HendryTan Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 “人日”亦称“人胜节”、“人庆节”、“人口日”、“人七日”等。传说女蜗初创世，在造出了鸡狗猪牛马等动物后，于第七天造出了人，所以这一天是人类的生日。汉朝开始有人日节俗，魏晋后开始重视。古代人日有戴“人胜”的习俗，人胜是一种头饰，又叫彩胜，华胜，从晋朝开始有剪彩为花、剪彩为人，或镂金箔为人来贴屏风，也戴在头发上。此外还有登高赋诗的习俗。唐代之后，更重视这个节日。每至人日，皇帝赐群臣彩缕人胜，又登高大宴群臣。如果正月初七天气晴朗，则主一年人口平安，出入顺利。 Above from http://baike.baidu.com/view/6472.htm Below from http://en.wikipedia....hinese_New_Year First day The first day is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth, officially beginning at midnight. Many people, especially Buddhists, abstain from meat consumption on the first day because it is believed that this will ensure longevity for them. Some consider lighting fires and using knives to be bad luck on New Year's Day, so all food to be consumed is cooked the days before. On this day, it is considered bad luck to clean. Most importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time to honor one's elders and families visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended families, usually their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. For Buddhists, the first day is also the birthday of Maitreya Bodhisattva (better known as the more familiar Budai Luohan), the Buddha-to-be. People also abstain from killing animals. Some families may invite a lion dance troupe as a symbolic ritual to usher in the Chinese New Year as well as to evict bad spirits from the premises. Members of the family who are married also give red envelopes containing cash to junior members of the family, mostly children and teenagers. Business managers also give bonuses through red envelopes to employees for good luck and wealth. While fireworks and firecrackers are traditionally very popular, some regions have banned them due to concerns over fire hazards, which have resulted in increased number of fires around New Years and challenged municipal fire departments' work capacity. For this reason, various city governments (e.g., Hong Kong, and Beijing, for a number of years) issued bans over fireworks and firecrackers in certain premises of the city. As a substitute, large-scale fireworks have been launched by governments in such cities as Hong Kong. Second day Incense is burned at the graves of ancestors as part of the offering and prayer ritual. The second day of the Chinese New Year, known as kāinián (开年, "beginning of the year")[16], was when married daughters visited their birth parents, relatives and close friends. (Traditionally, married daughters didn't have the opportunity to visit their birth families frequently.) It is also the God of Wealth's birthday. During the days of imperial China, "beggars and other unemployed people circulate[d] from family to family, carrying a picture [of the God of Wealth] shouting, "Cai Shen dao!" [The God of Wealth has come!]." Householders would respond with "lucky money" to reward the messengers. Business people of the Cantonese dialect group will hold a 'Hoi Nin' prayer to start their business on the 2nd day of Chinese New Year so they will be blessed with good luck and prosperity in their business for the year. Some believe that the second day is also the birthday of all dogs and remember them with special treats. Third day The third day is known as Chìkǒu (赤口), directly translated as "red mouth". Chìkǒu is also called Chìgǒurì (赤狗日). Chìgǒu means "the God of Blazing Wrath" (熛怒之神). It is generally accepted that it is not a good day to socialize or visit your relatives and friends. Hakka villagers in rural Hong Kong in the 1960s called it the Day of the Poor Devil and believed everyone should stay at home. This is also considered a propitious day to visit the temple of the God of Wealth and have one's future told. Fourth day In those communities that celebrate Chinese New Year for only two or three days, the fourth day is when corporate "spring dinners" kick off and business returns to normal. Fifth day In northern Mainland China, people eat jiǎozi (simplified Chinese: 饺子; traditional Chinese: 餃子), or dumplings on the morning of Pòwǔ (破五). In Taiwan, businesses traditionally re-open on the next day (the sixth day), accompanied by firecrackers. It is also common in China that on the 5th day people will shoot off firecrackers in the attempt to get Guan Yu's attention, thus ensuring his favor and good fortune for the new year.