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84-492: Hols may refer to: Hols: Prince of the Sun , a Japanese anime film Holidays House of Large Sizes , an American alternative rock band See also [ edit ] Hol (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Hols . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

168-459: A weekend day a substitute holiday may be recognised in lieu. In the United Kingdom the government website states that "If a bank holiday is on a weekend, a 'substitute' weekday becomes a bank holiday, normally the following Monday.", and the list of bank holidays for the year 2020 includes Monday 28 December as " Boxing Day (substitute day)", as 26 December is a Saturday. The process of moving

252-411: A Chinese-style coat, get your kids tiger-head hats and shoes, and decorate your home with some beautiful red Chinese knots, then you will have an authentic Chinese-style Spring Festival. During the festival, people around China will prepare different gourmet dishes for their families and guests. Influenced by the flourished cultures, foods from different places look and taste totally different. Among them,

336-537: A Pirate Day is observed on September 19, and Blasphemy Day is held on September 30. Other examples are April Fools' Day on April 1 and World No Tobacco Day on May 31. Various community organizers and marketers promote odd social media holidays . In the United States, holidays have been drawn into a culture of consumption since the late 19th century. Many civic, religious and folk festivals have been commercialised . As such, traditions have been reshaped to serve

420-546: A form of a blessing and to suppress both the ageing and challenges that were associated with the coming year, to junior members of the family, mostly children and teenagers. Business managers may also give bonuses in the form of red packets to employees. The money can be of any form, specifically numbers ending with 8 (Mandarin: ba 八), which sounds similar to fa (Mandarin: 发 ), meaning prosperity, but packets with denominations of odd or unlucky numbers, or packets without money are usually not allowed due to bad luck. The number 4

504-421: A glutinous new year cake ( niangao ) and send pieces of it as gifts to relatives and friends in the coming days. Some families visit local temples hours before midnight to pray for success by lighting the first incense of the year. Today many households hold parties. Traditionally, firecrackers were lit to ward off evil spirits. The household doors are sealed and not reopened until dawn in a ritual called "opening

588-555: A holiday from a weekend day to the following Monday is known as Mondayisation in New Zealand. National days are days of significance to a nation or nation state. National days are typically celebratory of a state's independence (e.g. 4 July in the US ), founding or unification (e.g. German Unity Day ), the commemoration of a revolution (e.g. Bastille Day in France) or liberation (e.g. 9 May in

672-465: A longer Chinese New Year holiday will celebrate and welcome the gods that were previously sent on this day. This day is the god of Wealth's birthday. In northern China, people eat jiaozi , or dumplings, on the morning of powu (Chinese: 破五 ; pinyin: pòwǔ ). In Taiwan, businesses traditionally re-open on the next day (the sixth day), accompanied by firecrackers. It is also common in China that on

756-556: A new year. The money was called sui nian qian ( 随年钱 , "money based on age"). In the chapter, "Ending of a Year" ( 歲除 ) in Wulin jiushi ( 武林舊事 ), concubines of the emperor prepared a hundred and twenty coins for princes and princesses to wish them longevity. New Year's celebrations continued under the Yuan dynasty , when people also gave nian gao ( 年糕 , "year cakes") to relatives. The tradition of eating Chinese dumplings jiaozi ( 餃子 )

840-520: A red string, and the money is called Ya Sui Qian ." The term is still used by Chinese people today. The money was presented in two forms: coins strung on red string or colourful purses filled with coins. In 1928, the ruling Kuomintang party decreed that the Chinese New Year would fall on 1 Jan of the Gregorian Calendar, but this was abandoned due to overwhelming opposition. In 1967, during

924-665: A special breakfast on this day in some Chinese homes. The concept of the "La month" is similar to Advent in Christianity. Many families eat vegetarian on Chinese New Year eve, the garlic and preserved meat are eaten on Chinese New Year day. On the days immediately before the New Year celebration, Chinese families give their homes a thorough cleaning. There is a Cantonese saying "Wash away the dirt on nin ya baat " (Chinese: 年廿八，洗邋遢 ; pinyin: nián niàn bā, xǐ lātà ; Jyutping: nin4 jaa6 baat3, sai2 laap6 taap3 (laat6 taat3) ), but

