Reflections on the Chinese New Year Festival (part 2)

2. About New Year’s Eve (除夕)

The same story has also confused the meaning of New Year’s Eve. It is said that “Xi” (夕) was a wild beast that came to villages on the night of the thirtieth day of the lunar year to eat people. People would set off firecrackers to drive it away, so the night was called “chú xī” (除夕). This explanation is truly irresponsible and harmful to future generations. In oracle bone script, the character Xi (夕) actually evolved from the character Moon (月). By removing the stroke in the middle of the character, it represents a dim moon with no brightness, which simply refers to nighttime.

The transformation of character Xi (夕)

The thirtieth day of the lunar year is the last day of the year, and only when night arrives does it transition into the new year. Using the character Xi (evening/night) to express this could not be more accurate. Life can never be completely satisfactory. When the new year arrives, removing impurity and negativity is the most important thing. By eliminating the final night of the old year, the impurity is also removed. Removing the old brings in the new. Therefore, the night of the last day of the year is called “chú xī” (除夕), and its meaning is very profound.

3. About Festivals

Chinese people like to call festivals “節 (jié)", and holding celebrations is called "過節 (guò jié)", which also carries deep meaning. The celebration in spring is called the Spring Festival, the first full moon day is the Lantern Festival, and there are also the Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Double Ninth Festival, and so on.

The original form of the character “jié” (節/节) is the simplified character without the grass radical on top, 卩, pronounced jie. In oracle bone script, it depicts a person kneeling in worship during a sacrificial ritual, therefore carrying meanings of reverence and restraint.

The oracle bone script of 卩

By the time of the bronze inscription era, a food vessel and a bamboo radical were added to the original character, giving it the meaning of bamboo joints—implying rhythm, moderation, restriction, and rules. If the term festival (節日) is fully interpreted, it means: a day to restrain one’s desires and emotions, reflect on past mistakes, pray to heaven and earth, and honor the gods and ancestors. This should be the original meaning of festivals and something people are expected to follow. If festivals were only meant for eating delicacies and traveling, they should be called days of indulgence or wildness rather than festivals.

Anonymous (Qing dynasty), Qing Fugui Sui Chao Tu (Auspicious New Year Painting), ink and color on silk, The Palace Museum, Beijing.

4. About Festival Foods

China has long been an agricultural society that values food as essential to life. Therefore, even today, the friendliest gesture is still to invite someone to a meal. In the current era of desire and consumption, many Chinese people believe that celebrating the Spring Festival simply means family reunion and eating and drinking abundantly, nothing more. The original meaning of festivals has already been lost, and the spirit of national culture has faded.

The most typical food of the Spring Festival is dumplings. Almost every household holds a strong and fixed belief: dumplings must be eaten during festivals. Especially during the Spring Festival, the 7th, 17th, and 27th days of the lunar month, October 1st of the lunar calendar, and the Beginning of Winter, people make dumplings. On those days, chopping boards in every household resound as people prepare the filling.

Chinese Dumplings

However, few people realize that dumplings were not originally prepared for people, but for offerings to heaven and the gods. Why then do festivals leave the impression of excessive eating and drinking? Because after sacrificial rituals, the offerings can be eaten by everyone, and the sacrificial wine can also be drunk. This effectively provides an opportunity for communal dining, which creates the impression of feasting.

The character jiǎo (餃) is a phono-semantic compound. The left side is the semantic component representing food, while the right side serves as the phonetic component and also reflects the specific characteristic of the object—something associated with the alternation of yin and yang. From the original meaning of the character, it can be seen that dumplings were offerings used in sacrificial rituals at the critical moment of transition between two years. The time is exactly midnight on New Year’s Eve and the Yin hour of the first day of the new year. This is the true purpose and meaning of making dumplings.

To be Continued.