To foster and promote the development of the social, cultural, economic and civic lives of Asian Americans to benefit the entire community.

 
 

FAQs

What is the August Moon Festival?

The August Moon Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most celebrated Chinese holidays. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. Chinese families celebrate the end of the harvest season with a big feast. Often, this feast includes sending mooncakes, another Chinese tradition. Friends and relatives also send mooncakes to each other as a way of giving thanks.

Chinese legends say that the moon is at its brightest and roundest on this day. The moon symbolizes beauty and elegance. While Westerners worship the sun (yang or male) for its power, people in the Far East admire the moon. The moon is the 'yin' or female principle and it is a trusted friend.

In fact, many ancient August Moon folk tales are about a moon maiden. On the 15th night of the 8th lunar moon, little children on earth can see a lady on the moon. On this magical occasion, children who make wishes to The Lady in the Moon will find their dreams come true.

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Chinese New Year Background

Chinese New Year is an enormously important celebration for the Chinese. The Chinese New Year gets determined by the chinese new year calendar and therefore it is sometimes called the Lunar New Year. Often, the people in China take weeks of holidays so that they can enjoy being with their family and friends. This is one tradition that, although it has undergone some changes, still has a tremendous traditional following.

On the first day of the Chinese New Year, legend has it that the Chinese New Year God ascends to heaven to pay the Chinese people’s respects and also provide an update on the cleanliness of their homes the Jade Emperor, who is known as the supreme Taoist deity. Because of this, many Chinese avoid having meat on the first day of the New Year, believing this will ensure healthy and happy lives for them. The 2nd day is devoted to their ancestors, and praying to all the gods. Also on this day, people feed dogs as it is believed that the second day is the birthday of all dogs. The 3rd and 4th days are for the sons-in-laws to offer respect to their parents-in-law.

The 5th day is known as Po Woo. On that day people stay at home to welcome the God of Wealth. It is customary not to visit families and friends on the 5th day because it will bring both parties bad luck. From the 6th to the 10th day, the Chinese greet acquaintances, relatives and friends and wish them a happy and prosperous year ahead. They also visit the temples to pray for good luck, riches and health.

The 7th day of the New Year is the day when farmers display their harvest. They make a drink from 7 types of vegetables to commemorate the occasion. The 7th day is also believed to be the birthday of human beings. It is customary to eat noodles and raw fish for long life and success. The 8th day of the festival involves another family reunion dinner, and at midnight they offer prayers to Tian Gong, the God of Heaven.

The 9th day is the day of make offerings to the Jade Emperor. From the 10th through the 12th day of the festival friends and relatives are invited for dinner. A typical food to serve is the tang yuan, a type of dumplings made of sweet rice rolled into balls and stuffed with either sweet or spicy fillings. This tradition is also specially followed on Chinese New Year time.

The 13th day, people eat simple rice congee and mustard greens (choi sum) to cleanse their system. The 14th day is spent in the preparations to celebrate the Lantern Festival also known as Shang Yuan festival which is to be held on the 15th night.

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Chinese New Year Significance

The Chinese New Year celebration is rich in tradition. The first day of Chinese New Year falls on the first new moon after 1st of January. Chinese New Year Festival is a family celebration with food, light, fireworks and family bonding.

Chinese put their family in a very significant position as they consider it as a way to keep the family blood running. The Chinese New Year Festival starts the night before Chinese New Year as family members gather together for a traditional dinner known as “surrounding the stove” and acknowledge the spirits of their ancestors. The Chinese New Year Festival spans across fifteen days with each day having its individual importance.

To prepare for Chinese New Year, every family gives their house a thorough cleaning, in an effort to rid all the ill-fortune there may have been in the family in order to make way for the good luck in the new year. People also paint their doors and window-panes a new paint, usually in red color. They decorate the doors and windows with paper cut-outs with themes of "happiness," "wealth," "longevity," and "satisfactory marriage with more children.

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Chinese New Year Eve's Traditions

The Eve of the Chinese New Year is a very important tradition. A feast is prepared, and all members of the family come together. One of the most popular Chinese New year tradition course is jiaozi, dumplings boiled in water. After dinner, it is time for the whole family to sit up for the night while having fun playing cards or board games; anything dedicated to the occasion. It is also a tradition to keep every light on the whole night. At midnight, a fireworks display with light up the whole sky, increasing people's excitement for the New Year.

