Lunar New Year's Eve
It was considered imperative to honor the ancestors during Spring Festival,
both to remember previous generations and to ensure the continuation of the
family line. However, regional differences produced widely differing traditions.
In some places, the ancestors were honored before the New Year's Eve feast,
while in others the ceremony was conducted at midnight on New Year's Eve. In yet
other places offerings were made to the ancestors on New Year's morning, right
before opening the door of the family courtyard. In Taiwan, the year's final offering to the ancestors was made in
the afternoon of New Year's Day. In some regions, offerings were made to the
ancestors at home on New Year's Day, after which the household would travel to
the ancestral temple for further ceremonies. In some places, it was
customary to conduct the ceremony at the ancestral graveyard, burning incense,
making offerings, and bowing to the ancestors. Today, people usually pay their
annual respects at the graves of their departed loved ones.
On New Year's Eve, the house is brightly lit as the whole family stays up all
night to see out the old year and see in the new. People do more than just sit
around as they wait for the arrival of the new year. There is plenty to eat and
drink, including wine, cooked dishes, New Year's cake, boiled dumplings, fruit,
and assorted snacks, and all kinds of games are played. Since it's nighttime,
most of the games are played indoors. Popular games include Go, Chinese chess, card games, and mahjong. Before it gets dark,
children ride bamboo horses, spin tops, and play games like "Eagle Catches
Chicken" and "Blind Man's Bluff". As midnight approaches, the parents prepare
the family altar. They then light incense and make offerings to the ancestors
and auspicious deities, bringing the New Year's festivities to their peak. After
the ceremony is over, everyone exchanges New Year's greetings and eats boiled
dumplings. It is also traditional to set off fireworks and firecrackers on New
Year's Eve. As it gets closer and closer to midnight, nonstop explosions fills
the air and the sky is filled with a sparkling display.
Since the 1980s, it has become extremely popular to watch the annual "Spring
Festival Variety Show" on television on New Year's Eve.
|
