C hinese N ew Year 2020
To new beginnings… By Jobe R. Garcia
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S WE end the Lunar New Year with a bang, let us revisit the brief history of the Lunar New Year and how it syncretized with our culture and traditions. It all started during the Shang Dynasty wherein people would offer sacrificial gifts to gods and ancestors. The practice soldiered on through the Zhou Dynasty and it was also during this period where a lion-like beast called Nian made its first foray into historic records. Based on folklore, Nian would ascend from the sea every year to extirpate people, so people would hide in clandestine locations. But despite the nefariousness of this narrative, there is a profound assurance that the lion-like
beast is afraid of loud sounds and the color red – its “Achilles Heel” so to speak. Now you know why fireworks and the color red are instrumental in celebrating the Chinese New Year. Lion dances, on the other hand, is the re-enactment of how Nian was sent back to the sea. (Bye bye!) Just a little trivia. Dishes that have fish on it, are a must on the table during Chinese New Year. Why? According to Culture Trip, Continued on D2
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2020 advertise@manilastandard.net
Of mooncakes and red envelopes By Jobe R. Garcia WE WOULD be ringing in the New Year (once again) in the Philippines by the 25th of January. Aside from your typical global celebration of New Year’s eve at the end of December, a group called the Tsinoys or a fusion of Filipinos and Chinese has this celebration called Lunar New Year. This year, 2020, we would be ushering in the Year of the Metal Rat. So much for Racumins, Pest Reject and other types of pest control. In the 15th century, there was an emergence of Chinese presence in the country during the Galleon Trade. According to Wu Jiewei, Deputy Dean of the School of Foreign Languages and professor of the Southeast Asian Cultural Studies, the first products included in the trade were kamote or sweet potato and tobacco between the East and West coasts of the Pacific from Manila to Acapulco. Thanks to the proclamation of Former President Benigno Aquino III, the Lunar New Year has now been integrated into our list of national holidays, stating that “this is a manifestation of our solidarity with our Chinese-Filipino brethren who Continued on D2