The Chinese New Year comes. It is one of the traditional festivals in China and it is the most important one for Chinese without doubt. There are many activities to celebrate the Spring Festival, but some festivities in southern China differentiate from those in northern China.
I would like to take the food as an example. In the North, the biggest event of any Chinese New Year's Eve is the dinner which almost all the family members will have it together. The dishes consisting of fish and chicken will appear on the tables. Most importantly, it is customary to make dumplings after dinner and have it around midnight. Dumplings symbolize wealth because their shape is like a Chinese tael in ancient times.
In the contrary, in the South, it is customary to make a New Year cake, named Niangao, after dinner and send pieces of it as gifts to relatives and friends in the coming days of the New Year. Niangao literally means a better perspective in the New Year. After the dinner, some families go to local temples to pray for a prosperous new year by lighting the first incense of the year. However in modern practice, many households hold parties and even hold a countdown to the new lunar year.
Cross culture exists not only in disparate countries but also in just one country like China which is a typical multiracial nation. Although I cannot follow some of these festivities abroad, I will not forget it. At last, I want to give the best wishes for Chinese all over the world. Happy Chinese New Year!
It is very logical.Nevertheless,it is a bit boring.
ReplyDeleteYes, you are right, and these differences show the specialists of different cities
ReplyDeletehaha~~i never heard that people in the south of china celebrate chinese new year by making niangao.
ReplyDeletethat must be interesting!
hope i can have the chance to experience it myself!