Tag Archives: chinese new year

The Science Bunny

Text:

A: I mean if you’re looking for a real piece of folklore, I have a science bunny. You remember the science bunny.

ME: science bunny?

A: the science bunny goes in the pocket of lab coat

ME: ohhh!! (I remembered the science bunny at this point) 

A: every time I have a biology lab or any time that I’m in my lab coat really. Which is a lot. I was in it like uhh probably eight hours a week this semester.

ME: where did you get this bunny?

A: it was a gift for Chinese New Year that was sent from my aunt who’s not my aunt. So she sent me a little–

ME: like a family-friend aunt?

A: a family-friend aunt. 

ME: I have those too

A: and then they had like, the ears had like lanterns and some stuff on them. So but then it was so tiny that I could stick it in my pocket. And then whenever we had exams, my friend and I (who is in biology and chemistry) wed take out the bunny– Cause usually we’d be sitting around each other in the exam room– the bunny, all the knowledge all the science knowledge it’d absorbed by sitting in my pocket, it was going to give back to us. So, that is my little superstition. I’m also convinced that somebody lives in my basement at home, secretly. But that’s not a superstition

ME: well that’s a legend, for another story

A: that’s a legend

ME: interesting, you’ll have to tell me more about the basement guy later. Uhh, the bunny… why do you think you do the bunny? Does it help?

A: I don’t know if it helps, but I think it’s fun to have traditions because it became kind of a little point of comradery. And the fact that one friend would always bully the bunny, so then I would bully the friend. And then also like my other friend, he always just liked seeing the bunny. It was kinda a thing we could all rally around. So it was like every time the science bunny came out… one of my friends was like o my gosh you’re such like a, you’re gonna be such a pediatrician. You with your little bunny. You carry a stuffed animal with you. And I was like aww. And it’s kinda cute, you know it’s just something to hold on to. So yeah…

ME: I appreciate this, thank you

A: glad to get your homework done

Context:

This tradition was shared with me by a friend and USC peer while waiting to collect boxes in preparation for move-out.

A grew up in Missouri, USA. A was at the time of sharing a pre-med student.

Analysis:

Good luck charms are quite common. Seeking good luck on academic tests and challenges is similarly precedented. The science bunny reminded me of a rabbit’s foot: a common good luck charm. I don’t think A’s use of the science bunny was directly influenced by ideas of rabbits’ feet, but it’s interesting on a basis of convergent practices.

The idea that the bunny might absorb knowledge from observing labs and then return the knowledge to A and her friends is also interesting to me. Despite A not fully believing it this seems to be an instance of magic.

A finds meaning in this practice because it brings her closer to her friends. “It was kinda a thing we could all rally around.”

The Nian Monster

Nationality: Chinese American
Age: 23
Residence: Irvine, CA
Language: English

Text:

“I know this is for sure Chinese. The idea of a Nian monster. I think this was actually the Chinese New Year tradition and where it came from. So once upon a time *laughs* there was this tale that there was a monster called Nian and every time around the current time of Chinese New Year. The Lunar/Chinese New Year is when the monster comes around and then they will either eat people or do a lot of robbery, a lot of killing, a lot of bad things. And then essentially what people end up doing is that someone found out, I don’t remember exactly how, but someone found out that if you played a very loud noise the monster would retreat. They also found out Nian is afraid of the color red. So this is how the Chinese New Year tradition of playing the bianpao which is the firecracker kind of thing, the thing that gives off a very loud sound, that’s how that tradition developed. And that’s also how the very much appreciated tradition of red packet *laughs* developed because I think Nian was particularly fond of children like kidnapping/killing children so the tradition became of like adults, adults would give children a red packet during Chinese New Year so that Nian wouldn’t come near them. They would also light up bianpao so it makes a lot of noise. I’m not sure how this tradition turned into putting money into a red packet but, I benefited *laughs* from this before which is why I remember vividly guess.”

Context:

The informant was born and grew up in China before moving to the United States to attend High School. The informant was told of the Nian monster when she was 4 or 5 years old by her grandmother. The story of the Nian monster is so popular that she also read about it in books and discussed the story with family and community members. The informant does not literally believe in the Nian monster, however, she is fond of the story and the traditions that accompany it.