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1008-468: A substitute, large-scale fireworks display have been launched by governments in Hong Kong and Singapore. The second day, entitled "a year's beginning" (simplified Chinese: 开年 ; traditional Chinese: 開年 ; pinyin: kāinián ), oversees married daughters visiting their birth parents, relatives and close friends, often renew family ties and relationship. (Traditionally, married daughters didn't have

1092-608: A symbol of good luck, and people started sending them to friends on New Year's Day, calling them by a new name, bai nian tie . The Chunlian (Spring Couplets) was written by Meng Chang , an emperor of the Later Shu (935–965 AD), during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period ：" 新年納餘慶，嘉節號長春 " ("Enjoying past legacies in the new year, the holiday foreseeing the long-lasting spring"). As described by Song dynasty official Zhang Tangying in his book Shu Tao Wu , Volume 2: on

1176-451: A thriving view." The practice of worshipping ancestors on New Year's Eve is maintained by Chinese people to this day. Han Chinese also started the custom of visiting acquaintances' homes and wishing each other a happy new year. In Book of the Later Han , volume 27, a county officer was recorded as going to his prefect's house with a government secretary, toasting the prefect, and praising

1260-525: A tradition in some non-Christian countries. For many Japanese people , it has become customary to buy and eat fried chicken on Christmas. Recently invented holidays commemorate a range of modern social and political issues and other important topics. The United Nations publishes a list of International Days and Weeks. One such day is International Women's Day on 8 March, which celebrates women's achievements and campaigns for gender equality and women's rights. Earth Day has been celebrated by people across

1344-533: A weekend, as in the case of 2013, where the New Year's Eve (9 February) falls on Saturday and the New Year's Day (10 February) on Sunday. Depending on the country, the holiday may be termed differently; common names in English are "Chinese New Year", "Lunar New Year", "New Year Festival", and "Spring Festival". For New Year celebrations that follow Chinese-inspired calendars but are outside of China and Chinese diaspora (such as Korea's Seollal and Vietnam's Tết ), see

1428-437: A year-end rush of business prior to Chinese New Year. Homes are often decorated with paper cutouts of Chinese auspicious phrases and couplets . Purchasing new clothing and shoes also symbolize a new start. Any hair cuts need to be completed before the New Year, as cutting hair on New Year is considered bad luck due to the homonymic nature of the word "hair" (fa) and the word for "prosperity". Businesses are expected to pay off all

1512-1212: Is a lesser Sabbat of the wheel of the year. Some are closely linked to Swedish festivities . The Baháʼí Faith observes 11 annual holidays on dates determined using the Baháʼí calendar . Jews have two holiday seasons: the Spring Feasts of Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Weeks, called Pentecost in Greek); and the Fall Feasts of Rosh Hashanah (Head of the Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Sukkot (Tabernacles), and Shemini Atzeret (Eighth Day of Assembly). Some religious holidays are also celebrated by many as secular holidays. For example, 61% of Brits celebrate Christmas in an entirely secular way. 81% of non-Christian Americans also celebrate Christmas. A 2019 Gallup poll found that two-thirds of Americans still celebrate an at least somewhat religious Christmas. The claimed over-secularisation of particular holidays has caused controversy and claims of censorship of religion or political correctness . For example, in

1596-446: Is auspicious into dumplings such as dates, which prophesy a flourishing new year; candy, which predicts sweet days; and nian gao ( 年糕 , "year cakes"), which foretells a rich life. In the Qing dynasty , the name ya sui qian ( 壓歲錢 , "New Year's Money)" was money given to children during New Year's. The book Qing Jia Lu ( 清嘉錄 ) recorded: "elders give children coins threaded together by

