere filling the air. Also, Chinese people have a habit of wearing new clothes for New Year’s, so there are many families that go shopping around this time. The reason why they buy new clothes is because, in the past, people did not have that much money to shop for new clothes at an ordinary time, and since it was the most valuable time of the year, they would wear new clothes to accompany the New Year. Moreover, wearing new clothes also has these meanings: “celebration of spring” and “avoiding bad things.”
In Japanese style
Ryohei Miyazawa (Faculty of Policy Studies)
First of all, I will explain about the Japanese New Year (お正月,o-shōgatsu). The first day of the year, in other words, January 1st, is called 元旦 (Gan-tan), and this is a national holiday. When we think of New Year, we get the impression that it only lasts until January 3rd, 三が日(Sanga-nichi), but actually, it lasts until January 31th.
Next, I will explain about the cultural traditions of the Japanese New Year. In Japan, we send postcards called 年賀状 (Nenga-jo) to friends or acquaintances – though in recent years, more and more people turn to e-mails or phonecalls instead of sending Nenga-jo. Also, it is usually a taboo to send Nenga-jo to families that are in mourning – meaning that someone died in the previous year.
Some famous games children play in the New Year are 羽子板 (Hago-ita, which is like ping-pong and badminton put together), 凧揚げ (Tako-age, kite-flying), かるた(Karuta, a type of cardgame) and 駒 (Koma, spinning top).
Another thing that many children look forward to is お年玉. Otoshi-dama is an envelope containing money given to children by older relatives, and this is a FABULOUS custom!
Finally, I will explain about traditional New Year dishes. The most famous one is お節. Osechi contains many dishes, and each dish has a special meaning. 黒豆(kuro-mame, black beans) is for living in a “mame” way (which means living sincerely). 数の子(kazu-no-ko, herring eggs) is for having many children (because it consists of lots of eggs). 鯛 (tai, sea bream) is for “mede-tai” (which means an occasion to celebrate). These are some examples that have unique Japanese humor, 駄洒落 (dajare).
This is a general explanation of Japanese New Year traditions. Everyone looks forward to this time of year.