Analysis:

The Nian monster and its incorporation into Chinese New Year traditions is perhaps a representation of the fear of the end of a cycle. Death can often follow the end of a cycle and begin the beginning of a new cycle. One’s awareness of the connection between the end of one thing and the beginning of another is heightened during the New Year. Nian could be seen as representing the possibility of death and thus attacks on the New Year.  Furthermore, the story of the Nian monster incorporates children within cultural New Years traditions and shows them that their family and community care about their safety. Children may end up feeling safer year-round if they are shown how much their community cares for them by having the color red everywhere, making noise, and giving them red packets for protection.

No Cleaning After Chinese New Year

Background: My informant, CL, grew up in Taiwan, and speaks Mandarin, Hakka, English, Japanese, and Cantonese. Interview conducted in English over FaceTime.

Me: “Do you have any Chinese New Year traditions?”

CL: “We don’t clean after Chinese New Year. You have to clean before. It’s bad luck if you clean after, and you’re also very busy during celebrations so you don’t have time anyway.”

Me: “Do you know why it’s bad luck?”

CL: “You need to start the New Year with a clean house. If you already have to clean after the start of New Year, it’s unlucky.”

Analysis: The performance element of this custom is apparent, but I’ve also been surprised by how many customs appear to stem from logic in conjunction with belief as well. Yes, cleaning after Chinese New Year may appear unlucky, but it also may have just been too difficult logistically as well, given the volume of celebrations, feasts, and festivals taking place during the same time period as well. So it’s interesting to see it attributed to luck when it may just as easily be attributed simply to time management as well.

Sweeping Out the Good Luck (Chinese New Year)

Transcript (the folk practice):

Me: Do you do anything on Chinese New Year?

Informant: Like don’t sweep on Chinese New Year?

Me: Wait that’s a thing?

Informant: You don’t know that?

Me: I’ve never heard this!

Informant: Wait this is like famous, hang on. It’s like you’re not supposed to sweep during Chinese New Year if you don’t want to sweep the luck out of the house cleaning out the house symbolizes wait wait wait yeah sweeping out the house should be avoided during the first 3 days because good luck would be swept out.

Context:

Context of Performance: collected from an in-person conversation.

Informant: so it’s like a fun thing for Chinese New Year that I understand and don’t have to speak Chinese for it AND I get to like do it.

The informant also commented that she learned about it from her mom. Her family has been not sweeping during Chinese New Year since she was a kid (at least 10 years).

Personal Thoughts:

There’s a lot of traditions done during Chinese New Year that are associated with fortune and wealth. However, most that I’ve heard are things to do to scare off bad luck (such as lighting fireworks) as opposed to things not to do to keep good luck. This tradition is particularly interesting to me because I’ve associated Chinese New Year with Spring Cleaning time and/or a reset.

Yuán Xiāo Jié (Chinese Lantern Festival)

Nationality: Chinese/American
Age: 49
Occupation: Software Engineer
Performance Date: 4/29/2022
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

Background: The informant is my mother, who was born and raised in China but immigrated to the US after receiving her undergraduate degree. She grew up on a small island off the coast of China.

A: yuán xiāo jié is for tuan yuan – which means that um…family gets together for this celebration

We make round rice cakes called yuán xiāo filled with sweet black sesame and we eat them, and different colorful cute animals or flower shaped lights using wood or bamboo or paper and drawings on them, sometimes we make characters even. The…government, or community…would hang these very big lanterns in the streets, for a lantern festival we go to where riddles are written and hang under the lantern, and when you solved the riddle you could keep the light. People could buy these lanterns or make it themselves, and they had a candle inside of them so they could be lit.

Me: When is yuán xiāo jié celebrated?

A: It’s on….I think it’s on the 15th day of the Chinese New Year, it’s the day when the moon is the roundest. The shape of the yuánxiāo is modeled after the shape of the round white moon. 

Me: How did you learn about this festival?

A: No one needs to tell you about it exactly, everyone just knows. It was just something that everybody did since I was very young. All the kids had lights, and the kids always competed over who had the prettiest lantern. Once when I was young I got a lotus flower lantern and I thought it was so beautiful…I was very proud. I would happily walk around with the adults and look at the beautiful lights.

Me: What does it celebrate?

A: It’s about spending time and enjoying time with your family. Families walk around the streets with the lanterns and can all enjoy their time together as well as when they get together and eat the rice ball. We celebrate togetherness and the happiness of the family. It’s part of the new year traditions.

Context: This was told to me over a recorded call.