1680-624: Is considered an unlucky day to have guests or go visiting. Hakka villagers in rural Hong Kong in the 1960s called it the Day of the Poor Devil and believed everyone should stay at home. This is also considered a propitious day to visit the temple of the God of Wealth and have one's future told. In those communities that celebrate Chinese New Year for 15 days, the fourth day is when corporate "spring dinners" kick off and business returns to normal. Other areas that have

1764-514: Is eaten for continued wealth and prosperity. For many Chinese Buddhists, this is another day to avoid meat, the seventh day commemorating the birth of Sakra , lord of the devas in Buddhist cosmology who is analogous to the Jade Emperor. Another family dinner is held to celebrate the eve of the birth of the Jade Emperor, the ruler of heaven. People normally return to work by the eighth day, therefore

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1848-404: Is especially unlucky , because it is sounded as si (Mandarin: 死 ), which means death. While fireworks and firecrackers are traditionally very popular, some regions have banned them due to concerns over fire hazards. For this reason, various city governments (e.g., Kowloon, Beijing, Shanghai for a number of years) issued bans over fireworks and firecrackers in certain precincts of the city. As

1932-403: Is observed as a public holiday in some countries and territories where there is a sizeable Chinese population. Since Chinese New Year falls on different days of the week each year, some of these governments opt to shift working days in order to accommodate a longer public holiday. In some countries, a statutory holiday is added on the following work day if the New Year (as a public holiday) falls on

2016-609: Is recognised in World War I Allied nations (and across the Commonwealth ) to memoralise those lost in the World Wars. National leaders will typically attend remembrance ceremonies at national memorial sites. Maybe surprisingly, World War II Armistice Day (and victory against Nazism ) day, on 8 May, is much less celebrated. Many holidays are linked to faiths and religions (see etymology above). Christian holidays are defined as part of

2100-508: Is still a commonly-used translation for people of non-Chinese backgrounds. Along with the Han Chinese inside and outside of Greater China , as many as 29 of the 55 ethnic minority groups in China also celebrate Chinese New Year. Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines celebrate it as an official festival. The Chinese calendar defines the lunisolar month containing

2184-562: Is that bai nian tie was derived from the Han dynasty's name tag, men zhuang ( 門狀 , "door opening"). As imperial examinations became essential and reached their heyday under the Tang dynasty, candidates curried favour to become pupils of respected teachers in order to get recommendation letters. After obtaining good examination marks, a pupil went to the teacher's home with a men zhuang to convey their gratitude. Eventually, men zhuang became

2268-488: Is the Lunar New Year , which is celebrated across East Asia and South East Asia. Many other days are marked to celebrate events or people, but are not strictly holidays as time off work is rarely given; examples include Arbor Day (originally U.S.), Labor Day (celebrated sometimes under different names and on different days in different countries), and Earth Day (22 April). If a holiday coincides with another holiday or

2352-421: Is the first implication detailed that this article is concerned with. Modern use varies geographically. In North America, it means any dedicated day or period of celebration. In the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, holiday is often used instead of the word vacation . The celebration of the New Year has been a common holiday across cultures for at least four millennia. Such holidays normally celebrate

2436-451: Is usually accompanied with a dinner feast , consisting of special meats as a main course and an offering for the New Year. This meal is comparable to Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner. In northern China, it is customary to make jiaozi or dumplings which are eaten at midnight. Dumplings symbolize wealth because their shape resembles a Chinese sycee . In the South, it is customary to make

2520-619: The Cultural Revolution , official Chinese New Year celebrations were banned in China. The State Council of the People's Republic of China announced that the public should "change customs" and have a "revolutionized and fighting Spring Festival." Since people needed to work on Chinese New Year's Eve, they would not need holidays during the Spring Festival. In 1980, the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations were reinstated. Chinese New Year

2604-553: The Spring Festival (see also § Names ), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar . Marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring , this festival traditionally takes place from Chinese New Year's Eve , the evening preceding the first day of the year, to the Lantern Festival , held on the 15th day of the year. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on

