Occurring in October or November, Diwali is the most popular Hindu festival of the year. It is both the beginning of winter and the beginning of the new year. Traditionally Diwali lasts for five days, with the most important celebration coming on the night before the new moon appears. Diwali is celebrated with the expectation of good luck and prosperity during the coming year. If signifies a time to pay debts, clean house and dress in good clothes and jewelry.
Diwali is sometimes called the Hindu "festival of lights" because thousands of little oil lamps, dipas. lights and candles burn in honor of Lakshmi, the goddess of good fortune, wealth and happiness. It is said if one's house is not clean and lit with special lamps, Lakshmi will not visit the house that year. In India these little lamps are seen everywhere. Hindu girls often float lighted dipas across rivers and lakes.
In America, however, Hindus only light dipas inside their homes or temples. When Hindu families light dipas on their home alters, they say prayers to Lakshmi. They often refer to light as a "mother" and refer to Lakshmi as "Mother Light." In American cities where there are a significant number of Hindu People, Diwali is celebrated together with indoor lights, greetings, entertainment and worship.
Rosh Hashanah comes in early autumn. At synagogues everywhere the rabbi blows a special ram's horn called a Shofar. This signifies the need to prepare spiritually for the upcoming year. The shofar makes a shrieking blast which serves as a reminder to do good and lead a God-fearing life in the new year. Rosh Hashanah is a solemn time. During the New Year's meal it is traditional to eat a piece of fruit dipped in honey to make sure that the new year will be full of sweet things.
The final day, ten days after Rosh Hashanah begins, is called Yom Kippur or "Day of Atonement." It is the most important day on the Jewish calendar. This is the day to make up for (or 'atone' for) your mistakes and wrongdoings during the past year. Jewish people do not work on this day. They attend religion services and fast from sunset to sunset.
In Japan the New Year is called Shogatsu or Genjitsu. Before the New Year's holidays. all school and office work must be finished and every house must be clean inside and out. Unlike many other Asian cultures, the Japanese celebrate New Year's Day on January 1. If fact the days before and after January 1 have become times of celebration, and the New Year's season often stretches from the last week in November to the first week in January. At midnight on December 31 a gong at each local shrine is struck by a monk. The tolling of the gong means all mistakes from the past year are forgiven.
On New year's morning all the members of the family dress in traditional kimonos. This is the one time of the year When everyone wears this type of clothing. Families eat a meal together which usually features a special type of buckwheat noodle called soba, a symbol of long life. Children try to swallow at least one noodle whole for good luck. Other New Year's foods are black beans and rice cakes. Children receive New Year's gifts, particularly coins in special money envelopes called noshigami. Millions of New Year's cards are delivered on New Year's day, and the day is the prime time for family visits.
Families often go together to visit shrines where New Year's fortunes, printed on strips of white paper, are given out. Each person ties his or her fortune to small tree branches outside of the shrine. When many strips of paper are tied to the tree, it looks like it is in full bloom. Most shrines have a flame that never goes out. Each family gets a light from the flame and takes is back to light their stove at home. One Japanese saying goes, "A spark from the life-long flame will keep sickness away."
The Chinese New Year comes at the end of January or beginning of February. The Chinese calendar is based on the moon, not on the sun like the calendar we use is America, so their New Year comes at different times. However, it always comes in winter and it lasts for 15 days.
It is the time to honor one's ancestors and to share a feast with family and friends. People prepare for the New Year by cleaning their houses. They put away sharp things like scissors and knives so that nothing will cut the luck of the New Year. New Year's wishes are written on long scrolls and hung in homes or stores. Children get money in red envelopes which signify good luck and happiness for the upcoming year.
Celebrations include noisy parades and firecrackers. Dancers dressed up like big dragon lead the parade. Like red envelopes, the dragon is a symbol of good luck for the new year. One of the most important parts of the parade is the Dragon Dance. The dance is performed by two people who operate a huge paper-mache' dragon head and twelve others who hold the long train which makes up the dragon's back and tail. They dance through the streets, swaying back and forth, accompanied by gongs and drums.
