We all know that Chinese New Year is the most celebrated festival in China
and in many East Asian Countries, as well as by Chinese people overseas
But did you know that we’ve been celebrating it wrong for the past 100 years?
Chinese New Year has actually been banned 3 times in the past century
As a result, the meaning and traditions of this festival were also lost
So what exactly happened?
Now before I dive into how and why Chinese New Year was changed
let me first give you a brief history about this festival and how it was celebrated in the past
Chinese New Year’s Day, also called “Yuandan” in Chinese, is the first day on the traditional Chinese calendar
which is a lunisolar calendar based on a system developed by the Yellow Emperor more than 4,700 years ago
The Chinese New Year celebration can be a month-long event
As I mentioned in my previous video, traditionally people would start preparing for Chinese New Year from the Laba Festival
which falls on the 8th day of the twelfth month
The Laba Festival was originally a year-end celebration for people to thank the agricultural deities
and later became a celebration of Buddha Śhākyamuni’s enlightenment day
Just like how people start getting into the holiday spirit from Thanksgiving Day here in the US
Chinese people would start doing all the preparation for the New Year on this day
such as making new clothes, preparing dishes and cleaning their houses
After the Laba Festival, on the 23rd or 24th day of the twelfth month
another festival known as the “Minor New Year” also known as the “Kitchen God Festival” would be celebrated
Chinese people believed that every home has a Kitchen God who watches over them
And every year he would ascend to heaven on this day to report his observations
So hoping that the Kitchen God would say sweet things about their family
people would usually cook sweet candies to bribe him on this day before sending him off
The next important day is Chinese New Year’s Eve, also known as Chuxi
It’s a time for family gatherings and a large feast with fish, meat, dumplings, and New Year rice cakes
all of which people have been preparing since the Laba Festival
Many people would also follow a tradition of staying up all night waiting for the new year to come
On New Year’s Day, it was finally time for the most important custom of this festival
According to written records from Chinese history, different dynasties and different regions each had their own ways to celebrate
however, there was one thing in common, and that was worshiping the heavens and ancestors
For example in the book “Treasury of the Jade Candle” from the Sui dynasty
it was recorded that on Chinese New Year’s Day, people would first welcome the Kitchen God’s return from heaven
Then the head of the family would lead everyone to worship the heavens and gods, especially the God of Five Grains
to thank them for taking care of the family in the past year, and also pray for blessings for the coming year
In another record from the Qing Dynasty, it was written that at daybreak on New Year’s Day
government officials would all go into the palace to pay respect to the emperor
Civilians would also put on their most extravagant outfits for the worshiping ceremony
They would first burn incense for the heavens. Then burn incense for their ancestors
Then kowtow to the elderly in the family, and lastly give new year wishes to neighbors and peers
If you look at the order in which people did things
you’ll realize that traditionally Chinese people put heaven and the divine in the highest regard, above everything else
This is an important piece of information to keep in mind
So when did the new year celebration end?
It usually lasted until another festival called the Lantern Festival which falls on the 15th day of the 1st month
It’s another big festival in China. I did a video explaining the origin and customs of the Lantern Festival. I’ll put the link below
But in short, people lit lanterns as a way to show respect to Buddha Śhākyamuni’s teachings
Have you noticed that the beginning and ending days of the Chinese New Year celebration
as well as the New Year Day’s ritual itself, were all tied with paying respect to divine beings?
Chinese people have always been very spiritual throughout history
however, something changed in the last century
The first ban came after the 1911 Revolution also known as the Xinhai Revolution
This revolution ended China's last dynasty, the Qing dynasty
And then Sun Yat-sen was elected as the "provisional president" of the Republic of China
Sun wanted Chinese people to switch from using the Chinese calendar to the Gregorian calendar
because he thought it would help China to open up and connect to the rest of the world
He made an official announcement in 1912 and designated the Gregorian New Year’s Day, Jan. 1st, as the new “Yuandan”
He also asked people to celebrate the Chinese New Year according to the Gregorian calendar
However, it was not so easy as people’s daily lives were basically tied to the Chinese calendar for thousands of years
So people mostly just ignored this order and continued their traditions
By 1928, the new Nationalist government tried again to make people adopt the Gregorian calendar system, this time by force
They knew that people kept using the Chinese calendar for the past decade
So they implemented a few laws which banned buying and selling of the Chinese calendar
gave no days off on Chinese New Year, and banned all forms of Chinese New Year celebration
On the other hand, the Nationalist government heavily promoted the Gregorian New Year’s Day
and even organized celebrations on that day
But no matter how much they tried, no one cared about the new calendar
and people were still celebrating the traditional new year in secret
By 1934, the Nationalist government finally gave in and withdrew the ban
So up until this point, no laws were able to change how people celebrated Chinese New Year
But after the Communist Party came into power in China, things took a big turn
In 1949, the Communist Party made the Gregorian calendar the official calendar in China
They also made the term “spring festival” the new official name for Chinese New Year
But this term didn’t exist in ancient China, and there was already another festival called Lichun, which literally means “start of spring”
That’s when people would welcome and celebrate the beginning of spring
In 1967, one year after the start of the Cultural Revolution, the Community Party made a mandate saying
There will be no days off this year for Chinese New Year. It’ll be made up later
However, not only were the days off never made up later
people lost their freedom to celebrate Chinese New Year and all traditional festivals for the next 13 years
According to an article published by the People's Daily, an official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party
people who wanted to celebrate the new year were “bastards”, all the traditions were “filthy habits”
and the only way to celebrate the new year was to “promote Chairman Mao’s ideology with great effort”
Unlike the last two attempts, this time the Communist Party wanted to not only ban the customs on the surface
but also to fundamentally reform people’s thinking
During this period of time, families would gather on New Year’s Eve and start inspecting each other’s thought impurities against communist ideology
Then on New Year’s Day, everyone would hold up a little red book of Mao’s quotes, and wish Mao to live on forever
All the new year decorations were also switched to communist banners
At the same time, there was another movement called “Destroying the Four Olds” which targeted all traditional culture, thinking, customs, and relics
Families were forced to give up everything they owned that belonged to the “Four Olds”, or else face dire consequences and even lose their lives
After more than ten years of ideological reform, the Communist Party finally succeeded in eliminating the Chinese New Year
Even after the Communist Party started allowing days off again in 1980
no one in China would dare to bring up worshiping the heavens and ancestors anymore
People would only focus on eating and other trivial customs in fear of being persecuted again
The old generation chose to forget, while the young generation who grew up during the Cultural Revolution knew only to despise all of the traditions
And today, their children and grandchildren have no idea what traditional Chinese culture means
and how people celebrated Chinese New Year for thousands of years
That’s why I want to share with you the facts and values from genuine traditional Chinese culture
Because what we have lost in recent history was actually the true essence of China
It’s not hard to see that ancient Chinese people were deeply spiritual. They treasured the connection between heaven and man
And this allowed them to hold a higher moral standard, knowing that everything they do is being watched and every action will be met with karmic retribution
Wouldn’t it be great to have a society like this? It’s far more effective than relying on laws alone
Let me know what you think in the comments below
And last but not least, I wish you a healthy and happy Year of the Tiger! See you again in the next video