New Year is a celebration highly anticipated by everyone all across the globe regardless of their ethnicity. It is often a sign of hope and rebirth; and for people desperate for a clean slate: a fresh start. Some choose to make a set of new resolutions for personal fulfillment, some choose to mend relationships. It is known as a time for family and friends. Additionally, New Year’s Day varies by culture and time. Most countries commonly adopt 1 January as their official New Year’s Day based on the Gregorian calendar; though, there are also a great number of other regional calendars used by different cultures. Since it is a multiracial country, in Malaysia — whilst also simultaneously having made 1 January its formal New Year’s Day, New Year is celebrated differently by the Muslims, Chinese, and Indians, adhering to their respective cultural calendars being used. For the Muslim community, their New …show more content…
The date of the New Year is determined by the complex Chinese lunisolar calendar, whose parameters were set according to both lunar and solar movements. There is a variety of tales behind the history of the holiday, but the most recognised one includes a fight against a mythical dragon called Nian which preyed on villagers, who later learned about its fear of the colour red and loud noises. It resembles a form of cleansing, and for Chinese, it means the riddance of misfortunes and the negatives so as to provide an optimistic approach to a new year with a fresh start. This is where the spring cleaning tradition originated from. Houses are thoroughly cleaned to drive away evil spirits and appease the Gods, while red will usually become the predominant colour chosen to decorate the house. On New Year’s Eve, families will gather in a reunion to feast and pay respect to their ancestors. The Chinese New Year is undoubtedly the most important holiday in the Chinese
Traditional Chinese Festivals - china.org.cn. (n.d.). Traditional Chinese Festivals - china.org.cn. Retrieved April 29, 2014, from http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/Festivals/78322.htm
The Chinese New Year is the most significant holiday for the Chinese people, as it is a time for honoring ancestors and reuniting family members together. The Chinese New Year originated centuries ago from the fear of the great beast Nián (年).This terrible monster resembled a huge ox with the head of a lion. Every year, on New Year’s Eve, this creature would come out and devour the terrified Chinese villagers. Numerous homes and animals were destroyed. Eventually, a wise old man counseled the villagers and instructed them on how to get rid of the horrible Nián. He told the people to hang red paper cutouts on their doors because the monster was scared of the color red. Also, the man advised the villagers to light torches and firecrackers, as Nián was frightened of fire and loud noises. The Chinese followed the wise man’s directions and finally conquered the great beast. After Nián’s defeat, the Chinese called this date “the passing of Nián”, known as Guònián (过年). This symbolizes the celebration of the coming New Year. In addition, in keeping the monster away for a year, the Chinese say Gōngxǐ fācái (恭喜发财), which means “congratulations” This represents congratulating each other for making it safely to another New Year.
...as a very important day. Diwali; the word itself meaning “row of lights,” is another prominent Hindu holiday and occurs on what we know as New Year Eve—December 31st. It is a festival lights in which last for a five days. The lighting of candles signifies the welcoming of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Gambling is a norm on Diwali as it is seen as a way of assuring good luck for the upcoming year. The fourth day of Diwali is especially significant as it is the beginning of the lunar month of Karttika. On this particular day many celebrate religious customs to signify the New Year according to the Vikrama calendar (“Religion Facts,”n.p).
...tovah tikateiv veteichateim,” “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.” c) Tashlich, a special prayer said near a body of water (an ocean, river, pond, etc.), in evocation of the verse, “And You shall cast their sins into the depths of the sea.” And as with every major Jewish holiday, after candle lighting and prayers Jews recite kiddush and make a blessing on the challah. Both in Judaism and Hinduism the New Year is a time of celebration. A time where all people but the past behind them and enter the New Year with a clean slate, where God had forgiven all people for all there sins from the previous year.
The Chinese use the lunar calendar. “Although China has adopted the Gregorian calendar in common with most other countries in the world for official and business purposes, the traditional Chinese calendar continues to define the dates of festivals and used for horoscopes” (“Chinese calendar”). The lunar calendar is based on of the moon. It uses the moon phases to figure out each month.
