Basic HTML Version
12 | FireFlyz
COVER
STORY
The Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival as it has
been called since the 20th century, remains the
most importantsocial andeconomicholiday inChina.
Originally tied to the lunar-solar Chinese calendar,
the holiday was a time to honour household and
heavenly deities as well as ancestors. It was also a
time to bring family together for feasting.
Springing Into
The New Year
T
he
anc i ent Chinese
calendar, on which the
Chinese New Year is
based, functioned as a
religious, dynastic and
social guide. Oracle
bones inscribed with
astronomical records indicate that it
existed at least as early as 14th century
BC, when the Shang Dynasty was in
power. The calendar’s structure wasn’t
static though and was reset according to
each reigning emperor and varied in use
according to region.
W o r d s :
R e u b e n M i r a n d a