元旦由來英文

第第頁元旦由來英文

Yuandanisthefirstdayofthelunarcalendar.Itisthedaywhentheearthhascircledthesunforoneroundandisbeginninganothercircling.Itrepresentsanewbeginningwhenpeoplesendofftheolddaysandwelcomethenewones.Asthefirstdayoftheyear,Yuandanhasbeenconsideredtobethemostimportantfestivalsincetheancienttimes.

Customs

1.Kaisui〔beginningoftheyear〕

AccordingtotheChinesetraditionalcustom,startingfromhaishi〔9p.m.to11p.m.〕ofthelasteveningofthetwelfthlunarmonth,eachfamilymustprepareofferingstodeitiesatthealtar.Atthesametime,theytoopreparefoodfortheNewYearday:Thewholefamilywillthenstayawaketogethertoattendtotheyear〔calledshousui〕。Afterhaishi,zishi〔11p.m.to1a.m.〕willcome,andthisisthearrivalofNewYear〔Yuandan〕。Atthismoment,peoplebeginthecelebrationwithfireworks.Vegetarianandsweetfoodswillthenbeplacedarethealtarforofferings,andincensebeburnedtowelcomethedeities.Intheancienttimes,itwasbelievedthathaishiconnectedthetwoyearsandthuswascalledkaisui.

Atthesamenight,somefamilieswillfollowtheinstructioninTongshuandplacepreparingaltarinthedirectionofthe"fortunedeity"duringthe"fortunetime"toreceivethedeity.Ifthedirectionofthe"fortunedeity"isatthe"illposition",peoplewillchoosetoreceive"happydeity"or"nobledeity"instead.

2.ThereisanapparentdifferenceinthecustomoffoodtakingonYuandanbetweentheChineseinthenorthernandsouthernregions.

ThenorthernChinesehasthehabitoftakingjiaozi〔dumplingmadeofflourwithvegetableandmeatwrappedinside〕。Somepeoplemayputasweetoracoininsidejiaozi,hopingtohaveasweetyearaftertastingthesweetandawealthyyearaftertastingthecoin.ontheotherhand,thesouthernChinesehavethetabooforkillingonYuandan.Therefore,theydonottakemeatinteemorningofYuandan,soastoavoidbloodshedormutualslaughter.Inordertoevademisfortune,theyhavethefirstmealofthisdaywithoutmeat.Instead,theytakevegetarianfoodforthesakeofvirtue.

3.WhatisspecialduringtheNewYearisthatparentsorelderswilldistributeredpackets〔angpaooryasuiqian〕tothechildren.

Peopleintheancienttimesweremoreparticularingivingawaytheredpackets:thedistributiontookplaceontheeveofNewYearsothatthekidscouldsuppressthepastyearandentertheNewYear.Yasuihasthemeaningofovercomingtheunpredictablefuture.Representingthewishesforthehealthypsychologicalgrowthofthechildren,yasuiqiansymbolisestheelders'hopetoseetheirchildrenovercomealltheunpredictableelementsbroughtbythe"year".

4.Thereisane*traordinarynumberoftaboosonYuandan.

Eachplacehasitsowncustomsoftaboo.Here,wewillmentiononlyafewcommontaboosinFujianProvince,GuangdongProvinceandSoutheastAsia:

Inthepast,peoplecommonlybelievedthatfortunewashiddeninthehouse.So,w\sweepingoffloormustbedoneinthedirectionmovinginwards,andtherewasnoclearanceofrubbishatnight.ParticularlyontheNewTearday,inordertokeepfortunefromflowingout,therewasnosweeping.Somefamilieskeptthistaboountilthefifthoreventhefifteenthday.Ifanythingwasbroken,thepieceswerewrappedupinordernottoletthefortuneslipawayandweredisposedonlythefifthday.

Yuandan〔inmoreseriousfamilies,theperiode*tendsfromthe1sttothe15thday〕marksthenewbeginning.InthehopethatNewYearbringsgoodbeginning,peopleshouldutterneitherunkindwordsnorvulgarlanguage.Makingnoises,fighting,quarrelingandespeciallyweepingareavoidedtodetermisfortune.Thereareeventaboosoftakingmedicineandhavingsneeze,foritisbelievedthattheycanleadtosicknessthroughouttheyear.Taboosofthepastalsoconcernedtheuseofknifeandthebreakingofthings.Ifathingwasbroken,theword"break"oranyotherwordimportingsimilarmeaningwasnotused.Instead,wordslike"failingtothefloorandblossominglikeflowers"whichdeliveredpleasantsenseswereusedtosuggestgoodconnections.

