Tag Archives: new years

Holiday Tradition – Vietnam

Nationality: Vietnamese
Age: 44
Occupation: Case Manager, Manicurist
Residence: San Diego, CA
Primary Language: Vietnamese
Language: English

New Years is a very important occasion in Vietnam. The date varies every year because it is determined by the Lunar Calendar. Nguyen Thien Nga who grew up in Saigon explained to me how her family used to celebrate and bring in the New Year.

New Years symbolizes getting rid of what has occurred in the past year. Everyone goes to great lengths to make everything spotless and makes the occasion incredibly upbeat and happy. The house is very ornately decorated. There are huge bouquets of flowers, and large bowls of fruit that fill the house and represent a healthy new year. Particularly the flowers tend to be red and this represents the color of royalty and wealth. In addition children are given red envelopes with monetary gifts inside. It is very essential that the money is brand new in order to have a good new year and as a result all the adults go to the bank to get new money. The older the person is, the more money he or she gives.

It is also very important to make amends and settle debts before the New Year comes around. It is bad luck if one does not repay a debt from the past year. If a debt is not repaid before the New Year than the person who is owed money is meant to approach the debtor about the money owed and bad luck will occur as a result of this. Luck is a prominent part in the three day celebration and people follow many specifications and put great consideration and thought into details to try and ensure a good New Year.

A traditional food eaten on the occasion is sticky rice that is placed in banana leaves. It originated from an event that took place many years ago. Back in the day there existed a king who had eighteen sons and before he died, he wanted to decide which one of them was apt to take over his position. He commanded all the boys to prepare a special dish and interpret it. They went out into the mountains for inspiration. One of the boys chose to use banana leaves which he arranged as a square. He filled the interior with sticky rice and meat and then folded it up. He called it Banh Chung. In addition he made a round, sticky steamed cake made of rice powder and sweet beans. It is called Banh Giay. The brothers called him foolish as they felt these creations were too earthy. However, he was selected as the father to be the next in line as his items were very affordable and it was within everyone’s reach to make them. These food items have been passed down since and are even made it today. The round cake represents the sun and the square dish is symbolic of the earth.

Since immigrating to San Diego, for practical purposes, Nguyen Thien Nga celebrates the New Year on the weekend closest to the Lunar date whereas in Vietnam it is a three day celebration where everything closes down for the occasion.

I think it is important to continue the rituals of one’s hometown even at after

immigrating to a new country. Obviously it is more difficult to uphold all the customs as the United States does not give three days off to celebrate the holiday but it still essential to uphold traditions as it sustains one’s background and culture.

Holiday Tradition – Scotland

Nationality: Scottish
Age: 48
Occupation: Registered Nurse
Residence: San Diego, CA
Performance Date: April 17, 2008
Primary Language: English

Ann Jurkowski, a family friend, described the Scottish New Years in detail as there are many unique aspects to it. A main feature of this event is termed “first footing”. Every person is meant to take a piece of their own coal and at midnight distribute it to other people to use in their houses. Often times people do not know from which neighbor the coal comes from. However it is useful as the weather is miserable and so people use the coal to furnish their fires.

Ann commented that the entire event is just “good fun”. It has no restrictions on who can enjoy the excitement of the holiday and is very social. A nice gesture that many people undertake on this holiday is delivering coal to someone who may not have anyone to celebrate the New Year with. As opposed to the United States where people hold individual celebrations and people have to be invited to attend, in Scotland everyone keeps their door unlocked as there are no limitations in any regard. Therefore the New Year brings in a time of spirit but additionally it brings in a sense of unity for all.

I believe that this holiday represents more of what the New Year should be celebrating. It connects the people of Scotland and allows involvement with all types of people. The New Year should be about making change for the improvement of society and appreciation for the past year. By allowing all to be included it shows that although we may all follow different paths, and have varying levels of prosperity and happiness, we all have hopes for an even better new year. This commonality allows a sense of community for all.

Superstition – China

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Zheng Zhou, Henan, China
Performance Date: April 9, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin

“I know that on Chinese New Year, you’re not supposed to eat medicine because it means you’ll be eating medicine for the rest of the year.”