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2688-519: The Tang dynasty , people established the custom of sending bai nian tie ( 拜年帖 , "New Year's greetings"), New Year's greeting cards. It is said that the custom was started by Emperor Taizong of Tang . The emperor wrote " 普天同慶 " ("whole nation celebrates together") on gold leaves and sent them to his ministers. Word of the emperor's gesture spread, and later it became the custom of people in general, who used Xuan paper instead of gold leaves. Another theory

2772-934: The United States , the word is used exclusively to refer to the nationally, religiously, or culturally observed day(s) of rest or celebration or the events themselves, whereas in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations , the word may refer to the period of time where leave from one's duties has been agreed upon and is used as a synonym for the US preferred vacation . This time is usually set aside for rest, travel, or participation in recreational activities, with entire industries targeted to coincide with or enhance these experiences. The days of leave may not coincide with any specific customs or laws. Employers and educational institutes may designate 'holidays' themselves, which may or may not overlap nationally or culturally relevant dates, which again comes under this connotation, but it

2856-590: The Warring States period (475 – 221 BC). In the Lüshi Chunqiu , in Qin state an exorcism ritual to expel illness, called "Big Nuo ", was recorded as being carried out on the last day of the year. Later, Qin unified China , and the Qin dynasty was founded; and the ritual spread. It evolved into the practice of cleaning one's house thoroughly in the days preceding Chinese New Year. The first mention of celebrating at

2940-626: The liturgical year , the chief ones being Easter and Christmas . The Orthodox Christian and Western-Roman Catholic patronal feast day or "name day" are celebrated in each place's patron saint's day, according to the Calendar of saints . Jehovah's Witnesses annually commemorate "The Memorial of Jesus Christ's Death", but do not celebrate other holidays with any religious significance such as Easter, Christmas or New Year. This holds especially true for those holidays that have combined and absorbed rituals, overtones or practices from non-Christian beliefs into

3024-904: The new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February. Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture . It has influenced similar celebrations in other cultures, commonly referred to collectively as Lunar New Year , such as the Losar of Tibet, the Tết of Vietnam, the Korean New Year , and the Ryukyu New Year . It is also celebrated worldwide in regions and countries that house significant Overseas Chinese or Sinophone populations, especially in Southeast Asia. These include Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar,

3108-456: The winter solstice as the eleventh month, meaning that Chinese New Year usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice (rarely the third if an intercalary month occurs ). In more than 96 per cent of years, the Chinese New Year is the closest new moon to the beginning of spring ( lichun ) according to the calendar. In the Gregorian calendar , the Chinese New Year occurs on

3192-507: The 1990s, Birmingham City Council promoted a series of events in the Christmas season under the brand Winterval to create a more multi-cultural atmosphere about the seasonal festivities. The Bishop of Birmingham responded to the events, saying "the secular world, which expresses respect for all, is actually embarrassed by faith. Or perhaps it is Christianity which is censored". In the United States, conservative commentators have characterised

3276-447: The 5th day people will shoot off firecrackers to get Guan Yu 's attention, thus ensuring his favour and good fortune for the new year. The sixth day is Horse's Day, on which people drive away the Ghost of Poverty by throwing out the garbage stored up during the festival. The ways vary but basically have the same meaning—to drive away the Ghost of Poverty, which reflects the general desire of

3360-634: The Channel Islands ), or the feast day for a patron saint (e.g. St Patrick's Day in Ireland) or ruler (e.g. 5 December in Thailand). Belgium's national day, on the 21st of July, commemorates the oath of office of the first King of the Belgians (an uncle of the then-future Queen Victoria ), i.e., so to say, the day Belgium became a kingdom by ending the initial interregnum . Every country other than Denmark and

3444-483: The Chinese people to ring out the old and ring in the new, to send away the previous poverty and hardship and to usher in the good life of the New Year. The seventh day, traditionally known as Renri (the common person's birthday), is the day when everyone grows one year older. In some overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Singapore, it is also the day when tossed raw fish salad, yusheng ,

