Spring Festival The first day of the first month by the Chinese Lunar Calendar is Spring Festival, also known as Chinese New Year; it is the most important traditional holiday in China. Spring Festival dates back to four thousand years ago, originated in the Shang Dynasty. The year of 2011 was the Year of the Rabbit; due to my parents went to Bengal for missionary work, my uncle who lives in the countryside invited me to his house for Spring Festival this year. I didn’t like the idea at first because the countryside is known for its unsatisfying sanitary condition and the lack of air-conditioning. Contrary to my expectations, this Spring Festival was the most fun and memorable holiday I’ve ever experienced. During the fifteen days of Spring Festival I experienced many old traditions and customs; the activities were meaningful and had interesting stories behind them. January the 23rd was the coldest day before Spring Festival; however, my uncle, aunt, my cousin and I went to the market and bought special purchases for the Spring Festival despite of the awful weather. Among the goods we bought, the antithetical couplets are worth a mention; antithetical couplets are vertical written couplets of blessing words written with writing brush on red papers and placed along both sides of a doorway. Red is considered lucky color in China, and most stores were decorated in red during the holiday season. We saw many huge lanterns with the character “福” (means happiness and good fortune, pronounces as “fu”) printed on their surfaces were hung on the walls. There was a big country fair which sells festival goods such as nuts, seafood, decorations, and fire crackers. The people on the streets looked vivid and full of joy, cries of sellers in the streets can be heard and shoppers carrying all kinds of goods can be seen everywhere. My aunt and I were pushed in the people mountain people sea, my face was red because of the cold weather, but I didn’t mind because I was busy haggling over prices with the sellers. The sellers prepared many small gifts and free candies to attract buyers to come by, I saw some little kids sitting on their fathers shoulder with balloons in their hands, which reminded me of my childhood. There was a sweetness smell in the air; I think it was the smell of happiness because everybody was so cheerful for the holiday New Year’s Eve is extremely important to Chinese people because it is the last day of the year. Almost everyone makes an occasion of this day in order to see the old year out and welcome the new one. I was eager to see how people celebrate the New Year’s Eve in the countryside; people in the city are more westernized because of the fast pace of life, hence many traditions are preserved in the countryside. The New Year’s Eve in my uncle’s village has to go step by step according to the rules set by the ancestors, I was very excited to experience the very traditional New Year’s Eve with my uncle’s family. The first process was inviting the ancestors back home. I’ve heard about this tradition but due to my family’s Christian beliefs, I’ve never participated in ancestor worship. I watched my uncle from far away while he brought a bottle of rice wine and some incense papers to the cemetery where my grandparents were buried. My cousin lit a fire in front of the tomb with the incense papers and then spilled the rice wine around the fire. In my uncle’s village, people believe during the night before Spring Festival by performing this simple memorial ceremony for ancestors they can invite the spirits of the departed to come home and celebrate the holiday together. After we invited our ancestors’ spirits home, my aunt set up a memorial tablet for them in the drawing room. My cousin lit three incense sticks and stuck them in an incensory, bowed down before the memorial tablet. There is an old saying, “You cannot forget the traditions no matter where you are, for you are born and raised as a Chinese.” My uncle reminded me this. Even now I’m in America far away from China; I often think about what he said to me.
By now each family was busy slicing meat and cutting vegetables. The dinner on New Year's Eve supposed to be the most auspicious and sumptuous meal one can ever eat in the whole year. I helped my aunt cooked more than thirty delicious dishes; including steamed crabs and fish in brown sauce; both were my favorite dishes. All kinds of food with sharp aromas increased my appetite considerably. People were enjoying a full table of food, but also enjoyed the happiness of the atmosphere.
While we were eating, deafening noises of firecrackers came from far and near, and the lights of fireworks brightened the dark night. I ran out to the yard and looked upon the sky to see the fireworks. The sky was clear that night, even though it was already passed ten, the sky was very bright because of the fireworks. The beautiful fire flowers burst into bloom in the sky; happy laughers and cheerful voices interweaved and turned into a harmonious melody. One after another, fireworks explode in midair from every corner of the village. The burst of crackers filled our ears and the smell of gunpowder filled our noses, it almost feels like a contest to see whose fire crackers are the loudest. The ground was shaking because of the loud noises; my aunt and I were covering our ears up while watching my uncle lighting up the fireworks. That moment reminded me that when I was little my father did the same thing. There is a story about why people play firecrackers during Spring Festival. A long time ago there was a monster lived in the sea, every year on New Year's Eve it would come on land and eat humans. To scare the monster away, people invented firecrackers and lit firecrackers all night long on New Year's Eve. Since then the monster never showed up again. On New Year's Eve, people stay up till early in the morning, to bid farewell to the old year and usher in the coming year. The gala celebration for the Spring Festival was shown on every TV channel. People all over the country watched this show as an annual staple to the traditional Chinese Spring Festival. My uncle’s whole family made dumplings during the show. My aunt put a coin in one of the dumplings; it is said that whoever finds it among all the dumplings will make a fortune in the coming year. The first plate of dumplings were put in front of the memorial tablet; offered the first meal in a new year to the departed to show respect to our ancestors. The countdown to the stroke of midnight was the highlight of the night; as the clock turned to 12 AM, relatives and friends wished each other a happy and prosperous new year. I soon fell asleep after finishing my dumplings, because I needed to pay a New Year's visit to my relatives and friends in the morning.
When I woke up, I wished to my uncle, aunt and my cousin a happy New Year. My aunt gave me a red envelope with New Year gift-money inside. New Year gift-money is the money given to younger generations just like westerners exchange presents at Christmas. This used to be the main source of my income when I was a child. The next thing on the first day of Spring Festival is set off firecrackers. After the firecrackers exploded, a million pieces of red paper covered the ground, and the streets were full with a joyful atmosphere. As people were busy making New Year’s visits I heard “wishing you prosperity,” “hope everything goes on well,” and “May you find peace year after year,” over and over again.
Since this day, everyone is a year older. In such a happy event, people wear the best clothes and eat the most delicious food; say the best auspicious blessings and tell the happiest stories. Everything starts from perfection, everyone hopes for the best in life.