Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The legend behind it

Good evening to all. Today, I am here to highlight the highlights of the Chinese New Year festival. After this speech, you may have a deeper understanding in this topic and learn to appreciate our Chinese culture better.

What is your definition of Chinese New Year? Is it a study break before the term tests? Is it a time to get as many Red Packets as you can? No, Chinese New Year is so much more. Through this festival, we get to understand our Chinese culture better. Let me share with you the story of Nian. The legend says that there was a ferocious and ugly beast called Nian in the mountains long ago who would come down from the mountains and hunt the innocent people on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month. People were very much afraid of it and locked their doors early before sunset on the days of its coming. An old wise man living in a village thought the monster was so bold and furious because of the panic in people and soon discovered that Nian was terrified of the colour red. Thus, he gathered the people and together they beat drums and gongs, burnt bamboo and lighting fireworks to make large noises to threaten and conquer the hateful monster. He also advised everyone to hang red decorations outside the house to scare the monster away. Alas, it worked and the monster never returned again. Today, there has been many spin-offs of the legend. Although it is completely fiction, it is still interesting to discover such legends and be amazed by how it actually contributed to the origin of the festival.

There are other things to look for during Chinese New Year. One is the bonding time with our cousins and relatives. No matter how distant we are, we are still one family. Therefore, it is important to cherish these visits, especially if you do not meet up often. "Blood is thicker than water", isn't it?

There are also other components of this festival. What do you look forward to? There are the Chinese traditional decorations (mostly Tiger for this year), festive goodies (this one I like best), new clothing and much more. What do you like about Chinese New Year? The discussion is now open to the floor.

2 comments:

  1. I like your eneding statement:"The discussion is open to the floor".Impactful just like a speech.Yup,I agree with you that Chinese New Year is a great oppurtunity for bonding and creates a sense of unity.Evrybody always feel that "bonding" is an extremely corny term.However,just like you stated,it works miracles, affecting our psychological well-being.

    Cheers!=D

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  2. Thank you Gary! I am trying various methods to publish my posts. This creates a refreshing feel and makes the blog interesting to read.

    Bonding is great. The feeling whenever you are with your cousins and relatives is what words cannot describe and is priceless. Definitely not corny at all.

    Cheers!

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