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3528-655: The Gregorian calendar except Israel . Christmas is a popular holiday globally due to the spread of Christianity . The holiday is recognised as a public holiday in many countries in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Australasia and is celebrated by over 2 billion people. Although a holiday with religious origins, Christmas is often celebrated by non-Christians as a secular holiday. For example, 61% of British people celebrate Christmas in an entirely secular way. Christmas has also become

3612-505: The Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is also prominent beyond Asia, especially in Australia, Canada, France, Mauritius, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as in many European countries. The Chinese New Year is associated with several myths and customs. The festival was traditionally a time to honour deities as well as ancestors. Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning

3696-597: The United Kingdom observes a national day. In the UK, constituent countries have official or unofficial national days associated with their patron saint. A British national day has often been proposed, such as the date of the Acts of Union 1707 (1 May) or the King's Official Birthday , but never adopted. Other days of national importance exist, such as one to celebrate the country's military or veterans . For example, Armistice Day (11 November)

3780-434: The ancient Chinese. Poet and chancellor of the Tang dynasty , Lai Guu, also described this tradition in his poem Early Spring ( 早春 ): " 新曆才將半紙開，小亭猶聚爆竿灰 ", meaning "Another new year just started as a half opening paper, and the family gathered around the dust of exploded bamboo pole." The practice was used by ancient Chinese people to scare away evil spirits, since bamboo would noisily crack and explode from firing. During

3864-492: The article on Lunar New Year . For other countries and regions where Chinese New Year is celebrated but not an official holiday, see the table below. Red couplets and red lanterns are displayed on the door frames and light up the atmosphere. The air is filled with strong Chinese emotions. In stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and other cities, products of traditional Chinese style have started to lead fashion trend[s]. Buy yourself

3948-655: The celebration of the New Year vary widely, and the evening preceding the New Year's Day is frequently regarded as an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner . It is also a tradition for every family to thoroughly clean their house, in order to sweep away any ill fortune and to make way for incoming good luck. Another practised custom is the decoration of windows and doors with red paper-cuts and couplets . Popular themes among these paper-cuts and couplets include good fortune or happiness , wealth, and longevity. Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red envelopes . In Chinese,

4032-510: The celebration, as well as those holidays that distract from or replace the worship of Jehovah. In Islam , the largest holidays are Eid al-Fitr (immediately after Ramadan ) and Eid al-Adha (at the end of the Hajj ). Ahmadi Muslims additionally celebrate Promised Messiah Day , Promised Reformer Day , and Khilafat Day , but contrary to popular belief, neither are regarded as holidays. Hindus , Jains and Sikhs observe several holidays, one of

4116-428: The city's fortune through kau cim . The third day is known as "red mouth" (Chinese: 赤口 ; pinyin: Chìkǒu ). Chikou is also called "Chigou's Day" (Chinese: 赤狗日 ; pinyin: Chìgǒurì ). Chigou , literally "red dog", is an epithet of "the God of Blazing Wrath" (Chinese: 熛怒之神 ; pinyin: Biāo nù zhī shén ). Rural villagers continue the tradition of burning paper offerings over trash fires. It

4200-461: The color red and loud noises. Then the tradition grew when New Year was approaching, and the villagers would wear red clothes, hang red lanterns, and red spring scrolls on windows and doors and used firecrackers and drums to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu , an ancient Taoist monk. Before the new year celebration

4284-498: The commemoration of the ending of World War II , or the Shoah , can also be part of the reparation obligation as per UN General Assembly Resolution 60/147 Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law. Another example of a major secular holiday

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4368-421: The cured meats of Chinese New Year are known as larou (simplified Chinese: 腊肉 ; traditional Chinese: 臘肉 ; pinyin: làròu ). The porridge was prepared by the women of the household at first light, with the first bowl offered to the family's ancestors and the household deities. Every member of the family was then served a bowl, with leftovers distributed to relatives and friends. It's still served as

