Long, long time ago, there lived a scary monster in a dark cave on a secluded island. He remained in the cave for a long time, only surfacing when the lunar new year comes around. Monster Nian would show up in the villages and hunt people and livestock. All the villagers would flee to remote mountains to avoid Nian’s attack before the Lunar New Year’s Eve.
However one year, a strange old man showed up in the village and said that he would be able to expel the monster, in exchange for one night in an old woman’s house. Despite his promise, everyone was afraid and fled to the mountains, leaving only the strange old man behind.
When Nian approached the house, the doors flung open, and it found the house pasted all over with red papers. Red candles were also lit in the house. The strange old man jumped out at the door wearing a red robe and lighting firecrackers. Nian quivered at the strange sight and sound and escaped far away, never returning again.
Since then, all the villages would celebrate the triumph over Nian every lunar new year, wearing red and lighting firecrackers.
How We Prepared for Lunar New Year
One week before the Lunar New Year, everyone from the oldest to the youngest was assigned a role. Every year without fail, we would start by decluttering all the unwanted belongings hoarded throughout the year.
When that was done, deep cleansing in the house began. It was my favorite part. Though thinking back, it probably wasn’t the scrubbing of floors that excited me but that my cousins and I, on all fours, with towels in our hands, splashing each other with water under the pretext of cleaning.
It would take some twenty minutes, and the floor would be slippery with soap and us fully drenched. Then the adults would come nagging and cleaning up after us.
On Lunar New Year’s Eve, we start the day by preparing the items required for offerings to the Heavens and the ancestors. We wipe down tables and chairs and set them outside our house. We also wash the fruit from the basket before plating them and then place them on the table we set up earlier — all at the command of my grandfather.
Meanwhile, the adults are occupied in the kitchen, preparing the feast we would indulge in come dinnertime.
Every year without fail, at some point between dinner and before offerings (which will happen on the stroke of midnight), my grandmother would tell us the story of Nian, reminding us of the significance of the Lunar New Year and the importance of wearing red.
As kids, we were only interested in the treats, the new clothes, and most of all, the red packets that we received. The red envelopes contained money, a token from the elders to bless the young ones.
Once we finished the offerings, we returned to our respective houses. Then we would go back to my grandparent’s place to celebrate the Lunar New Year, also known as Chu Yi.
Celebrating the Return of Spring
Lunar New Year, also known as the Return of Spring, is probably the most important occasion for Chinese people all around the world. It’s also one of my favorite festivals.
The entire festival would last fifteen days, with the first three days being the most important — we would visit different houses, usually, an elder’s house where wishes and blessings are exchanged, for a bountiful year ahead.
It is a celebration that all bad happenings of the previous year have gone, and now that spring has once again arrived, good things will come.
I love how all the family members come together again to feast and celebrate. Even relatives from afar would make it a point to come back and visit each other, and that to me is most important — to never forget your roots.
In the past two years, however, things have become significantly simple, almost non-existent, no thanks to the pandemic that is still ongoing
It is now one week before the Lunar New Year. The feast on Lunar New Year’s Eve has been reserved; it will be catered. What is left on the to-do list is the cleansing of the house.
This year would be the third year we celebrate with restrictions. Still, the blessings and well-wishes, the prayers for a better year ahead — that’s still in the hearts of every one of us. Nothing could stop us from celebrating the return of spring as we usher in the year of the tiger.
Not even the mountain of chores that awaits.
. . .
As I anticipate in excitement the coming of the Lunar New Year, I thought it would be fun to write this and share with you, who may be unfamiliar with this festival, how my family and I prepare for it and the story behind it.
Growing up, I loved how this festival always brings the family together. The smiles and how my grandparents’ faces lit up when they saw everyone is priceless. They are no longer here since my grandmother passed away last year. But I pray the family will continue to come together to celebrate.
No doubt coronavirus has dampened spirits, and one could only pray this pandemic will blow over soon. In the meantime, I wish everyone reading this a bountiful, blessed, and joyous year in 2022!