For Vietnamese Americans, Tet is like lots of celebrations all rolled into one! It lasts for three days and comes sometime between January 21 and February 19. This holiday has been celebrated by Vietnamese people for over 4,000 years, and for Vietnamese Americans it is a time to learn about family history and the history of Vietnam. People clean and paint their homes, making everything spotless and new.
Peach blossoms are one symbol of Tet. They serve as a reminder of the new year and the coming of spring. Red is the color for Tet. New Year's wishes are written in black on red paper scrolls which are hung in the living room and over the front door. Paying back debts before Tet begins is customary. Arguments are avoided and mistakes forgiven. This signifies a new beginning.
Children receive gifts of money called li xi which come in small red envelopes. Some families hang many li xi on a tree in their home to give to visitors during the holiday. Other Tet gifts may be clothes. flowers and toys. A favorite New Year's food is the sticky rice cake called banh chung which must be cooked for at least eight hours. They are cooked shaped in a square pan because in ancient times the earth was thought to be square. Favorite foods are pickled radishes, peppers and other vegetables.
During Tet everyone visits family and friends. It is believed that the first visitor of the new year brings good luck or bad luck with them. To make sure their luck is good, the families often invite someone important or well liked to be their first visitor. Therefore, it's an honor to be asked to be the first visitor in someone's home.
Most Vietnamese people have an alter in their home in honor of their ancestors. During Tet they decorate these altars with flowers, a cup of tea and fresh fruit. Families pray to their ancestors for protection and guidance. Because many Vietnamese are Buddhist, the altars may also have a statue of Buddha.
On the night Tet begins Vietnamese families go to a church or temple. Buddhist monks often give the families gifts to bring them luck in the new year. Sometimes they play a fortune telling game with sticks. Each stick has numbers written on it that tell each person what the next year's fortune might be.
Like the Chinese, dragons are important to the Vietnamese people. They are often called the "Children of the Dragon." One legend says that dragons roam the earth during Tet. Another legend tells the story of a dragon and a fairy princess who fell in love. After they married the princess delivered 100 eggs which later became 100 children. The children were said to be as brave as the dragon and as kind and beautiful as the princess. According to this legend the 100 children grew up and became the ancestors of the Vietnamese people.
One ancient New Year's custom was to make as much noise as possible to scare evil spirits away from the new year. by the 1700's colonists in America were continuing this tradition with cheers, shouting and using noisemakers on New Year's Eve. These traditions, along with lighting firecrackers, continues to the present day. American celebrations for the New Year begin on the night of December 31. Many people attend parties where at midnight they make noise, cheer, clap, kiss one another and sing an old Scottish song, "Auld Lang Syne."
January is named for the Roman god, Janus. He is pictured with two faces one looking forward and one looking backward. This symbolizes the connection with both the ending of the old year and the beginning the new one. In America we use different symbols to represent the same things. An old man with a beard usually symbolizes the old year and a baby in diapers the new one.
George Washington began the custom of holding a party on New Year's Day where everyone was welcome. This became known as having an "open house" and is still done in many places today.
Regional foods help welcome the New Year in various parts of America. In Pennsylvania Dutch country, eating sauerkraut on New Year's Day is said to bring good luck. In the South the custom is to eat black-eyed peas.
Gathering with family and friends to watch parades and football games, either in person or on television, are important New Year's Day activities for many Americans. Lots of Bowl games are featured where the top teams from various colleges and universities play one another. Parades, such as the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, are usually connected to the football bowl games. The rose Parade is the best known of all New Year's parades. A tradition since 1886, it has hundreds of floats, each covered with fresh flowers. Another famous parade is the Mummers' Parade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. String bands wearing ornate costumes and huge head dresses perform elaborate marching routines during the parade.
Making New Year's resolutions is a modern approach to keeping evil away during the New Year. People decide to improve their lives by making promises to do good things or not to do bad things. New Year's Resolutions are one way to promise yourself, your family or friends that you will do one or more things differently. Resolutions can be the beginning of setting goals for the new year. Of course it's always easier to make a resolution than keep it. Keeping it is hard work.
