asian festivals Flashcards
- or Spring Festival
- most important social and economic holiday in China
- Mainland China, Hongkong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Thailand, Vietnam, and Philippines
- to honor ancestors, household spirits, and holy or sacred beings
- originally tied to the lunar-solar Chinese calendar – a complex timepiece with parameters set based on lunar phases + solar solstice and equinox; also ruled by the Yin and Yang
Chinese New Year
Artistic Symbols of Chinese New Year:
- 5th day of New Year, the gods of prosperity will come down from the heavens
- firecrackers to bring good fortune and wealth for business
Welcoming of the Gods of Wealth and Prosperity
Artistic Symbols of Chinese New Year
- 15th day of New Year, end of celebrations
- Lanterns throughout the streets, poems and riddles are written for entertainment
The Festival of Lanterns
Artistic Symbols of Chinese New Year:
- Hong Bao (Mandarin) / Ang Pao (Hokkien) – red also means good luck, abundance, and happiness
- Envelopes filled with money given to children or unmarried adults with no jobs yet
The Red Envelopes
Artistic Symbols of Chinese New Year
- Chinese people think they are descendants of the mythical creature
- 5th day of New Year, as people start going back to work, Dancing Dragons perform in front of the office building
- 15th day, also a lot of dancing as well
The Dragon
Artistic Symbols of Chinese New Year
- Girls dress in red or bright-colored cheongsam
- Red is good luck + scare away evil spirits and bad fortune
The Clothing
Artistic Symbols of Chinese New Year:
- Family portrait is an important ceremony (in a hall, or front of the house)
- Head of the family sits at the center
The Family Picture
Artistic Symbols of Chinese New Year:
-Shape
- Red diamond shapes for arrival of luck, prosperity, blessing, and happiness
- Displayed on entrances hanging upside down
The Symbolic Color and Shape
Artistic Symbols of Chinese New Year:
- Chinese colored woodblock printing for decoration (goodbye past, welcome future)
- Originally a picture of a door god
The Nian Hua
Artistic Symbols of Chinese New Year:
- Most important dinner of the year: Chinese New Year’s Eve meal (at home or now, resto)
- Sticky glutinous rice as symbol of family unity
The Food
- Loi Krathong
- On evening of full moon on the 12th month in the traditional Lunar calendar of Thailand (Nov)
Thai Lantern Festival
- made of slice of trunk of banana tree / spider lily plant
- modern are now made of bread or Styrofoam (but are being banned)
- sometimes a small coin is included as offering to the river spirits
Krathong
- release thousands of lighted lanterns in the sky while making a wish
- lanterns are known as khom loi (floating lanterns)
- khom loi are made of thin fabric (rice paper) stretched over a bamboo or wired frame which a candle or fuel cell is attached
Yi Peng
Drum Festival
Japanese Todo Kaido
- part of Japanese culture for over 2000 years –
“The heartbeat of Japan” - Used as communication tool / for religious rituals (though might be different from today)
Taiko
