The New New Year: Part I
Spring Festival planning actually starts as Christmas ends. That sad moment of shoving carefully boxed Christmas trees and garlands in the loft offset with bringing down another box, labelled “CNY DECS”. This box isn’t opened up immediately though, there’s a lot of real life things that need to happen, including cleaning and writing the inevitable articles for media who suddenly remember Chinese people exist. The box sits in a corner for a few weeks, saving us the effort of having to head to the loft a second time, but also taking the edge off the January blues, until we open it on Xiaonian.
Posted in Articles and tagged china, Chinese, Chinese New Year, culture, customs, Spring Festival, tradition
Christmas in China
Beyond “Made in China” being stamped on almost every toy under the tree, you wouldn’t really consider the impact of Christmas as a festival in China, indeed my childhood was almost entirely Christmas-free.
Posted in Articles and tagged china, Chinese, christmas, culture, customs, festival, tradition, winter
13 Cultural Inversions
I have always told people that my ultimate remit is introducing and explaining China and its diverse cultures to the world. On this year’s national day, I will be talking about the elements of this subject which might be slightly harder for people in the West to get their heads around – common cultural symbols that hold exactly the opposite meanings.
Posted in Articles and tagged china, Chinese, culture, customs, inversion, National Day, symbol
Zhongyuan: Ghost Month
When I talk about Ghost Month, what comes up in your mind? Are you now thinking of Dias de Muertos? You’ve got the right idea. This is the Chinese version. There are three traditional festivals of the dead on the Chinese annual calendar, known in Daoist terms, as 上元 Shangyuan, 中元 Zhongyuan and 下元 Xiayuan. Shangyuan, or Qing Ming, the Chinese Remembrance Day, takes place on the 4th lunar month (see my other article). Zhongyuan, popularly known as 鬼节 (“Guijie”) or 鬼月 (“Guiyue”) Ghost Month, takes place on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month.
Posted in Articles and tagged china, Chinese, culture, customs, festival, Ghost Month, rituals, tradition, Zhong Yuan