OnYuandan,neitherlendingandnorgivingofmoneytoothersisdonesothattherewillbenoout-flowingofmoneyduringtheyear.Thereisalsothesayingthatifamalesleepsintheafternoon,hiscareerwillbreakdown,andifafemalehasanafternoonnap,thekitchenwillcollapse.

5.Ancientrite:Inthepast,therewasaritecalledhezheng〔propergreeting〕duringNewYear.

WhenapersonpaidaNewYearvisittofriendsorrelatives,hetookalongapieceofpaperorcardonwhichthenameofthehostwaswrittenwitChinesebrush.Thereceiverofthisgreetingcardwouldnormallypasteitonthewallofhismainhalltoshowhisrespecttoandappreciationforthevisitor.Thequantityofgreetingcardreceivedreflectedtheperson'spublicrelationshipwithothers,whilethenamesandstatusofthepeoplewhogavethegreetingcardsindicatedthehost'sboundaryofsocialnetworkandstandardofliving.Nowadays,becauseofeasycommunication,convenienttransportationsystemandwidersocialnetwork,whenpeoplesendtheirgreetingstheytendtofollowtheWesternstyle.Thegreetingisnowdonebymailandevenbyemail.Today,hezhengisdonebysimplybringingalongredpacketsandfoodpresentswhenmakingavisit.

Tobeinlinewiththecustomoftogivingawaymoneyonthefirstday,familiesinsomeplacesdonotpayNewYearcalltoothers.Instead,thewholefamilysimplygoesouttoenjoythemselvesorstayedathomeforfamilyhappiness.

6.Inthepast,therewasasuperstitionthatwhenapersonlefthishouseintheNewYear,hemusttakethecorrectfirststep.

Aparticularpersonwouldlookforthefortunatedirectioninaccordancewiththeday,monthandyearofthisbirthbasingonthee*planationofChinesecalendar.OnYuanDan,whenapersonsteppedoutofhishouse,hemustgointhefortunatedirectionandavoidtheunfortunatedirection.EvenpeopleoflessparticularityalsoconsultedChinesecalendartofindoutwherethefortunatedirectionsandfiercedeitieswerebeforethefirststepoutoftheirhouses.

Meaning

Fromtheabovementionedcustoms,wecanseethatthereareespeciallymanytaboosduringChineseNewYear.

OnYuanDaninparticular,therearemoretaboosonspeechandbehaviourthanthoseonotherordinarydays.Similarly,therearemoreactivitiesinpursuitofgoodcausethanusual.Onprobingtheactivitiesandtaboos,wehavenodifficultytounderstandthatthethemebehindisalwaysrelatedtofortune,wealthandgoodness,andthatpeopleusuallyconcernthemselveswithagoodbeginningfortheyear.

Sometaboosmaylooksuperstitiousonthesurface,buttheydoproduceefficacy.Ifwepractisethemcircumspectively,theywillyieldpracticalresults.Fore*ample,theprohibitionofbadwords,quarrel,weepingandcrying,togetherwiththeemphasisonthinkingpositivelyevenwhenthingsarebroken,providesomenormativerulesforpeopletofollow.Thisgivespeopletheopportunitytomendtheirways,todevelopgoodattitudes,andtoformahabitofthinkingpositivelyandlookingatthegoodsideofthings.Theprohibitionofsweepinganddisposingtherubbishinthefirstfivedaysforcespeopletoarrangetheirthingsandclearawaytherubbishproperlyattheendofeachyear,sothatnounwantedthingswillbecarriedforwardtothenewyear.Atthesametime,thetabooalsocompelspeopletolearntobethrifty.Thisisbecausetopreventaccumulatedthingsfrombecomingrubbish,peoplemustbecarefulintheuseofanypaperorotherthings,andthusavoidwasteofthings.

Theavoidanceofmedicineandsneezeonthefirstdaylookslikeajokeandisabsurdasfarasthepatientisconcerned.However,becauseofthetaboos,peoplewillbeconsciousenoughtotakeseriouscareoftheirhealth