[citation needed] Seventh day The seventh day, traditionally known as Rénrì (人日, the common man's birthday), the day when everyone grows one year older. In some overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Singapore, it is also the day when tossed raw fish salad, yusheng, is eaten for continued wealth and prosperity. For many Chinese Buddhists, this is another day to avoid meat, the seventh day commemorating the birth of Sakra, lord of the devas in Buddhist cosmology who is analogous to the Jade Emperor. Chinese New Year's celebrations, on the eighth day, in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Eighth day Another family dinner is held to celebrate the eve of the birth of the Jade Emperor. However, everybody should be back to work by the eighth day. All government agencies and business will stop celebrating by the eighth day. Store owners will host a lunch/dinner with their employees, thanking their employees for the work they have done for the whole year. Ninth day The ninth day of the New Year is a day for Chinese to offer prayers to the Jade Emperor of Heaven (天公, Tiāngōng) in the Daoist Pantheon. The ninth day is traditionally the birthday of the Jade Emperor. This day is especially important to Hokkiens. Come midnight of the eighth day of the new year, Hokkiens will offer thanks giving prayers to the Emperor of Heaven. Offerings will include sugarcane as it was the sugarcane that had protected the Hokkiens from certain extermination generations ago. Incense, tea, fruit, vegetarian food or roast pig, and gold paper is served as a customary protocol for paying respect to an honored person. Tenth day The Jade Emperor's party is also celebrated on this day. Eleventh through twelfth day Nothing of extreme significance traditionally takes place during the eleventh and twelfth days. Thirteenth day On the 13th day people will eat pure vegetarian food to clean out their stomach due to consuming too much food over the last two weeks. This day is dedicated to the General Guan Yu, also known as the Chinese God of War. Guan Yu was born in the Han dynasty and is considered the greatest general in Chinese history. He represents loyalty, strength, truth, and justice. According to history, he was tricked by the enemy and was beheaded. Almost every organization and business in China will pray to Guan Yu on this day. Before his life ended, Guan Yu had won over one hundred battles and that is a goal that all businesses in China want to accomplish. In a way, people look at him as the God of Wealth or the God of Success. Fifteenth day The fifteenth day of the new year is celebrated as Yuanxiao Festival/Yuánxiāojié (元宵节), aka Shangyuan Festival/Shàngyuánjié (上元节) or the Lantern Festival (otherwise known as Chap Goh Mei Chinese: 十五暝; pinyin: Shíwǔmíng; literally "the fifteen night" in Fujian dialect). Rice dumplings tangyuan (simplified Chinese: 汤圆; traditional Chinese: 湯圓; pinyin: tāngyuán), a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, are eaten this day. Candles are lit outside houses as a way to guide wayward spirits home. This day is celebrated as the Lantern Festival, and families walk the street carrying lighted lanterns. In Malaysia and Singapore, this day is celebrated by individuals seeking for a love partner, a different version of Valentine's Day. Normally, single women would write their contact number on mandarin oranges and throw it in a river or a lake while single men would collect them and eat the oranges. The taste is an indication of their possible love: sweet represents a good fate while sour represents a bad fate. This day often marks the end of the Chinese New Year festivities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qedcwc Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 HUAT AH!!! "You like who you like lah. Who cares if someone likes the other someone because of their race? It's when they hate them. That's the problem."Orked (acted by Sharifah Amani) in SEPET (2004, directed by Yasmin Ahmad) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qedcwc Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Ren Ri have to eat tang yuan right?Gonzo, pls read thoroughly what HendryTan posted above. "You like who you like lah. Who cares if someone likes the other someone because of their race? It's when they hate them. That's the problem."Orked (acted by Sharifah Amani) in SEPET (2004, directed by Yasmin Ahmad) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magicerife Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 hmm i know a dish whipped up from 7 different greens are typically served during ren ri. ---Dignity is a facade we wear to hide our ignorance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amicablyalan Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 happy birthday everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qedcwc Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) The Hokkiens are celebrating big tonight.Gonna welcome the Jade Emperor's birthday lor....I dun suppose there are any fireworks released on this island? Edited January 30, 2012 by qedcwc "You like who you like lah. Who cares if someone likes the other someone because of their race? It's when they hate them. That's the problem."Orked (acted by Sharifah Amani) in SEPET (2004, directed by Yasmin Ahmad) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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