1. Lettuce Offering. Actually, it doesn’t just have to be lettuce. What you’ll often find hanging from the doorway of a business or home can be any type of green produce, including lettuce or bok choy. Traditions and Recipes for a Chinese New Year Celebration. Bring Good Fortune to the New Year with This Homemade Chinese Dragon. Mooncakes and More! Celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival! Celebrating Family at the Obon Festival in Japan! 6 Unique New Year’s Traditions from around the World. Make Your Own Red Envelope. Homegrown: How to Plant a Beyond the stage, during the Chinese New Year, lion dance troupes embark on a customary journey, visiting homes and shops within the Asian community for the ritual of “cai qing” (採青), translating to plucking the greens.” Here, the lion engages with auspicious green lettuce, often hung on a pole or placed on a table, symbolizing fortune. Dragon, lion dance, eating lettuce (wishing for luck in Chinese) and firecrackers are an integral part of the Chinese New Year celebration. This celebration Danny Quon, the Dragon and Lion Dance Director with the Hon Hsing Athletic Club of Vancouver, explains this is a tradition that goes back at least hundreds of years. "It's basically an offering to the lion when the lion comes to the house or the store," he says, as lettuce is symbolic food for the lion. The word for lettuce in Cantonese is choy. Choy cheng in Chinese basically means “plucking the greens”. The greens in a lion dance are a physical head of lettuce. However, the symbolism goes far behind some discount produce you can find at Costco. The Chinese language is full of puns and wordplay, especially when it comes to things like good luck, wealth, and happiness. Unveiling the Meaning Behind Red Envelopes and Heads of Lettuce in Chinese New Year Traditions. Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is a time of celebration and tradition for many Asian cultures. One of the most popular customs during this festive time is the giving and receiving of red envelopes and heads of lettuce. "To prevent him from badmouthing their house, people offered nian gao, which would stick his mouth shut. Hence, nian gao is prepared for offering before Chinese New Year." 10. Leafy Greens: For Wealth During Chinese New Year, you may notice the sounds of drums and firecrackers as lion dancers “pluck the greens” to bring good fortune to local shops. In this custom, lion dancers root through lettuce and other green vegetables placed in front of businesses searching for their reward, a red envelope with money inside. The lion dance is a traditional performance in Hong Kong and many Asian countries, and is popular during Lunar New Year and events like business openings. With the global spread of the Chinese diaspora, lion dances are now a common sight in Chinatowns worldwide, celebrating culture and tradition with vibrant performances. Mark your calendars and visit Eldon Square on the 25 January for an incredible performance by Edmund NG’s Choi Lee fut kung fu Lion and Dragon club. The Lion Dance is a tradition performed at Chinese New Year celebrations all over the world. The lion dance is usually performed at Chinese traditional festivals such as Chinese New Year or important occasions such as business opening events. Chinese Lion Dance The Symbol of Lion Dance. Known as the king of all animals, the lion symbolizes power. As China is generally free from lion infestation, the lion has a good impression on 2016 marks the Year of the monkey but at many Chinese New Year's celebrations the dragon and lions will be taking centre stage. Feed the lion lettuce. One year, a lion defeated and chased the During Chinese New Year, it’s thought that the longer the dragon, the more luck (and, historically, the more rain for the upcoming harvest season) will be brought to the community. ADVERTISEMENT To spot the dragon dance, watch for a large team of dancers who maneuver a long, serpentine body held aloft on poles with a dragon head and tail at The lion eats the lettuce and the packet, then scatters leaves around the street as a symbol of good luck in the New Year. Dragon dances are slightly different. All over the world at New Year, dancers dress as a dragon and dance through the streets, spreading good luck. The longer the dragon (the more dancers it has), the luckier it will be. During the Chinese New Year, Lion dance troupes may visit the houses and shops of the Asian community to perform the traditional custom of "cai qing" (採青), literally meaning "plucking the greens", whereby the lion plucks the auspicious green lettuce either hung on a pole or placed on a table in front of the premises. 5. What does the dragon represent in the New Year parade? Reveal Answer Good luck 6. Which flower symbolizes rebirth and new beginnings? Reveal Answer Plum blossom 7. What is the significance of red envelopes? Reveal Answer To transfer luck and wishes 8. What is another name for Chinese New Year? Reveal Answer Spring Festival 9. Brief Guide to Lion Dance & Dragon Dance 18th of February, 2014 0 Comments Post by: Admin; There are a lot of different celebrations for Chinese New Year. On the streets of Hong Kong during Chinese New Year, you may have seen lions and dragons dancing to clanging gongs and beating drums as part of the new year celebrations. Lunar New Year may be called different names in different East Asian countries and communities, but it is celebrated on the same date (and surrounding days) with similar celebrations. China. In China, Lunar New Year is known as Chinese New Year or in Chinese 'Spring Festival' (Chunjie). The celebrations traditionally last for 16 days, beginning However, the Chinese New Year firecrackers and fireworks that are symbols of Chinese New Year have a different meaning than those for other holidays. It is believed that the loud noises and the flashes of light from both firecrackers and fireworks could scare away evil spirits and usher in good fortune.
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