Members of the Corning Chinese Association perform a traditional dance at the 2007 Spring Festival, celebrating Chinese New Year.
Parents and children perform during the 2007 Spring Festival as part of the Corning Chinese Association's celebration of Chinese New Year.Celebrations to mark Chinese New Year, to be observed Thursday, include Asian traditions and tasty treats.
February 6, 2008
By Kathleen Costello - Star-Gazette
Year of the rat
The years: 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008.
Corning Chinese AssociationInformation about the group or its festival: www.cca-ny.org
February 6, 2008
By Kathleen Costello - Star-Gazette
Year of the rat
The years: 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008.
Corning Chinese AssociationInformation about the group or its festival: www.cca-ny.org
People born in a Year of the Rat are clever and bright, charming and hard-working. They have broad interests and a strong ability to adapt to different environments. Rat people are thought to make wonderful leaders.Bad traits: On the downside, rat people can be controlling, often insisting on doing things their way. They can become obsessed with detail and can be intolerant and strict, frequently demanding order, obedience and perfection.
Thursday marks the beginning of Chinese New Year, the first day in the Chinese or lunar calendar. The first day of the 15-day celebration always takes place during the second new moon after the winter solstice.
Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in many Asian cultures. In addition to China, the annual holiday (also called the "Spring Festival") is celebrated in Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan and Korea. It has been celebrated in America for more than 150 years.
Chinese New Year resembles the American Thanksgiving holiday, since families share large meals. As in many cultures, an abundance of good food is believed to be a harbinger of good things to come.
"It is a time to get together with your family, but that is a little difficult now, living overseas," says Jie Shi, a native of China who lives in Horseheads and works at Corning, Inc. This year, Shi will celebrate the holiday with her 19-year-old daughter and with local friends.
In many Asian cultures, New Year's Eve is the time when families gather to prepare traditional foods such as dumplings, says Lu Zhang, of Painted Post. Then on New Year's Day, the celebration extends out to include friends, neighbors and colleagues.
Each year is named after one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. This year is the year of the rat, which is the first animal in the 12-year cycle. Rat years are generally viewed as times of renewal.
According to legend, Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from the earth. Only 12 came to bid him farewell and, as a reward, he named a year after each one in the order they arrived, starting with the rat and ending with the pig. Each animal personifies characteristics of the people born in that year.
Those born in rat years are said to be logical, charming, shrewd and inventive.
Symbolism plays a large role in the holiday. The color red is said to represent prosperity, so many people wear red clothes or use red decorations. Children collect money from relatives, which they gather in red envelopes.
People wear new clothes and shoes to symbolize a new beginning, and people clean their homes thoroughly to sweep away past misfortunes, Shi says.
Many traditional foods involve elements of good fortune, as well.
Baking a whole fish, including the head, is a common tradition for Chinese New Year, Zhang says. The head is left untouched to symbolize a completeness of family. The Chinese word for fish is "yue," which is similar to the word for riches.
One traditional dish is "yuan xiao," small dessert dumplings that are eaten on the 15th day of the celebration, called the Lantern Festival. Made from sticky rice flour and filled with sweet stuffing, the dumpling balls symbolize family unity, completeness and harmony: a fitting end to the holiday.
Locally, the Corning Chinese Association is organizing a "Spring Festival" to celebrate the new year. The festival, which is only open to members of the association and their families, will take place from 4:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday at Broadway Middle School in Elmira. Zhang, the Corning Chinese Association chairman, says the celebration will include food, activities for adults and children, performances by about 11 different groups, and more.
Thursday marks the beginning of Chinese New Year, the first day in the Chinese or lunar calendar. The first day of the 15-day celebration always takes place during the second new moon after the winter solstice.
Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in many Asian cultures. In addition to China, the annual holiday (also called the "Spring Festival") is celebrated in Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan and Korea. It has been celebrated in America for more than 150 years.
Chinese New Year resembles the American Thanksgiving holiday, since families share large meals. As in many cultures, an abundance of good food is believed to be a harbinger of good things to come.
"It is a time to get together with your family, but that is a little difficult now, living overseas," says Jie Shi, a native of China who lives in Horseheads and works at Corning, Inc. This year, Shi will celebrate the holiday with her 19-year-old daughter and with local friends.
In many Asian cultures, New Year's Eve is the time when families gather to prepare traditional foods such as dumplings, says Lu Zhang, of Painted Post. Then on New Year's Day, the celebration extends out to include friends, neighbors and colleagues.
Each year is named after one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. This year is the year of the rat, which is the first animal in the 12-year cycle. Rat years are generally viewed as times of renewal.
According to legend, Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from the earth. Only 12 came to bid him farewell and, as a reward, he named a year after each one in the order they arrived, starting with the rat and ending with the pig. Each animal personifies characteristics of the people born in that year.
Those born in rat years are said to be logical, charming, shrewd and inventive.
Symbolism plays a large role in the holiday. The color red is said to represent prosperity, so many people wear red clothes or use red decorations. Children collect money from relatives, which they gather in red envelopes.
People wear new clothes and shoes to symbolize a new beginning, and people clean their homes thoroughly to sweep away past misfortunes, Shi says.
Many traditional foods involve elements of good fortune, as well.
Baking a whole fish, including the head, is a common tradition for Chinese New Year, Zhang says. The head is left untouched to symbolize a completeness of family. The Chinese word for fish is "yue," which is similar to the word for riches.
One traditional dish is "yuan xiao," small dessert dumplings that are eaten on the 15th day of the celebration, called the Lantern Festival. Made from sticky rice flour and filled with sweet stuffing, the dumpling balls symbolize family unity, completeness and harmony: a fitting end to the holiday.
Locally, the Corning Chinese Association is organizing a "Spring Festival" to celebrate the new year. The festival, which is only open to members of the association and their families, will take place from 4:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday at Broadway Middle School in Elmira. Zhang, the Corning Chinese Association chairman, says the celebration will include food, activities for adults and children, performances by about 11 different groups, and more.