4452-586: The day of New Year's Eve, the emperor ordered the scholar Xin Yinxun to write the couplets on peach wood and hang them on the emperor's bedroom door. It is believed that placing the couplets on the door to the home in the days preceding the year was widespread during the Song dynasty . The famous Northern Song politician, litterateur, philosopher, and poet Wang Anshi recorded the custom in his poem " 元日 " ("New Year's Day"). 爆竹聲中一歲除， 春風送暖入屠蘇。 千門萬戶曈曈日， 總把新桃換舊符。 Amid

4536-406: The debts outstanding for the year before the new year eve, extending to debts of gratitude. Thus it is a common practice to send gifts and rice to close business associates, and extended family members. In many households where Buddhism or Taoism is observed, home altars and statues are cleaned thoroughly, and decorations used to adorn altars over the past year are taken down and burned a week before

4620-560: The deities are also considered taboo. Normal traditions occurring on the first day involve house gatherings to the families, specifically the elders and families to the oldest and most senior members of their extended families, usually their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, and trading Mandarin oranges as a courtesy to symbolize wealth and good luck. Members of the family who are married also give red envelopes containing cash known as lai see (Cantonese: 利事 ) or angpow ( Hokkien and Teochew ), or hongbao (Mandarin: 红包 ),

4704-492: The deities into reporting good things about the family. Prior to the Reunion Dinner, a prayer of thanksgiving is held to mark the safe passage of the previous year. Confucianists take the opportunity to remember their ancestors, and those who had lived before them are revered. Some people do not give a Buddhist prayer due to the influence of Christianity, with a Christian prayer offered instead. The day before Chinese New Year

4788-425: The deities of the heavens and Earth on midnight. It is a traditional practice to light fireworks, burn bamboo sticks and firecrackers, and lion dance troupes, were done commonly as a tradition to ward off evil spirits. Typical actions such as lighting fires and using knives are considered taboo, thus all consumable food has to be cooked prior. Using the broom, swearing , and breaking any dinnerware without appeasing

4872-414: The door of fortune" (simplified Chinese: 开财门 ; traditional Chinese: 開財門 ; pinyin: kāicáimén ). The tradition of staying up late on Chinese New Year's Eve is known as shousui (Chinese: 守岁 ). It is still practised and believed to add to parental longevity. The first day, known as the "Spring Festival" (simplified Chinese: 春节 ; traditional Chinese: 春節 ) is for the welcoming of

4956-409: The festival is commonly known as the "Spring Festival" (traditional Chinese: 春節 ; simplified Chinese: 春节 ; pinyin: Chūnjié ), as the spring season in the lunisolar calendar traditionally starts with lichun , the first of the twenty-four solar terms which the festival celebrates around the time of the Chinese New Year. The name was first proposed in 1914 by Yuan Shikai , who

5040-505: The largest being Diwali (Festival of Light). Japanese holidays as well as few Catholic holidays contain heavy references to several different faiths and beliefs. Celtic, Norse, and Neopagan holidays follow the order of the Wheel of the Year . For example, Christmas ideas like decorating trees and colors (green, red, and white) have very similar ideas to modern Wicca (a modern Pagan belief) Yule which

5124-424: The last day of a year and the arrival of the next year in a calendar system. In modern cultures using the Gregorian calendar, the New Year's celebration spans New Year's Eve on 31 December and New Year's Day on 1 January. However, other calendar systems also have New Year's celebration, such as Chinese New Year and Vietnamese Tet . New Year's Day is the most common public holiday, observed by all countries using

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5208-544: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hols&oldid=1232067692 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Holidays Holidays can be thematic, celebrating or commemorating particular groups, events, or ideas, or non-thematic, days of rest that do not have any particular meaning. In Commonwealth English ,

5292-469: The messengers. Business people of the Cantonese dialect group will hold a 'Hoi Nin' prayer to start their business on the second day of Chinese New Year, blessing business to strive in the coming year. As this day is believed to be The Birthday of Che Kung , a deity worshipped in Hong Kong, worshippers go to Che Kung Temples to pray for his blessing. A representative from the government asks Che Kung about

