Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world.

Welcome to Fascinating Facts and Tantalizing Trivia

A Hartson Dowd Column

Jan 28, 2007

There are a number of festivals held in January, here in Canada. 

A Jewish celebration that takes place in Israel is also celebrated here in Canada.  The Jewish New Year of Trees or Hamishhah Asar Bishvat is observed by having trees planted, usually one for each boy and girl.  Here in Canada, Jewish families often arrange to buy trees to be planted in their children’s names.  The Canadian children observe the day by eating fruits that have been imported from the Holy Land.

Another one of the many celebrations held in January and Pongal (also called Makara Sankranti) is just one of the many; it is a three-day harvest festival in India, celebrating a newly-harvested rice which has been ceremonially cooked.  In some areas of India the rice is fed to cows and bullocks, whose horns have been painted with bright colours for the festival.  In other areas the festival may be celebrated with a bullfight or with dolls, displayed in homes for three days.  On Mattu Pongal the whole day revolves around cows. First they are given a good wash, before having their horns painted and covered with shining metal caps. Beads, bells and flower garlands are then tied round their necks. After being fed pongal (the traditional rice dish) the cows are taken to the village to enjoy the party. During the party the Arati ceremony is performed on the cows to ward off the evil eye.  The association of this day with cattle stems from the legend of Shiva and his bull, Basava. Shiva asked Basava to go to earth and ask the mortals to have an oil massage and bath every day and to eat once a month. Basava got confused and announced that everyone should eat daily and have an oil bath once a month. This enraged Shiva. He cursed Basava and banished him to live on the earth forever, so he could help the people plough the fields and produce more food.

 Because January is no time for harvest here in Canada, Pongal is celebrated by Indian-Canadians as a cultural evening with singing and dancing.

Celebrated by Muslims around the world, Ramadan is a month of prayer and fasting.  Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and during this month Muslims who are physically able do not eat or drink from dawn to dusk.  Because the Islamic calendar is lunar, the time of Ramadan changes each year.  Ramadan is a time of worship and contemplation; a time to strengthen family and community ties.  Muharram - Islamic New Year is celebrated on January 20th, 2007.

Many Asian groups also celebrate the New Year around this time.  Vietnamese, Laotians and Cambodians share many similar customs with the Chinese.  For them the New Year is also the most important event of the year, and the family is the focal point of the celebrations.

It's the year 4705, and time to welcome the Year of the Pig! (Or, some call it, The Year of the Boar.)

Chinese New Year-- also known as the "Spring Festival"-- falls on a different date each year, ranging from late January to mid-February, (basically on the second new moon after the winter solstice.)

Unlike our western New Year, celebrations aren't tightly focused on one date.

The big day itself may be February 18 2007, but festivities can occur on weekends before or after that date -- often with a flamboyant Parade.

One of the most colourful celebrations takes place sometime between January 21 and February 20.  The Chinese New Year is actually a double celebration.  It is a time of hope---and the birthday of every Chinese.  Traditionally, a Chinese person is considered to be one year old the day he or she is born.  The following New Year’s Day another year is added.  It is interesting to see that someone born on New Year’s Eve becomes two years old the next day.  The Chinese New Year is a family gathering and by tradition, the most important festival of the year.  In China, celebration of the New Year often lasts for an entire month; here in Canada, it usually lasts a little longer than a week.

It is important to see family members and friends face-to-face during this time.  This is said to ensure good luck for the future.  Because Chinese families prefer the conviviality and closeness of the family gathering, the public celebration of the New Year is usually staged on the weekend.

On New Year’s Eve there is a family feast when the old year is bid farewell and the new year is welcomed.  Red is the predominant colour when the banquet table is set for dinner.  Tablecloths, napkins and candles are the beautiful and bright “Chinese Red” of the celebration.  All twelve dishes served are meatless, the Chinese believe that no harm may be caused to obtain the food; you may not kill an animal for this dinner.

The twelve vegetarian courses of the dinner represent the twelve-part cycle of years in the Chinese zodiac (these are the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Serpent, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Boar, in that order).

The dinner is served slowly and there are always leftovers for the next days, when no cooking may be done.

Even the youngest child is encouraged to stay awake long into the night, for it is believed that the longer the children are awake, the longer the parents will live,

“Gung hay fah choy,” the Chinese greeting for luck and prosperity, or “Kung hsi fa tsai,”  Mandarin for “best wishes for good fortune,” are the salutations of the day on Yuan-Tan, New Year’s Day.

Visitors to the home are given gifts of sweets and fruits and the children receive red envelopes called lai-see that contain money.  Children also are given rice cakes and oranges, which signify good wishes for happiness.

On Pender Street, in the heart of Chinatown in Vancouver British Columbia, thousands of Chinese and tourists mingle together  to enjoy the New Year celebration.  The restaurants serve such delights as abalone, crab, lobster, roast duck and suckling pig.  After dinner, the throng return to there streets where  the dragon leads the parade of lion dancers and where the “evil spirits” are chased away by exploding fireworks.

The Eve of the New Year is very carefully observed. Supper is a feast, with all members coming together. Light will be kept on the whole night. At midnight, fireworks will light up the whole sky and firecrackers make everywhere seem like a war zone. People's excitement reaches its climax.

Very early the next morning, children greet their parents and receive their lucky money in red packets. The symbolic giving of the money represents a wish for fortune in the coming year. Then, the family starts out to say greetings from door to door, first to their relatives and then their neighbors. During and several days following the New Year's day, people are visiting each other, with a great deal of exchange of gifts. The New Year atmosphere is brought to an anti-climax fifteen days away when the Lantern Festival sets in. It is an occasion of lantern shows and folk dance everywhere. One typical food is the Tang Yuan, a kind of dumplings made of sweet rice rolled into balls and stuffed with sweet fillings.

The Lantern Festival marks the end of the New Year season and afterwards life becomes daily routines again. Yet, the spirit underlying is the same: a sincere wish of peace and happiness for the family members and friends.

Hartson S. Dowd

hsdowd@telus.net