CHINESE NEW YEAR. Foundations of World Peace. Harmonious Relations. Family Unity Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centre, Queenstown

Transcription

1 CHINESE NEW YEAR Foundations of World Peace Harmonious Relations Family Unity

2 CONTENTS Chinese New Year (CNY) Facts and Figures Lessons from CNY Celebrations Swami s s Quotes

3 Chinese New Year (CNY) Mythology Mythical Beast Nien Devoured Children Colour RED Fire-Crackers

4 Q1 According to the mythology, why did children wear red and fire -crackers set off on the 1 st day of the New Year?

5 Chinese New Year (CNY) Preceding Days Cleaning Decorations Reunion Dinner 1 st Day Deities Fire Crackers Respect for Seniors Maitreya Bodhisattva 2 nd, 4 th to 6 th Day Visits and Red Packets

6 Q2 Why was it important to clean the house before Chinese New Year?

7 Chinese New Year (CNY) 7 th Day 8 th Man s s Birthday Sakra Devanam Indra th to 10 th Day Jade Emperor 13 rd and 15 th Day General Guan Yu Chinese Valentine

8 Q3 Which day of the Chinese New Year is Man s s Birthday?

9 Facts and Figures 7033 Divorces! (2009 alone)

10 Facts and Figures 1411 parents sue their children! (1996~2009)

11 Lessons from CNY Celebrations Reunion Dinner Visitations Respects Towards Seniors Remembrance of values Filial Piety Family Unity Respect for Parents, Elders Harmony among Family Members

12 Lessons from CNY Celebrations Billy Fong (22 Feb 2010) Family Unity and Harmony

13 Activity 1 Importance of Vision to Unity

14 Lessons from CNY Celebrations 4000 years of Chinese Civilisation Family Unity = Building Block Harmonious Family ~ Heaven

15 Activity 2 Consensus ~ different viewpoints

16 Swami s s Quotes.. For there to be peace in the WORLD, there must be peace in the SOCIETY. For there to be peace in the SOCIETY, there must be UNITY and HARMONY in our HOMES and FAMILIES.

17 Swami s s Quotes....When there is HARMONY in the HOME, there will be ORDER in the NATION. When there is ORDER in the NATION, there will be PEACE in the WORLD

18 Swami s s 9 point of conduct (Relevant here ) Regular Bhajans with family members Participate in community service

19 Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. The festival traditionally begins on the 1 st day of the 1 st month in the Chinese Calendar and ends on the 15 th day. Chinese New Year s s Eve, a day where Chinese families gather for their annual reunion dinner, is known as chú xī ( 除 夕 ). The origin of Chinese New Year is centuries and gains significance because of several myths s ands traditions. Mythology According to mythology, the celebration of Chinese New Year started ted with the fight against a mythical beast called Nien (Chinese: 年 ; pinyin: nián). Nien would come on the 1 st day of the New Year to devour livestock, crops, even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year as they believed that Nien would not attack the villagers once it is fully fed. Once, people realised that Nien could be scared away by children wearing red as well as by the sound of fire-crackers. From then on, the villagers would hang red lanterns, red spring scrolls on windows and doors as well as set fire-crackers off to frighten Nien away. It was said that Nien was eventually captured by Hong Jun Lao Zu,, an ancient Taoist monk. Nien then became Hong Jun Lao Zu s mount or vehicle. Days preceding Chinese New Year On the days before the Chinese New Year Celebration, Chinese families give their homes a thorough cleaning, which is believed that the cleaning sweeps away ay the bad luck of the preceding year and makes their homes ready for good luck. Brooms and dust pans are put away on the 1 st day so that the newly arrived good luck cannot be swept away. Decoration D of homes often consisted of paper cutouts of Chinese auspicious phrases and a couplets. Purchasing new clothes, shoes and getting a new hair cut also symbolise a new beginning. In many households where Buddhism or Taosim is prevalent, home altars and statues are cleaned thoroughly and families would often offer sweet foodstuff f to the various deities especially Zao Jun, the Kitchen Deity so that the deities would only report good od comments about the family to the Jade Emperor, the Taoist ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below; including realm of Man and Hell.