5376-461: The most well-known ones are dumplings from northern China and Tangyuan from southern China. On the eighth day of the lunisolar month prior to Chinese New Year, the Laba Festival , a traditional porridge, Laba porridge (simplified Chinese: 腊八粥 ; traditional Chinese: 臘八粥 ; pinyin: làbā zhōu ), is served in remembrance of an ancient festival, called La , that occurred shortly after

5460-451: The needs of industry. Leigh Eric Schmidt argues that the growth of consumption culture allowed the growth of holidays as an opportunity for increased public consumption and the orderly timing of it. Thus, after the Civil War, as department stores became the spatial expression of commercialism , holidays became the temporal expression of it. Chinese New Year Chinese New Year , or

5544-452: The new moon that falls between 21 January and 20 February. According to legend, Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian (a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains) during the annual Spring Festival. The Nian would eat villagers, especially children in the middle of the night. One year, all the villagers decided to hide from the beast. An older man appeared before

5628-661: The new year starts on Little New Year , to be replaced with new decorations. Taoists (and Buddhists to a lesser extent) will also "send gods back to heaven" (Chinese: 送神 ; pinyin: sòngshén ), an example would be burning a paper effigy of the Kitchen God , the recorder of family functions. This is done so that the Kitchen God can report to the Jade Emperor of the family household's transgressions and good deeds. Families often offer sweet foods (such as candy) in order to "bribe"

5712-497: The opportunity to visit their birth families frequently.) The second day also saw giving offering money and sacrifices to the God of Wealth (Chinese: 财神 ) to symbolize a rewarding time after hardship in the preceding year. During the days of imperial China, "beggars and other unemployed people circulate[d] from family to family, carrying a picture [of the God of Wealth] shouting, " Cai Shen dao !" [The God of Wealth has come!]." Householders would respond with "lucky money" to reward

5796-413: The practice is not restricted to nin ya baat (the 28th day of month 12). It is believed the cleaning sweeps away the bad luck of the preceding year and makes their homes ready for good luck. Brooms and dust pans are put away on the first day so that the newly arrived good luck cannot be swept away. Some people give their homes, doors and window-frames a new coat of red paint; decorators and paper-hangers do

5880-565: The prefect's merit. During the Jin dynasty (266–420), people started the New Year's Eve tradition of all-night revelry called shousui ( 守歲 ). It was described in Western Jin general Zhou Chu 's article Fengtu Ji ( 風土記 , 'Notes on Local Conditions'): "At the ending of a year, people gift and wish each other, calling it Kuisui ( 饋歲 , 'time for gifts'); people invited others with drinks and food, calling it Biesui ( 別歲 , 'sending off

5964-452: The same in the Chinese language. After gunpowder was invented in the Tang dynasty and widely used under the Song dynasty , people modified the tradition of firing bamboo by filling the bamboo pole with gunpowder, which made for louder explosions. Later under the Song, people discarded the bamboo and started to use paper to wrap the gunpowder in cylinders, in imitation of the bamboo. The firecracker

6048-479: The secularisation of Winter festivities as "the War on Christmas ". These are holidays that are not traditionally marked on calendars. These holidays are celebrated by various groups and individuals. Some promote a cause, others recognize historical events not officially recognized, and others are "funny" holidays celebrated with humorous intent. For example, Monkey Day is celebrated on December 14, International Talk Like

6132-503: The sound of firecrackers a year has come to an end, The spring wind has wafted warm breath to the Tusu wine. While the rising sun shines over each and every household, People get rid of the old couplets and put up the new ones. The poem Yuan Ri ( 元日 ) also includes the word bao zhu ( 爆竹 , "exploding bamboo"), which is believed to be a reference to firecrackers, instead of the previous tradition of firing bamboo, both of which are called