The article "Year-Round Education: Is Summer Vacation over...Forever?" an article in The Week Magazine, "The students learning and experience during the summer after school is over" ("Year-Round"). Year round education (YRE) is a traditional school schedule in the United States of America provides nine-months of instruction and three month summer vacation. YRE has been present in society since the early 1900's (Bussard). At the end of the 180 day, the teachers and students have enjoyed a relaxing vacation during three month long summer breaks. Schools will continue to follow 180 days system on the calendar; yet, these will have a shorter every term. The traditional calendar is simply changing the instruction and summer vacation that all the all students and staff are in school or vacation at the same time. Many people thought YRE is a good idea for students to improve academic achievement; but there are several reasons why going to school all year round is a bad idea against YRE because the family tradition, work experience, and air conditioning.
Individuals can benefit from having multiple literacies. Literacy in area outside of academia can be repurposed and used in academic settings too. The same is true for academic literacies; academic expertise can prove beneficial in other areas. In order to repurpose literacy, one would apply knowledge by reconstructing past literacies and reapplying it in order to enhance present literacies. One educator, Kevin Roozen, described repurposing literacy as blending together of extracurricular elements and of elements from other literate experiences (Roozen 18). Mary Maragrget Holt, dean of the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts at the University of Oklahoma, is a prime illustration of this very idea.
A gap year is a time for teens to take off between high school and college. A gap year is used to travel, work, volunteer or study. In general, a gap year has many advantages. This year out of a school is a good time for students to explore the world and gain valuable life skills and experience while learning to be independent. Teens in the U.S. should adopt the British custom of taking a gap year between high school and college in order to gain perspective on personal values and career goals as well as gaining needed life experiences without the pressure and expectations of a school environment. A gap year is a time for students to become independent and learn a sense of responsibility before entering into university life.
The Chinese New Year is a huge festival celebrated all over the country, it’s the most important festival celebrated on the calendar (13). The Chinese use a lunar calendar for their festivals so the date of the Chinese New Year is different each year (13). The date corresponds to the new moon in either late January or February (13). This is a time of good fortune and happiness. It is also considered the beginning of spring so; many also call it the spring festival (13).
One of the traditions you will see most often is the Red Packets. Red packets are passed out to children by elders, married couples, and adults. The packages will contain yuan and is believe to keep the children healthy and suppress evil. (“Chinese New Year Traditions.”) Many people will also clean and decorate their house with Fu, Papercutting and door gods. Fu or upside down character of Fu (which means luck) will be posted because upside down it means coming, as in luck will come to those who post it. Door gods are decorative pieces which are placed on the side of an entry to ward off evil spirits. (“Chinese New Year Crafts.”) Some of the more popular foods eaten during the fifteen days of Chinese New Year are dumplings, New Year Cake, Tang Yuan, and LaBa Congee. New Year Cake is a solid cake with glutinous rice flour together with some sugar, it is most popular in eastern china. Tang yuan however is a small ball of glutinous rice flour served in boiling water. They can be filled or unfilled and are traditionally eaten on the fifteenth day or the Lantern Festival. LaBa congee is a mixture of rice, nuts, and beans cooked together. LaBa Congee is usually served at the LaBa festival, which is the 8th day of the last month of the year. (“Chinese New Year Food.”) The final foods eaten are of course noodles and dumplings, throughout the festivities they are eaten because noodles represent long life and dumplings represent wealth because they are similar to silver or gold ingots. During Chinese New Year the people celebrate by writing poetry on the lanterns as well and posting poetry throughout the house. In this poem you can clearly see how the New Year is reveled and enjoyed by the
The Chinese rely a lot on the Chinese calendar to determine the day of Chinese New Year. The Chinese
In Chinese culture, Chinese New Year is the greatest and biggest time of the year. Chinese New Year lasts for fifteen days. Chinese New
History is a series of important past events that connect with something. History is what makes people make better decisions. There are many definitions of history and everyone has their own.
Students who take a gap year regularly go on to be successful in college. Even though people might not go back after that year is over, everybody should think about the idea of taking a year off because it has a many amount of benefits and 90 percent of students who take a year off go back to college and graduate and it gives you a fresh start entering college.