If you regret that you have not celebrated the New Year under the palm tree somewhere in the country of the eternal summer, we hasten to form you-you have not missed anything yet! The fact is that on January 1, not such a big holiday in Asia countries, since the date of the beginning of the New Year is calculated by the lunar calendar and lags behind the European one for a month or two, and in some places for all three or four. Thus, celebrating the winter holiday with all the attributes laid, you can once again celebrate the New Year on the eastern calendar. After all, two new years are better than one!
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Chinese New Year
The most famous and most large -scale holiday in Asia falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice, in 2018 it falls on February 16. According to legend, on this day a monster named Nann, who enters the homes, walks through China to take supplies, can kill cattle or even greedy hosts, so for centuries the Chinese hid home that day, and put a treat to the threshold to appease the nanny. Once a monster met a child in red clothing, whom the nanny was frightened, from which people concluded that he was afraid of red, and since then there has been a tradition to decorate the houses and streets with red flashlights. In China, the New Year is celebrated with large -scale theatrical shows, costume parades and fireworks, festive events last up to 15 days.
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Vietnamese New Year
The holiday is called tete and is calculated in the same way as the Chinese New Year, so it coincides with it by date. The celebration lasts a week during which carnival processions pass on the streets decorated with flowers and fruits. During the main parade, people go out and try to make noise as louder as possible to scare away evil spirits, explode firecrackers, beat in tambourines and gongs, call bells, and those who participate in a costume show perform a lion dance: this creature is something between a lion and a dragon-a symbol of power in Vietnamese culture. Also, during the festive week there are noisy fairs and festivals, and some attractions, for example, a bay, can be visited for free.
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Tibetan New Year
The holiday of the beginning of the New Year in Tibet is called Losar, and its date is also calculated according to the lunar calendar. For the Buddhists, the New Year has been sacred in nature, so most holiday events are held in the temples: for two weeks, shows with torches and swords, dancing in animal masks and skeletons are arranged here daily, battles between good and evil and other mythological stories are staged. Also, in Tibet, an interesting tradition of jackets with predictions is common. In each house, before the New Year, pies with different fillings are baked: wooden chips, paper, yak hair, pebbles, coals, salt and even manure. Then these pies are randomly distributed to family members, and by what the person the filling got, it is determined what his year will be. By the way, the one who came across manure awaits wealth!
Balian New Year
On the island of Bali, unlike the rest of Indonesia, its own chronology has been accepted, according to which the New Year begins on the New Moon Day in March, this year 1940 will come on March 17. The holiday is called NIEPI, and on this day the island is immersed in silence for a day. According to legend, on the first day of the year, evil perfumes fly over Bali, and to remain unnoticed, people lock themselves at home, they say only in a whisper, do not light the light and do not cook food. Tourists are also forbidden to leave the hotel territory, and Bali Airport is the only one in the world for a day. In the evening before the Day of Silence, the festival of Owe-a procession during which representatives of each village carry a huge figure of the demon, twist it at the intersections, play traditional musical instruments and dance. And of course, the lack of bright lighting on New Year’s Eve with more than compensated by the unimaginable starry sky.
Thai New Year
In Thailand, the New Year occurs with the beginning of the next rain season, so, depending on the province, it is celebrated on April 13-15. On the date, calculated according to the ancient Indian astrological calendar, the traditional Songcran festival takes place, during which it is customary to water each other with water, sprinkle with talcum and clay, they symbolize spring purification and bring the onset of the rain season. In tourist areas, Songkran is celebrated on a special scope, so it is impossible to go outside and remain dry, on the other hand, there is nothing wrong with walking wet from head to toe in the hottest season.
