梦见打死大蝎子和蜘蛛:Festivals: Chinese New Year

来源:百度文库 编辑:偶看新闻 时间:2024/04/29 05:08:09

Based on alunar calendar as opposed tothe western Gregorian calendar,Chinese New Year can occur on any date between late January andearly February.

ChineseNew Year begins on the first day of the lunar month and continuesfor 15 days, culminating on the 15th day with a lantern festival.Each year is symbolised by a different animal - 2005 is the year ofthe Rooster (otherwise known asthe Green Chicken).

Legenddictates that before leaving earth, Buddha requested a meeting withall the animals. Only 12 animals came to meet him. Buddha named ayear after each animal who came.

Traditional preparations for Chinese New Year begin well inadvance and include cleaning houses and buying new clothes. Redclothes are worn and children are given "lucky" money in red envelopes. Accordingto the Chinese, red symbolises fire and is believed to drive awaybad luck.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- related: New Year‘s Dayis celebrated at different times and in different ways throughoutthe world. This is because certain countries and religions aroundthe world use different calendars. Some calendars are based on themovement of the moon, while others are based on the position of thesun. New Year inChina for instance is celebrated on a different day each year,because the Chinese base their calendar on the cycle of the moon.Therefore the Chinese New Year can fall anywhere between Januaryand the beginning of February. Religious festivals for New Yearwhich occur on dates other than 1st January include the Jewish RoshHashanah festival and the Muslim Al Hijrahfestival. 

Generally, NewYear‘s Day is celebrated in westernised countries on January 1st.New Year‘s Day was formerly observed 4000 years ago in 2000 BCin  ancient Babylon.

Their New Yearcelebrations would begin on March 23rd (in our calendar) and wouldlast for 11 days. This date was selected because Spring issynonymous with new beginnings. The Romans continued to observethis date until 153 BC, when January 1st was declared New Year‘sDay.