Asian new year history

Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in China. Tied to the Chinese lunar calendar, the holiday was traditionally a time to honor household and heavenly deities as well as ancestors. It was also a time to bring family together for feasting. The ancient Chinese lunar calendar, on which Chinese New Year is based, functioned as a religious, dynastic and social guide. Oracle bones inscribed with astronomical records indicate that the calendar existed as early as 14th century B. The Chinese calendar was a complex timepiece.

The most important holiday in Chinese culture around the world is undoubtedly Chinese New Year, and it all started out of fear. The centuries-old legend of the origins of the Chinese New Year celebration varies from teller to teller, but every telling includes a story of a terrible mythical monster preying on villagers. The stories include a wise old man who counsels the villagers to ward off the evil Nian by making loud noises with drums and firecrackers and by hanging red paper cutouts and scrolls on their doors, because Nian is scared of the color red. The date of Chinese New Year changes each year because it's based on the lunar calendar.

It is unclear when exactly the celebration of the New Year began in China. Its celebration is said to have originated from the year end religious ceremony observed during the Shang Dynasty BC - BC. When the tradition first began, the date of the New Year celebration varied from mid-winter to early spring.

Lunar New Year , Chinese Chunjie , Vietnamese Tet , Korean Solnal , Tibetan Losar , also called Spring Festival , festival typically celebrated in China and other Asian countries that begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends on the first full moon of the lunar calendar, 15 days later. The lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, so the dates of the holiday vary slightly from year to year, beginning some time between January 21 and February 20 according to Western calendars. On this night colourful lanterns light up the houses, and traditional foods such as yuanxiao sticky rice balls that symbolize family unity , fagao prosperity cake , and yusheng raw fish and vegetable salad are served. The origins of the Lunar New Year festival are thousands of years old and are steeped in legends. Because Nian feared the colour red, loud noises, and fire, red paper decorations were pasted to doors, lanterns were burned all night, and firecrackers were lit to frighten the beast away.