Teng learned this superstition growing up in China until the age of nine. She claims she grew up knowing about it, because her mom would remind her every Chinese New Year. Even when she moved to Australia, her mother would never allow her to eat medicine on that day. Fortunately, Teng has never been sick during that time period, so she has never had to suffer a day without medicine due to a Chinese superstition.

Her mother probably learned the superstition from her mother, who probably learned it from the generation before them. The superstition is the type that is passed down between families and friends.

Teng said that she would tell other people about not eating medicine on Chinese New Years in any sort of context. However, it would be pertinent when that time of the year draws nearer and thus the risk factor of falling into the faux pas increases. She would usually tell this to her friends or younger relatives because the older adults she comes into contact with would probably already know about it. She would also talk about this superstition to during a conversation about all of the different kinds of Chinese superstitions, as she claims there is a plethora of.

Chinese New Year is the first day of the lunar calendar. Thus, following the commonly used solar calendar, the day usually falls sometime in early February. During this day of celebration, many superstitions and traditions are followed. There are even preparations going into the event to ensure a happy, healthy, and successful new year. Usually, it is a day when spirits roam free and need to be chased away.

Although Teng does not really believe in the superstition, she said that her mother reminds her every year anyways. Because she grew up in Australia, she cites a scientific education that has led her to doubt ideas that have not been proven. Superstitions do not play as heavy of a role in her life, because she does not believe in things that are not logical. Yet, at the same time, she has never tested the superstition because her mother would never allow her to toy with long held beliefs.

Although the origins of this superstition are unknown, Teng thinks that it probably comes from ancient times, when an emperor became sick for a whole year after eating medicine on the first day of the New Year, and ended up dying after a year of suffering. Because Chinese culture is very based on what previous generations passed down, compounded with the fact that not much was known in the field of medicine, people tended to follow superstitions no matter how foolhardy the advice seemed. She said it is a legacy based on paranoia and a few false beliefs.

The superstition is told as a word of warning to all of the dangers. It reveals that health is considered especially important and is valued in Chinese culture. Taking these seemingly strange precautions on New Year’s Day lends people who believe the superstition a piece of mind. I do not necessarily believe that this is true. If indeed there was a king who suffered a whole year and then died, I feel like the people that were around just needed to find a reason to explain away his death. This superstition is successful in the Chinese culture because it has taken many important elements and combined them into one simple rule of life that is easily followed.

Custom – Brazil

Nationality: Brazilian, African-American, Caucasian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 15, 2008
Primary Language: Portuguese
Language: English

Brazilians are known to be a joyous, celebratory culture of people.  A good friend of mine, Natalia, shared with me a custom that is performed in Brazil, typically on New Year’s Eve.  When the clock strikes midnight, and the country of Brazil lies on the very threshold of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, a major celebration takes place along the coast of Brazil.

Everyone and anyone, who is in or near a coastal Brasilian city at that very moment, rush to the Atlantic Ocean.  All clad in white attire, a celebration takes place in which the Brazilians unite and join together and rush into the sea to ring in a happy and prosperous coming year.  According to Natalia, it is a form of worship to Brasilian saint, the name of whom she could not quite pinpoint.

Such a joyous celebration highlights the nature of such a culture that contains such celebratory events as the annual parade/24-hour-Pre-Ash-Wednesday party of Carnival.  While this ritual delineates the exuberant nature of such a culturally-rich people, it also simultaneously emphasizes their religious fervor, in that it is a celebration of a national saint.

Custom – Croatia

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 15, 2008
Primary Language: English

Continuing with New Year’s traditions, Croatians have a unique New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day tradition of their own.

My good friend Lauren, who is of Croatian descent, recounted for me a tradition that she, her father, and their entire family do once the clock strikes midnight on December 31st every year: wash their faces with money.

As a New Year’s ritual, Croatians literally dip cash, dollar bills, coins, and other types of monetary forms in a sink and then proceed to rub and caress the soaking currency over their faces.  They perform such an act with the hopes of having money all throughout the coming year.  Lauren’s father, Walt, puts his own spin on a cultural tradition by washing his face with foreign currency, so that, in addition to basking in monetary wealth, he also hopes to be a jetsetter and travel all throughout the world during the new year.

This Croatian custom connotes the importance of wealth and prosperity to this culture, as well as their belief in superstition.  For Lauren and her family, this is a unifying, bonding experience—a little custom to look forward to every New Year’s Eve.