Simple Facts Of Traditional New Year Greetings From Orient
In the following article you will get some information about wishing a happy and prosperous New Year in ancient and modern day China.
Are you getting a lot of Guo Nian Hao from people as you near China in the beginning of the year? It simply means Happy New Year in Chinese language. You will also get a number of New Year greetings in February in China as conventional Chinese New Year falls in the beginning of February which is absolutely different from western concept and comes as a surprise to many.
The difference in date regarding New Years is all because Chinese follow lunar calendar. Their New Year depends on the moon cycle rather than the date like 1st of January. The Chinese people celebrate their New Year in a traditional manner where they follow a lot of old customs and it’s a time for joyful celebrations.
Since the beginning of the lunar year is an important occasion you will find everybody to be greeting each other irrespective of whether they know the person or not. Go to any market place and you will have the entire staff wishing you Guo Nian Hao. In fact this is the voice of the nation during the festive season.
There is nevertheless a particular time limit during which the use of this greeting prevails. The time period is the first five days of the New Year. After that the use of this greeting is not considered to be part of the tradition. However Guo Nian Hao is not the only Chinese New Year greeting that surface during this time of the year.
Since it is the beginning of a New Year people are generally wishing and praying for affluence in the year to come, both for themselves as well as others. You will often find people wishing each other congratulations and success which is something along the lines of Gonxi Facai; Hokkien Keong hee huat chye in Chinese.
Another common greeting that has been part of the traditional set of Chinese New Year greetings is one wishing the other person for an plentiful harvest in the coming year.
There is another form of Chinese New Year greeting which is known as red envelop. According to this the children are given some money in envelop instead of saying any greeting. Red envelop is known to keep evil away from your life in future.
Changing times have given birth to new traditions with regards to Chinese New Year greetings. Every one has their own ways of greeting each other. The use of greeting cards has flourished during recent years although this practice has never been part of the ancient tradition.
With the introduction of Internet wishing New Year for people of China has become very easy by sending e-cards. There are huge fireworks shows held for the common people by the government during New Year.
Chinese new year greeting can vary depending on your location. If you would like to read further on Chinese New Years activities please follow the links.
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