20 Days preceding Chinese New Year (cont d) The biggest event of Chinese New Year s s Eve is the dinner every family will have. The dinner is very sumptuous and traditionally includes chicken and fish. Food delicacies includes the Buddha s s delight which is an elaborate vegetarian dish, dumplings which resembles ancient gold ingots, uncut noodles representing longevity, raw fish salad d which is said to bring good luck (usually eaten on the 7 th day) Other food items include sweets, dried fruits, Nian Gao which is also Chinese New Year pudding made of glutinous rice flour, wheat starch, salt, water and sugar, Bak Kwa whch is sliced, marinated salty-sweet sweet dried meat smoked for later consumption (usually presented during visits as gifts) 1 st Day of Chinese New Year The 1 st day is for welcoming the deities of the heavens and earth, officially beginning at the stroke of midnight. For Buddhists, many abstain from consuming meat m and killing animals on the 1 st day as it is believed to bring about longevity and it is also known k as Maitreya Bodhiisattva (better known as Bu Dai Luo Han) More importantly, the 1 st day is a time when families visit the oldest and most senior members mbers of their extended family, usually their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents. grandparents. Family members who are married, also give red packets containing money to junior family members, mostly children and teenagers. Red packets are also known as 压 岁 钱 (Ya Sui Qian) ) which evolved from 压 祟 钱,literally means money used to suppress evil. $8 or $6 are considered lucky for red packets. 2 nd Day of Chinese New Year 2 nd day is usually for married daughters to visit their birth parents and for the Chinese to pray to their ancestors as well as to all the deities. 3 rd Day of Chinese New Year 3 rd day is known as the day of the God of Blazing Wrath,, and is generally accepted that it s not a good day to visit your relatives and friends.

21 4th Day of Chinese New Year 4th day is for welcoming all the deities back to the world of living from the heavens. 5th Day/6 th Day of Chinese New Year 5 th day/6 th day usually is the day where companies re-open for business, sometimes accompanied by fire-crackers 7 th Day of Chinese New Year 7 th day is known as Man s s Birthday the day when everyone grows one year older and is also when tossed raw fish salad or Yu Sheng is eaten. People get together to toss the colourful Yu Sheng and make wishes for continued wealth and prosperity. For many Buddhists, B this is another day to avoid meat as this day commemorates the birth of Sakra Devanam Indra. 8 th Day of Chinese New Year On the 8 th day, there usually will be another family dinner to celebrate the t eve of the birth of the Jade Emperor. 9 th Day/10 th Day of Chinese New Year The 9 th day/10 th day are days for the Chinese to offer prayers to the Jade Emperor as it is traditionally associated with the birthday of the Jade Emperor. 11 th Day/12 th Day of Chinese New Year Usually, the Chinese will continue to feast on the leftovers of the meals that were prepared for the birthday of the Jade Emperor, There are no special events on these 2 days. 13 th Day of Chinese New Year On the 13 th Day, people will eat vegetarian food which is gentler on the digestive system which has by now, been overwhelmed due to eating too much greasy food for the past 12 days of the Chinese New Year. This day is also dedicated to General Guan Yu, the Chinese Deity of War, who represents loyalty, strength, truth and justice. Many businesses will offer prayers to General Guan Yu who has won n more than 100 battles in his lifetime and is also revered as the Deity of Success.

22 14th Day of Chinese New Year This day is to prepare for the Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day. 15 th Day of Chinese New Year The 15 th Day is celebrated as Yuan Xiao Festival or Lantern Festival. Sweet et glutinous rice balls brewed in soup are eaten on this day. Families walk the street carrying c lighted lanterns. This day is also celebrated by individuals seeking a life partner, r, thus a Chinese version of Valentine s s Day. This day often marks the end of the Chinese New Year festivities. References; Chinese New Year - Wikipedia,, the free encyclopedia Family Unity and Harmony

23 THE END A Presentation By, Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centre Queenstown