6216-660: The start of a new year was recorded during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). In the book Simin Yueling ( 四民月令 ), written by the Eastern Han agronomist Cui Shi (崔寔), a celebration was described: "The starting day of the first month, is called Zheng Ri. I bring my wife and children, to worship ancestors and commemorate my father." Later he wrote: "Children, wife, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren all serve pepper wine to their parents, make their toast, and wish their parents good health. It's

6300-629: The term can refer to any period of rest from work, such as vacations or school holidays . In American English , "the holidays" typically refers to the period from Thanksgiving to New Year's (late November to January 1), which contains many important holidays in American culture. The word holiday comes from the Old English word hāligdæg ( hālig " holy " + dæg " day "). The word originally referred only to special religious days. The word holiday has differing connotations in different regions. In

6384-405: The villagers went into hiding and said that he would stay the night and would get revenge on the Nian. The old man put red papers up and set off firecrackers. The day after, the villagers came back to their town and saw that nothing had been destroyed. They assumed that the old man was a deity who came to save them. The villagers then understood that Yanhuang had discovered that the Nian was afraid of

6468-477: The winter solstice. Pickles such as Laba garlic, which turns green from vinegar, are also made on this day. For those that practice Buddhism, the Laba holiday is also considered Bodhi Day . Layue (simplified Chinese: 腊月 ; traditional Chinese: 臘月 ; pinyin: Làyuè ) is a term often associated with Chinese New Year as it refers to the sacrifices held in honour of the gods in the twelfth lunisolar month, hence

6552-430: The world since 1970, with 10,000 events in 2007. It is a holiday marking the dangers of environmental damage, such as pollution and the climate crisis . Other secular holidays are observed regionally, nationally and across multi-country regions. The United Nations Calendar of Observances dedicates decades to a specific topic, but also a complete year, month, week and days. Holidays dedicated to an observance such as

6636-402: The year'); on New Year's Eve, people stayed up all night until sunrise, calling it Shousui ( 守歲 , 'guard the year')." The article used the phrase chuxi ( 除夕 ) to indicate New Year's Eve—a phrase still used today. The Northern and Southern dynasties book Jingchu Suishiji describes the practice of firing bamboo in the early morning of New Year's Day, a New Year's tradition of

6720-614: Was at the time the interim president of the Republic of China . The official usage of the name "Spring Festival" was retained by the government of the People's Republic of China , but the government of the Republic of China based in Taiwan has since adopted the name "Traditional Chinese New Year". The festival is also called "Lunar New Year" in English, despite the traditional Chinese calendar being lunisolar and not lunar . However, "Chinese New Year"

6804-510: Was established under the Ming dynasty at the latest. It is described in the book Youzhongzhi ( 酌中志 ): "People get up at 5 in the morning of new year's day, burn incense and light firecrackers, throw door latch or wooden bars in the air three times, drink pepper and thuja wine, eat dumplings. Sometimes put one or two silver currency inside dumplings, and whoever gets the money will attain a year of fortune." Modern Chinese people also put other food that

6888-558: Was established, ancient Chinese gathered and celebrated the end of harvest in autumn. However, this was not the Mid-Autumn Festival , during which Chinese gathered with family to worship the Moon. In the Classic of Poetry , a poem written during Western Zhou (1045 BC – 771 BC) by an anonymous farmer, described the traditions of celebrating the 10th month of the ancient solar calendar , which

6972-412: Was in autumn. According to the poem, during this time people clean millet-stack sites, toast guests with mijiu (rice wine), kill lambs and cook their meat, go to their masters' home, toast the master, and cheer the prospect of living long together. The 10th-month celebration is believed to be one of the prototypes of Chinese New Year. The records of the first Chinese new year celebration can be traced to

7056-457: Was still called bao zhu ( 爆竹 ), thus equating the new and old traditions. It is also recorded that people linked the firecrackers with hemp rope and created the bian pao ( 鞭炮 , "gunpowder whip") in the Song dynasty. Both bao zhu ( 爆竹 ) and bian pao ( 鞭炮 ) are still used today to celebrate the Chinese New Year and other festive occasions. It was also during the Song dynasty that people started to give money to children in celebration of

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