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Is it 'Chinese' or 'Lunar' New Year?


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in the SCMP

Sun Kwok says the traditional annual cycle in China represents a mixed solar and lunar calendar devised to help farmers plan ahead, and its origins make the term ‘Chinese New Year’ most apt for the festival

An ongoing topic - click here for Most Recent Post

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The Chinese calendar is not a lunar calendar like the Islamic calendar, but a mixed solar/lunar calendar. The date of the Chinese New Year is linked to both the sun and the moon.

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But a year in the Chinese calendar follows the period of the sun, which has approximately 365 and a quarter days. Twelve months therefore fall well short of a year. In order to match the solar and lunar cycles, intercalary months have to be added from time to time.

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Since a year in the Chinese calendar can have 12 or 13 months, it is unclear when the new year should begin. The winter solstice is the most important festival for farmers. Starting from this date, they have to stock up food and try to survive the difficult coming months.
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We should note that other Asian countries such as Korea and Vietnam also celebrate the New Year at this time, so maybe the term “Chinese New Year” is a bit chauvinistic. However, since these other countries inherited their calendars from the Chinese, the term is not unreasonable.
 
In the Chinese calendar, winter solstice (a date set by the position of the sun) always occurs during Month 11, and the new year is assigned to the second new moon after the winter solstice.

 

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At least Trump's granddaughter had some nice words - from the SCMP

 

https://scontent-lax3-1.cdninstagram.com/t50.2886-16/16441004_1518434581529915_1905824521361817600_n.mp4

 

Arabella singing a song she learned for #ChineseNewYear. Wishing everyone an amazing year to come during these days of celebration. 新年快乐!

 

 

 

Video posted on Twitter by Ivanka Trump shows her five year-old daughter, Arabella, singing traditional ‘Happy New Year’ song in Putonghua

 

One comment by a reader on the mainland news website news.163.com, who watched Arabella singing in the latest video, said: “Cute girl, good singing. Pure children do not have conspiracies.”
However, other netizens were not happy that the US President had not sent any personal Lunar New Year greeting, saying: “He is just trying to brush us off with this five year old girl.”

 

 

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#Trump's failure to send Lunar New Year greetings prompts worries about #China-#US ties

US President Donald Trump's failure to send his Lunar New Year greeting to the Chinese community has triggered heated discussion among the public about what it means for the Sino-US relations, even though his daughter Ivanka Trump made a surprise appearance at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC for the Chinese New Year celebrations on Wednesday.

Former US presidents like Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all delivered Lunar New Year greetings to Asians who celebrate this festival.

Some Chinese Net users felt Trump was being disrespectful by not sending a greeting.

An Gang, a member of the academic committee of the Pangoal Institute, a Beijing-based think tank, said, "At this moment, Donald Trump is shaping and reinforcing his tough image on immigrant issue, so he doesn't want to send the wrong signal by delivering New Year greetings to the Chinese."

On the other hand, Ivanka on Thursday posted video footage of her daughter singing a Chinese song on Twitter with the hashtag #ChineseNewYear.

"Wishing everyone an amazing year to come during these days of celebration," she wrote, followed by a greeting of "Happy New Year" spelled out in Chinese.

On Wednesday, Ivanka, together with her 5-year-old daughter Arabella, who has been learning Chinese, went to the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC. Ivanka and Arabella were attracted by paper cuttings and sugar sculptures at an exhibition of traditional Chinese art and appreciated the traditional musical performance by Chinese musicians, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Chinese Net users welcomed Ivanka's visit to the Chinese Embassy. One Net user wrote on Weibo, "She [ivanka] is wiser and more sensible than her father." Another said, "Her father made a mistake, and now she is trying to fix it."

"Diplomatically, Donald Trump doesn't want to be friendly to China, but his family may want to maintain business ties," read a comment from guancha.cn, a Chinese news website.

"Donald Trump wants to maintain his tough image to show his supporters that he will not change his attitude toward China, but his daughter can be more flexible," said Jin Canrong, associate dean of the Department of International Studies at the Renmin University of China.

"Although Ivanka can't officially represent the US government, this activity is unusual," Xin Qiang, deputy director of the Center for US Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"In the past, US president's New Year greetings were normally addressed to Chinese Americans because they can vote for them, but Ivanka's appearance at the Chinese Embassy amounts to a direct greeting to China," Xin said.

Trump's views on China expressed during his campaign and his transition period were mostly provocative and offensive. He vowed to slap a 45 percent tariff on Chinese goods and spoke of using the one-China policy as leverage to bargain with China on trade.

'Happy New Year to Trump'

Although Donald Trump didn't say anything to the Chinese people, Chinese entrepreneurs sent greetings to him and the US people.

According to the South China Morning Post on Tuesday, 100 Chinese companies have "gone against the tide" and seized the opportunity of Chinese New Year to express their goodwill to the new US president, who has vowed to impose steep tariffs on Chinese products.

