NOISY, COLORFUL CHINESE NEW YEAR

CHINESE NEW YEAR ON FEBRUARY 3
WELCOMING OF THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT

www.news.oneindia.in - China has been celebrating this New Year as Rabbit Year, where rabbit is the fourth sign of the Chinese horoscope, which has a 12-year cycle. This Chinese New Year marks the Year 4709 according to Lunisolar Calendar. People mostly wore red outfits, as the Chinese believe the color can ward off evil. According to a myth, a mythical beast, Nian, would attack the villagers on the first day of the New Year. The myth tells of how villagers would offer food to keep the Nian from attacking people, until they discovered the beast becomes afraid when it sees a child wearing a red outfit. Today, people hang red lanterns and scrolls on their windows and doors, in the hope of scaring off the Nian. Apart from the public celebration, the Chinese practice a number of rituals to welcome the New Year, including thoroughly cleaning their homes to wash away the preceding year’s dirt, and to make way for good luck.

Traditional Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner includes a dish of fish, which symbolizes abundance, and dumplings which symbolize wealth. For business owners, the Chinese New Year is very lucky, even days before the holiday. Chinese and Filipinos alike purchase sweet sticky tikoy, and lucky charms that are supposed to attract good fortune. Especially popular is the five-in-one charm which supposedly brings the bearer success, love, happiness, wealth and prosperity. Fruits are also popular purchases, as they symbolize abundance. This year, rabbit figurines are very popular, as 2011 is the year of the metal rabbit.


This year is the 2011 in the Gregorian calendar - the one used in most of the world - but is the year 4709 in the Chinese calendar, which is guided by the sun and the moon. According to the Chinese horoscope, this year marks the entrance of the Rabbit, replacing the year of Tigre. In the Chinese tradition, the Rabbit symbolizes kindness, sensitivity, grace, good manners and beauty. The connection between China and India was of a very ancient standing and we find in James Todd’s “Rajasthan”, written in 1822, that the genealogists of China and Tartary declare themselves to be the descendants of Ayu, son of the Hindu king Pururava.



WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?
The cultural relations between India and China can be traced back to very early times. There are numerous references to China in Sanskrit texts, but their chronology is sketchy. The Mahabharata refers to China several times, including a reference to presents brought by the Chinese at the Rajasuya Yajna of the Pandavas; also, the Arthasastra and the Manusmriti mention China. ... According to Terence Duke, martial arts went from India to China. Fighting without weapons was a specialty of the ancient Ksatriya warriors of India. Until recently, India and China had coexisted peacefully for over two thousand years. This amicable relationship may have been nurtured by the close historical and religious ties of Buddhism, introduced to China by Indian monks at a very early stage of their respective histories, although there are fragmentary records of contacts anterior to the introduction of Buddhism. The Chinese literature of the third century is full of geographic and mythological elements derived from India.




Vedic Knowledge Online :
“Vedic Roots of China and Japan”
http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz
http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/connections/Vedic-roots-China-and-Japan.php

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