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Water Games and First Visitors

Lunar New Year celebrations from Southeast Asia

By May Chow | AsianWeek Staff Writer

Even though Chinese Americans, due to their large numbers and extensive history in the United States, sometimes seem to be the sole group celebrating the Lunar New Year, many other Asian cultures also celebrate this holiday, also known as “Spring Festival.”

The lunar calendar is a yearly one, with the start of the lunar year being based on the cycles of the moon. Because of this cyclical dating, the beginning of the year can fall anywhere between late January and February. This year it fell on Feb. 1 and will be celebrated for two weeks.

The lunar calendar names each of the 12 years after an animal. According to Chinese legend, Buddha requested that all the animals bid farewell to him when he departed from Earth. Only 12 came, and as a reward, he named a year after each one in the order in which they arrived. The Chinese believe that a person born in the year of the ruling animal bears the personality and characteristics of the animal and that it “is the animal that hides in your heart.”

Other Asian ethnicities also celebrate the Lunar New Year, complete with their own traditions, food and merriment.

Vietnamese

Tet, which this year also fell on Feb. 1, starts off the Vietnamese lunar calendar and marks the start of spring. On New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, fireworks accompany gong and drum choruses to ward off the devil Na A and his wife, who hate bright lights and loud noises.

In Vietnam, the people pay attention to the sounds they hear in between the firecrackers and drums. A barking dog means they can expect confidence and trust; a buffalo’s bellow means hard work is ahead; an owl’s hoot is an omen of ill health. Similar to the first sounds of the New Year, the first visitor to a household on the first day of Tet is also believed to foretell what luck the family can expect for the rest of the year. Those that are successful, happy and healthy are often invited to many houses.

Tet is also a time to pay respects to dead ancestors and relatives. On the seventh day of the year, the dead are said to return to earth to protect the Vietnamese people. And so the revelry begins. Over the course of a month, fairs and festivals take over the neighborhoods. Clad in costumes and masks, people parade through the streets and perform their own version of the dragon dance.

Thai

Songkran is the traditional Thai New Year. It usually occurs sometime in the second or third weeks of April. In Thailand, the New Year signals water. Traditionally, water was sprinkled to induce rain and to bless religious figures and ancestors. Nowadays, buckets of waters, balloons and hoses are used to douse unsuspecting people and friends with waters.

The Thai also go to temples, or wats, to bathe Buddha images and offer foods and perfumed water to the monks.

Burmese

The Burmese refer to New Year’s Day as Thingyan. On this day, the god Thagyamin arrives with water, symbolizing prosperity and peace for the upcoming year. His arrival is greeted with parties, parades and music. This year, the celebrations will begin April 12 and end April 17.

The splashing of water is also a common practice during Burmese New Year. The water-splashing represents the cleansing of the dirt and residue of the last year. On the third night of celebrations, food, music and entertainment fill homes and many people stay up all night. The festival finishes with a family hair-washing ceremony, since many believe the head is the noblest part of the body and should be clean for the new year.

Cambodian

The Cambodian New Year is celebrated in mid-April, the first month of the year in Cambodia. The New Year is also the end of the harvest. The celebration lasts for three days, and many take time off from work to visit Buddhist pagodas, family and friends. Here in the states, the celebration only lasts for two days.

Homes are swept and dusted to rid unclean spirits and bad luck. Clothing made of silk is traditionally worn and men and boys wear black pants with white rounded neck shirts, while women and girls wear colorful skirts and robes.

Hmong

The Hmong New Year is celebrated between the months of November and December, and in many years during the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays. The Hmong do not have a strict adherence to the calendar when it comes to celebrating New Year’s. The reason is that the arrival of the new year should coincide with the end of the rice harvest.

The New Year festival must last at least three days, since it’s bad luck for it to last an even number of days. It can last from one month to a month and a half.

The three most important aspects of the festival are religious rituals, courtship between young people and the display of wealth.

Homes are cleaned from top to bottom to prepare for the new year and for parties. The Hmong people dress in their native clothes, made from different fabrics and colors to represent different geographic areas of origin, families and clans.

A traditional game of “ball tossing” is also played between a man and a woman. The game is a courtship ritual in which a soft black ball is tossed back and forth. If the ball is dropped, the person has to sing a traditional Hmong song or give a gift.

The opportunity to witness and experience celebrations in each country would be ideal, but take advantage of the diverse Asian communities in California, New York, Texas, Louisiana and Minnesota and enjoy a New Year that lasts five months.