{"id":11747,"date":"2017-01-05T15:00:22","date_gmt":"2017-01-05T07:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/?p=11747"},"modified":"2022-01-28T15:42:46","modified_gmt":"2022-01-28T07:42:46","slug":"chinese-new-year-traditions-in-ph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/2017\/01\/05\/chinese-new-year-traditions-in-ph\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese New Year Traditions in the Philippines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated as of Jan. 28, 2022.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Every year, the Chinese and Filipino-Chinese community in the country\u00a0celebrates the Chinese New Year<\/strong>. Also known as Lunar New Year and Spring Festival in Mainland China, this is an important festival which marks the turn of the Chinese lunisolar calendar.<\/p>\n

Although the celebrations in the Philippines aren\u2019t as long as those in Mainland China, the day is marked as a special non-working holiday<\/strong> to respect and let the Chinese communities observe their traditions and celebrate.<\/p>\n

Also read:\u00a0How the Chinese New Year is Celebrated in the Philippines<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Here are some of the traditions people in the Philippines observe to show their participation in this festive event:<\/p>\n

Dragon\/Lion Dance<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Accompanied by the loud banging of the drums, the streets of Binondo (the country\u2019s primary Chinatown) would be occupied with dragon and lion dancers moving animatedly from one house and business to another. As they do so, they also pick the red envelope hanging on the entrance of the houses and establishments.<\/p>\n

Dragons and Lions can be identified by looking at how long its body is. Dragons have a longer body and are controlled by 8 to 10 people, while the Lions only have 4 legs and controlled by two persons.<\/p>\n

Also read: How to Spend a Day at Lucky Chinatown in Binondo<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Dragon (left) and Lion (right) Dances are both regarded as auspicious in Chinese culture\/IMAGES from WikiCommons<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Red Envelopes<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Called the iai see<\/em> in Cantonese, \u00e2ng-pau <\/em>in Hokkien or h\u00f3ngb\u0101o<\/em> in Mandarin, the red envelopes are monetary gifts given on holidays or special occasions. The red color and symbols on the envelope are said to bring in good luck as well as ward off evil spirits.<\/p>\n

Take note that you cannot put in any amount in the red envelopes. <\/em>It is recommended to give amounts in even numbers as odd numbers are associated in cash given during funerals.\u00a0As a courtesy, it is also best to use new bills.<\/p>\n

\"\"The\u00a0<\/span><\/em>ang<\/em> pau come in different designs and are usually ornated in symbols to mean many things\/IMAGE taken from Flickr<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Red<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the Chinese tradition, the color red is a symbol of energy, happiness, and good luck. This is why during the Lunar New Year, it would be usual to see everyone wearing red, and bringing with them accessories that have a touch of red. The color can also be seen in the various decorations at home and in establishments.<\/p>\n

New Year\u2019s Eve Dinner<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This is the Chinese\u2019 most important dinner as it is also the event where every member of the family reunites and dines together. Fish is most commonly served during this dinner, as it symbolizes surplus and good fortune in their culture.<\/p>\n

Tikoy <\/em>which literally translates to \u201cyear cake\u201d is also served to symbolize unity among family members and for them to achieve greater heights in the coming year.\u00a0They also serve dumplings as its shape resembles the Chinese currency and symbolizes good fortune.<\/p>\n

Also read:\u00a0Chinatown Food Finds: A Guide to Chinese Restaurants in Binondo<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Fireworks and Firecrackers<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Just like the rest of the world, the Chinese light up firecrackers and fireworks as they believe that this will ward off bad luck and the evil spirits. The louder the firecrackers are, the better and luckier it is in the coming year.<\/p>\n

The fireworks also show the people\u2019s celebration in the festivities and their way of starting the new year with a bright and colorful start.<\/p>\n

\"\"Other than fireworks, street firecrackers that are loud and safer\/IMAGE from WikiCommons<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Cleaning and Paying Off Debts<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Chinese would clean their homes a few days before New Year to remove the bad luck and welcome the good fortune brought by the new year. They also start to pay off their debts as a means to start fresh and anew as the year begins.<\/p>\n

If you are interested in joining the Filipino-Chinese festivities, the location is at Ongpin Street, Chinatown<\/strong> which runs through Binondo and Sta. Cruz in Manila.<\/p>\n

Also read: Chinatown: A Hub of History and Culinary Adventure<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Sources: Asia Tatler<\/a>, China Highlights<\/a>, chinesenewyears.info<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aside from those with Chinese blood, most Filipinos also take part in the celebration with the belief that doing so will give them good luck, fortune, and a better year ahead of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":39029,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[15435,887,1868,1163,1628,1629,1869,119,1870,1593],"class_list":["post-11747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-listicle","tag-15435","tag-chinese","tag-chinese-new-year","tag-culture","tag-fortune","tag-luck","tag-lunar-new-year","tag-philippines","tag-red","tag-tradition"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2017\/01\/dragon-and-lion-dance.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11747"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64133,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11747\/revisions\/64133"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}