The Lantern
Festival in China is very old; legend has it that there are many wonderful
stories about how the Lantern Festival first began. One story is
that in ancient times, people would go in search of spirits with burning
sticks. They thought the spirits could be seen during a full moon.
Another is about a lonely young girl, in Han times, who tricked an
emperor into having a wonderful festival just so she could visit her
family. The emperor apparently had such an excellent time, he
decided to make this festival an annual event.
According to one legend, from ancient times, a celestial swan came
into the mortal world where it was shot down by a hunter. The Jade
Emperor, the highest god in Heaven, vowed to avenge the swan. He started
making plans to send a troop of celestial soldiers and generals to Earth
on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, with orders to incinerate
all humans and animals.
However, the other celestial beings
disagreed with this course of action, and risked their lives to warn the
people of Earth. As a result, before and after the fifteenth day of the
first month, every family hung red lanterns outside their doors and set
off firecrackers and fireworks, giving the impression that their homes
were already burning. By successfully tricking the Jade Emperor in this
way, humanity was saved from extermination.
By T'ang times, many families simply set aside one evening, during
the first full moon after the new year, to honour the moon. They would
sit outside, and gaze up, in awe and delight.
Masks in Chinese culture are part and parcel of the world culture of
masks....... 面具 Mianju. Masks first appeared in China during the Shang and
Zhou dynasty some 3,500 years ago. The colourful and exciting celebrations
for the Chinese New Year last for several days and end with the lantern [Yuanxiao]
festival.
The Chinese masks that surface during the New Year season are
exclusively used during that time of the year only. The general feeling
generated by the Chinese masks during this festive season is that of
happiness and joy. Will and Guy share with you some of the
multitude of masks which abound in Chinese culture
￥
Zhongqiu jie
- Mid-autumn Moon Festival
This is the Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋節 which is held on the 15th day of the eighth month
in the Chinese calendar, which is usually around late September or early
October in the Gregorian calendar. It is a date that parallels the
autumnal equinox of the solar calendar, when the moon is supposedly at
its fullest and roundest. The traditional food of this festival is the moon cake, of which there are many different varieties.
See more on Zongqui jie here.
Chinese New Year Festival - Animals
This is a story from China. It is about twelve animals of the zodiac: a dog, a pig, a
rat, an ox, a tiger, a hare, a dragon, a snake, a horse, a ram, a monkey
and a cockerel.
One day the twelve animals were having an argument. They wanted every
year to have a name. 'I think that this year should be named after me,'
barked the dog. 'It should be called the year of the Dog.'
'No.' gibbered the monkey, 'I think this year should be named after
me.' said the monkey. 'It should be called the Year of the Monkey.'
'No, no,' breathed the dragon. 'This year should be named after me. It
should be called the Year of the Dragon.'
The gods were listening. They heard the animals arguing. 'Stop
arguing,' demanded one of the gods. The dog stopped arguing. The monkey
stopped arguing. The dragon stopped arguing. They all stopped arguing and
listened. The gods boomed, 'Can you see the big river? You must have a
race across the big river. We will name this year after the winner of the
race.'
So, all the animals lined up on the bank of the river ready for the
race. They're off! The animals jumped into the water and swam as fast as
they could towards the other side.
The ox was very strong and he could swim very fast. Soon he was in
front of all the other animals; but the rat was very clever. He grabbed
the ox's tail and climbed onto his back. The ox didn't know he was there.
The ox thought he was going to win the race. Just before the ox got to
the other side, the rat jumped off the ox's back onto the grass and won
the race.
'Yippee! Hoorah!' shouted the rat, 'I'm first.'
The ox was very surprised. 'How did you do that?' he asked, but the rat
only laughed.
The gods laughed too and said, 'The rat is the winner. We will call
this year the Year of the Rat. The ox was second, so next year will be
called the year of the Ox.
All the other animals finished the race. The tiger was third, the hare
was fourth, the dragon was fifth, the snake was sixth, the horse was
seventh, the ram was eighth, the monkey was ninth, the cockerel was tenth,
the dog was eleventh and the pig was last.
The gods decided that each year would be named after one of the animals
in the race. The animals didn't argue any more. They were very happy,
especially the rat because he had won the race.
Footnote Please write to Will and Guy if you have
any interesting information about Chinese festivals.
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