papercut in window with the character
Fú written in 100 different ways
When displayed as a Chinese ideograph,
Fú is often displayed upside-down on diagonal red squares. The reasoning is based on a
wordplay: in nearly all
varieties of Chinese: the words for "upside-down" (倒, Pinyin: dào) and "to arrive" (到, Pinyin: dào) are
homophonous. Therefore, the phrase an "upside-down
Fú"
sounds nearly identical to the phrase "Good luck arrives". Pasting the
character upside-down on a door or doorpost thus translates into a wish
for prosperity to descend upon a dwelling.
Today is the start of the
Chinese New Year which is also also known as the
"Spring Festival
" (simplified Chinese 春节; traditional Chinese 春節; Pinyin:
Chūn Jié) in modern
Mainland China.
The
Chinese calendar is
lunisolar. Celebrations traditionally run from the evening preceding the first day, to the
Lantern Festival
on the 15th day of the first calendar month. The first day of the New
Year falls on the new moon between 21 January and 20 February. In 2017, the first day of the Chinese New Year is on Saturday, January 28, initiating the
year of the Rooster.
The Rooster (
simplified Chinese:
鸡;
traditional Chinese:
雞/鷄) is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the
Chinese zodiac (and similar zodiacal systems) related to the
Chinese calendar. The Year of the
Rooster is represented by the
Earthly Branch character
酉. The name is also translated into English as Cock or Chicken. Rooster is the only bird included in the
Chinese zodiac. However, the Chinese term is more generic, as it applies to barnyard fowl of either sex.
Traditionally, the festival was a time to honor
deities as well as ancestors. It is also traditional for every family to thoroughly cleanse the house,
in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for good
incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red color
paper-cuts and
couplets with popular themes of
"good fortune" or "happiness" (
Fú (
福,
Unicode U+798F) ), "wealth", and "longevity".
According to tales and legends, the beginning of the Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the
Nian.
Nian would eat villagers, especially children. One year, all the
villagers decided to hide from the beast. An old man appeared before
the villagers and said that he's going to stay the
night, and decided to get revenge on the Nian. The villagers thought
he was insane. The old man put red papers up and set off firecrackers.
The day after, the villagers came back to their town to see that nothing
was destroyed. They assumed that the old man was a deity who came to
save them. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the
color red and loud noises. When the New Year was about to come, the
villagers would wear red clothes, hang red lanterns, and red spring
scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten
away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The
Nian was eventually captured by
Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjun Laozu's mount.
Most importantly, the first day of the Chinese New Year is a time to honor
one's elders and families visit the oldest and most senior members of
their extended families, usually their parents, grandparents and
great-grandparents. What a marvelous culture!
Gung Hai Fat Choi!
Styrous® ~ Saturday, January 28, 2017
