China prepares to celebrate Chunjie holiday

On Chinese night Tuesday the Lunar New Year Chunjie (Spring Festival). His patron will be the blue water tiger - a symbol of courage, strength, hard work, as well as courage and courage.

Every year, the Spring Festival is celebrated on the first day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar. In  Gregorian, this corresponds to one of days between January 21st and February 21 . This time, the new year will begin on February 1st and will last 355 days, until 21 January 2023.

Another Covid New Year

Chunjie is one of the main holidays in China. For many of its inhabitants, especially for its 300 million migrant workers, the New Year holidays (this year from January 6 6        million’s 300 million migrant workers are probably the only opportunity to go to small homeland to meet family  and relatives. That is why, before the pandemic, the Chinese made over 3 billion trips around the country during the New Year period.

For the third year in a row, the Spring Festival has been overshadowed by the coronavirus: in 2020, New Year's Eve coincided with the imposition of a lockdown in Wuhan; trips and mass festivities in connection with local outbreaks. This year is no exception. In the conditions of the spread of the omicron strain and the tightening of anti-epidemic measures in connection with the Olympic Games, the Chinese government recommended that citizens not  travel without urgent need, and also refrain from noisy and crowded celebrations in cafes and restaurants.

Particular attention  to Beijing, which these days receives thousands of foreign guests and is making final preparations for the Olympics. As I was able to verify corr. TASS, the streets of the Chinese capital were empty on the holidays: there are almost no traffic jams on the roads, parking lots in the center of the metropolis are almost empty, most visitors in cafes and restaurants are foreigners living in the capital. There are few Chinese among them - as a rule, these are families or small companies of 3-4 people.

Despite requirements to reduce travel around the country on holidays, some Chinese citizens still went to small homeland. However, there are few of them: according to last Saturday, residents of China made “only” 30 million trips around the country.

The “mystery” of dumplings

As the corr. TASS girl by the name of Li, her hometown is Qingdao in the Shandong province in the east of China. “Due to the pandemic, we will be celebrating the New Year in Beijing this year,” she shared. Together with his son, they walked on New Year's Eve along Qianmen Pedestrian Street in the center of the Chinese capital. “My husband is here, my friends are here. Therefore, we will celebrate Chunjie in Beijing all together, - added the girl.

When asked how they planned to spend New Year's Eve, the young woman replied: “On Chunjie Eve, we gather together, sculpt and eat jiaozi (Chinese dumplings & nbsp; - approx. TASS) ". She also noted that the modeling of dumplings has its own hidden and almost sacred meaning for the Chinese. “This is a symbol of the unity of loved ones. This is the traditional process of celebrating the New Year in China  explained with a smile.

According to one of the theories of the origin of the dish, the name jiaozi is consonant with the word "coin". At the same time, the shape of Chinese dumplings resembles silver ingots (yuanbao, known as yambs in Russia), which were in circulation in China before the monetary reform. One way or another, the expression "make dumplings" ("bao jiaozi") is consonant with the phrase "make coins." In other words, the Chinese believe - the more dumplings a family puts on the New Year's table, the richer their clan will become in the coming year.

Corresponding question  TASS, what kind of jiaozi is going to be sculpted by Li together with friends, the girl said that they will have dumplings with vegetables, sweet stuffing, and also with chestnuts on the New Year's table. “These fillings have a secret meaning,” she continued. “This is a symbol that the coming year will be full of happiness and prosperity, our hope that all dreams and wishes will come true,” the Beijing resident explained.

Along with dumplings, in every Chinese family, fish is also present on the New Year's table — its Chinese name "yu" is consonant with the hieroglyph "wealth, abundance." The Chinese do not forget about alcohol - they prefer to drink beer, and those who are stronger in spirit -54-degree Chinese baijiu vodka.

Traditions never change

In addition to the festive table, another important part of Chunjie is New Year decorations. On  the front door of a dwelling it is customary to hang red ribbons    cloths with calligraphically written hieroglyphs - wishes of happiness and good luck. In the center of the door, as a rule, place the hieroglyph "fu" - "happiness". By the way, those who believe in omens try to use knives and scissors less often on New Year and and generally avoid sharp objects - according I believe, this way you can "cut off your future happiness" and overshadow the whole future  year. For the same reason, barbershops are idle these days -the superstitious Chinese are very worried about scissors.

The people of China do not forget about gifts, which account for a significant part of New Year's expenses: friends and relatives are usually given alcoholic drinks, fruit baskets and tea, the younger members of the family are traditionally given red envelopes with banknotes inside - hongbao. This, among other things, is also considered a talisman against evil spirits. In modern China, hongbao have moved online: in Chinese instant messengers, money transfers with the emblem of a red envelope are sent not only to children, but to adults. This saves a lot of time, but not the family budget.

“According to tradition, I celebrate the New Year with parents,”  TASS is a Chinese woman named Su Tong. A few months ago, she came from abroad for an internship, this is her first family holiday since returning. On New Year's Eve, the girl was walking around the mall in the center of Beijing. “Usually we get together with parents, then meet friends to have a few drinks together and eat traditional Chinese dishes: be sure something fish meat. After that, we launch firecrackers, firecrackers,” she said.

The girl also shared that she was very tired from the restrictions associated with the pandemic. “It seems to me that with the epidemic, people have become indifferent to each other. Everyone keeps their distance,” Su Tong explained. “Therefore, I want to walk more, see a lot of happy faces,” she said, adding that she hopes for the soonest end of the pandemic.

All hope for tiger

Symbol of courage and strength —water tiger — became the hope not only for Su Tong, but also, perhaps, for the entire Chinese people. The hope that the striped predator in the new year will end the pandemic and bring prosperity.

These days, the streets of the Chinese capital are decorated with striped muzzles, expositions with the patron of the New Year are installed in the business and historical center of the city. A number of shopping centers in Beijing "dressed" in a tiger skin, repainting the facade in a black and red animalistic pattern.

Many foreign clothing brands have presented special collections specially for Chunjie, made of red fabric -the symbol of the Chinese New Year -with black tiger stripes. The Chinese are very sensitive to attire for New Year's Eve: meeting a tiger, like other patrons, must be in red and in new.

Fashion has also affected the youngest members of society - more and more often on the streets of the Chinese capital you can meet children dressed in a festive jumpsuit in the shape of a tiger. By the way, adults can also wear a striped coat if they wish: the latest trend is protective masks with a picture of a predator's muzzle.

Often, the patron of the year can be seen next to the mascots of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games Bing Dundun panda and red traditional Chinese lantern - Xue Rongrong: crossroads of key The streets of Beijing are decorated with huge installations, and themed souvenirs are sold in street stalls and shops.

This year, Chunjie has become not only a Spring Festival for China, but also a big holiday of sports: vacation days coincide with the beginning of the Winter Olympics in Beijing  ;— it starts on February 4. Perhaps for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, Chunjie is truly filled with expectations and hope - the hope that the water tiger will have more light stripes than black ones.