Children wake up early the following morning, and are excited to receive their presents – usually made up of cash wrapped up in red paper packages from their parents. Then, families go door to door, first to their relatives and then to their neighbors to greet them. During and several days following the New Year's day, people are visiting each other, often exchanging of gifts.

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New Year In Other Countries

Vietnamese Japanese Korean
  • Tet, which means the first morning of the first day of the new year, is the Vietnamese New Year
  • Like the Chinese, Vietnamese people are very careful about what they do on New Year's Day. The events on New Year's Day determine your luck for the rest of the year.
  • Social activities and family reunions including the welcoming of deceased ancestors.
  • Gifts of food made to friends, neighbors and relatives in the days before Tet.
  • Traditional dinner of bánh chung (a square cake made of sticky rice stuffed with beans and pork), mang (a soup of boiled bamboo shoots and flied pork) and xôi g?c (orange sticky rice).
  • Oshogatsu is the most significant holiday in Japan and traditionally involves spending 3 days celebrating with family.
  • On New Year's Eve, just before midnight, Buddhist temples ring bells 108 times to remember Japan's destitution
  • Homes and entrance gates are decorated with several ornaments made of pine, bamboo and plum trees, along with cleaning their clothes and houses to make them look fresh and new.
  • The family starts the New Year with a " breakfast of mochi" or rice cake, this rice cake is served in a stew called "Ozoni."
  • One can also come across several "good luck" ornaments such as Cranes and turtles: symbols of durability and contentment.
  • Solnal is the first day of the first month of the New Year. While many Koreans celebrate the New Year on January 1st of the solar calendar, the lunar New Year is celebrated twice.
  • Loud drums and gongs are played to scare off evil spirits of the old year.
  • Children receive lucky money, candy and fruit from the elders.
  • The Koreans focus on the family as they celebrate the beginning of the New Year. Children put on new traditional clothes called hanbok. They kneel and bow to their ancestors and elders. Family members wish each other prosperity and good fortune. Then they exchange gifts. Children often take this day to play special New Year games.
  • At the end of the day, friends and relatives join together for dinner to renew their friendship.

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The Chinese Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival marks the end of the Chinese New Year season. Chinese Lantern Festival is called Yuan Xiao festival in China because the first lunar month is called yuan-month and in the ancient times people called night Xiao. The Lantern festival occurs on the 15th day after the first moon and is the first night of the year that there is a full moon. According to the Chinese tradition, at the very start of a new year, people hang out thousands of colorful lanterns.  This is done in order to create cheer, when there is a bright full moon in the sky.  In China during the Lantern festival, people try to solve the puzzles on the lanterns and eat yuanxiao (rice balls.) People spend time with their families and friends and unite in the joyful atmosphere.

There are several different myths about how the Lantern Festival originated.  According to one legend, the Lantern Festival was celebrated in order to worship Taiyi, the God of Heaven in ancient times.  It was believed that Taiyi had supreme power and controlled the fortune of the human world, as well as had the ability to inflict drought, storms, famine or epidemic upon the human race. Qinshihuang was the first emperor to order splendid ceremonies each year to please Taiyi and would pray for pleasant weather and good fortune for him and his people. Later, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty also focused heavily on celebrating the Lantern Festival. In 104 BC, he announced it as one of the most important celebrations and the ceremony should last throughout the night. 

Another myth associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism. Tianguan is the Taoist god responsible for good luck and fortune. His birthday falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It is said that Tianguan enjoyed and reveled in all types of entertainment. Therefore, followers honored him with an entertaining celebration, and prayed to him for good fortune. 

The 3rd legend about the origin of the Lantern festival is associated with Emperor Mingdi and the introduction of Buddhism into China during the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is said that Emperor Mingdi once had a dream about a gold man in his palace. But when he was about to ask the mysterious figure who he was, the gold man suddenly disappeared west into the sky. The next day, Emperor Mingdi sent a scholar to India on a pilgrimage to find out more about Buddhist scriptures.  Upon receiving the scriptures, Emperor Mingdi ordered that a temple be built in order to house a statue of Buddha and to store the scriptures.  He then ordered the Chinese to display lighted lanterns during the 15th day of the lunar calendar, in hopes that Buddha would cast away darkness.  

The most significant part of the festival is a contest featuring decorative lanterns. These lanterns feature images of birds, ferocious animals and Chinese mythological figures. These lanterns are carried during the festivities and are hung on local temples. The lantern festival is rich in Chinese traditions and customs, in hopes for a promising new year.

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