"A large billboard sponsored by 100 Chinese companies is up and shining in New York's Times Square, wishing Trump and the US people a "happy Chinese new year," the South China Morning Post reported.

Meanwhile, US ambassador to China nominee Terry Branstad said Wednesday that he would play a constructive role in enhancing the China-US relationship.

If China and the US, as the world's largest developing and developed countries, can improve their relationship and continue to build friendship and trade, Branstad believed it can benefit the entire world.

China and the US are closely intertwined in economic and trade fields, so a trade war between the two countries will not benefit anyone, and these Chinese firms also want to deliver this message to Trump by sending greetings even if he is not very friendly to China, said Diao Daming, a research fellow at the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"So far, Trump hasn't done anything to change the interdependence between the two countries, but if he fulfills his promise of punishing China on trade, it will harm both sides by bringing more conflicts and tensions. But the question remains as to what extent China can use interdependence to bring about this change in the stance of Donald Trump remains to be seen," Diao stressed. http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0203/c90000-9173160.html

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on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/XH.NewsAgency/videos/1284434628293911/

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【花燈照元宵】本期《國家相冊》,我們為您整理出了百年來最美元宵節照片,並祝願新年的華燈能為您點亮夜空,照亮來時的路,和即將奔赴的前程。

[Flower Lanterns on Lantern Festival] In this issue of "National Album", we have compiled the photos of the most dollar festival in a hundred years for you, and wish that the lanterns of the New Year can light up the night sky for you, illuminate the road to come, and the future ahead.

 

 

 
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. . . and this, from the Global Times

 

Chinese Valentine’s Day traditionally falls on February, but few know it

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Lantern Festival is also known as Chinese Valentine's Day. In ancient China, people liked to carry colorful self-made lanterns and visit local temples, enjoying various kinds of lanterns together with families and friends.
 
"Even unmarried young women, who usually stayed at home, were allowed to go out on that special day," said the wedding performance organizer Wu Juanya.
 
Because of the inclusion of single young females during Lantern Festival, it inadvertently became an opportunity to meet and date people of the opposite sex. Over time, girls started "dolling up" in beautiful dresses and jewelry to attract suitors.
 
Nonetheless, today most people think of Qixi Festival (July 7 according to the lunar calendar) rather than Lantern Festival as Chinese Valentine's Day.
 
"Actually, Qixi was a day for females to pray to the gods for intelligence and better needlework skills," Wu explained, "not meet men."

 

 

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from Goldthread on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/goldthread2/videos/206237160971122/

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How the Chinese calendar predicts the future

Did you know the Chinese calendar is used to predict weather patterns, dos and don'ts of the day, and even the best time to get married? For thousands of years, Chinese people have been using the calendar to guide their lives. But who makes these predictions, and are they real? We talked to a Chinese calendar maker to find out.

 

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from CGTN on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/565225540184937/posts/5696240053750101/

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When you see lanterns being raised and lights being lit on the streets at night, you know the Spring Festival is just around the corner. Decorative lights and lanterns were being installed across streets and landmarks in China in the lead-up to the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on February 12 this year. #SpringFestival2021

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from China Highlights on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/24100187963/posts/10158922825882964/

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The Ox sign of the Chinese zodiac will encounter its 'birth year' (benmingnian本命年) again in Ox year 2021. Oxen are expected to face many challenges when their birth year recurs every twelfth year. Check the video to see the Ox horoscope for 2021 in career, relationships, fortune and health. And get to know how oxen can bring good luck in their birth year. 😉😉

 

 

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from China Highlights on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/24100187963/posts/10158946583842964/

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These days, Chinese people are busy preparing for Chinese New Year. 
What's the most popular decorations? Check here to know:
https://bit.ly/3aLsbNz

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5. Upside-Down Fu Characters — Luck 'Poured Out'

Similar to New Year couplets, and sometimes as paper cuttings, is the pasting of big diamonds (squares at 45°) of paper calligraphy with the inverted Chinese character 福 (fú /foo/) on or over doors.

The fu characters are deliberately inverted. Fu means 'good fortune', and posting the character upside down means they want the 'good fortune' to "pour out" on them.

The right side of the character was originally a pictogram for a jar. So by upturning the character implies they're "pouring out" the jar of good fortune on those coming through the door!

 

 

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12 hours ago, Barfus said:

How the New Year this year? Are things relatively calm and quite where you're at Randy or is it hustling and bustling and wild like in previous years? Any crazy plans involving lots of Tsingtao and Baijiu? 🤣

VERY quiet since fireworks were outlawed and the street outside our window was pretty well cleared of noise makers.

We've always laid low for Chinese holidays, even in Houston. We lived about 5 miles away from Chinatown, but we always headed for the Mexican restaurants on Chinese holidays to avoid the crowds. This year, we just stayed home for a nice steak dinner.

This was the last fireworks performance staged in Yulin, recorded from the roof of our building.

 

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