漲姿勢 看世界各地華人如何過春節

Ringing in the new year敲響新年的鐘聲
On 19 February 2015, more than a billion people will kick-off 15 days of festivities to celebrate the Lunar New Year – one of the most important festivals for people in China, many parts of Asia and in cities and towns worldwide. Although celebrated in different ways around the world, Lunar New Year is a time for families to get together, honour deities and ancestors, and ring in the new lunar calendar. Legend has it that the festival, which has origins dating back to the 14th Century, started when a mythical creature, called a Nian, arrived to Peach Blossom village on the first day of the new year to eat livestock, crops and even children. An old wise man advised the villagers to hang red paper and set off firecrackers to scare the Nian away. From then on, the Nian never returned to the village and peace reigned.
2015年2月19日，超過十億人將開始爲期15天的農曆新年慶祝活動---它是中國人民、多數亞洲地區和世界各地的城鎮最重要的節日之一。雖然世界各地的慶祝方式各不相同，然而共同之處在於農曆新年是家人團聚、慶祝、祭祖的歡樂時刻，也是共同迎來新篇章的時刻。相傳，這個節日的由來可以追溯到14世紀的一個叫做“年”的神祕生物，它在新年的第一天來到桃花村，吃牲畜、莊稼甚至是小孩兒。一位老智者建議村民貼紅紙、放鞭炮把年嚇走。從此以後，年再也沒有回到村裏，村子恢復了平靜。

Year of the goat羊年

Lunar New Year is closely tied to the Chinesezodiac, which assigns each year to a different animal on a 12-year cycle. The Chinese zodiac, together with the corresponding animal symbols, was first created between 206 BC to 220 AD. According to Chinese belief, each animal zodiac has its own lucky numbers, days and colours. In 2015, the year of the goat, experts predict that the numbers two and seven, and colours brown, red and purple will bring good luck to those born in the next 12 months.
與農曆新年緊密聯繫在一起的是中國的生肖，每一年都由不同的動物代表，12年一個輪迴。中國的十二生肖以及相應的動物符號，最早創建於公元前206到220年間，根據中國人的信仰，每種動物生肖都有自己的幸運數字、幸運日和幸運顏色。2015羊年，在這一年出生的人，專家們預測他們的幸運數字是2和7，幸運顏色是棕色，紅色和紫色。

Traditions and rituals傳統和儀式

Before the holiday approaches, people commonly practice some form of spring cleaning to rid their homes of huiqi, or “inauspicious breaths”, collected in the previous year. Traditionally, a clean house is meant to appease the Kitchen God, who will descend from heaven for his annual inspection. Many people also worship their ancestors in ancestral halls and temples, visit tombs of the deceased and place couplets and scrolls printed with lucky messages on household gates. Most festivalgoers wear new clothes, cut their hair and clear all their debts. In fact, many of the Lunar New Year rituals are meant to welcome the new year with a clean slate, which brings good luck to the household and long life to the family.
隨着節日的臨近，人們一般會進行某種形式的春季大掃除，以消除上一年聚集在家中的“晦氣”或不吉利的氣息。按照傳統，乾淨的房子是爲了迎接竈神，他每年會從天界下凡進行年檢。許多人也會在節日期間去祠堂和廟宇祭拜祖先，掃墓，張貼寫有美好祝詞的春聯和卷軸。大部分慶祝節日的市民會穿上新衣服、修剪頭髮並清償債務。事實上，許多農曆新年的儀式都是爲了用嶄新的一面去迎接新的一年，從而給全家帶來幸運和長壽。

Red blessings紅色祝福

Most Lunar New Year decorations and traditions centre around the colour red, which symbolises good luck and wards off evil spirits in Chinese and other Asian societies. Most people even dress in bright red. Black, on the other hand, represents bad luck. During the holiday, married couples often give hong bao, or “red packets”, to all children as monetary gifts. The amount of money in the envelope usually ends with an even digit for good luck. As a child growing up in Singapore, I would collect up to $1,000 Singapore dollars from all the red packets gifted by my extended family. It was undoubtedly my favorite time of the year.
多數農曆新年的裝飾品和傳統物品都被紅色圍繞着，在中國和其他亞洲國家，紅色象徵着好運和驅散惡靈，很多人甚至穿着鮮豔的紅色衣服。另一方面，黑色，則代表着黴運。節日期間，已婚夫婦常給孩子們派發紅包(一種禮金)。紅包中的錢數通常爲偶數寓意好運。作爲一個在新加坡長大的孩子，我收到的整個大家庭的紅包合計起來有近1000新元。這絕對是我一年中最喜愛的時刻。

An occasion to dance歡哥樂舞時節

During the Lunar New Year, lion dance troupes from Chinese martial art schools often perform the traditional custom of cai qing, literally meaning "plucking the greens". The lion performs a dance like a curious cat, and plucks an auspicious green vegetable, usually lettuce, which is tied to a red packet and hung on a pole. In Mandarin, the word cai or “vegetable” is a homophone for “fortune”, and the dance is believed to bring businesses good fortune. Versions of the lion dance are also found in South Korea, Japan, Tibet, Indonesia and Vietnam.
在農曆新年期間，來自中國武術學校的醒獅隊經常會表演“採青”的傳統習俗，即採取綠色。舞獅者像一隻好奇的貓一樣的舞蹈，他們會採摘一種吉祥的綠色蔬菜，通常爲生菜，然後把蔬菜綁在一個紅包裏掛在杆子上。在普通話裏，菜或蔬菜與財富的財諧音，而舞蹈被認爲會給生意帶來好運。不同版本的獅舞在韓國、日本、西藏、印度尼西亞和越南也有。

A family reunion家庭團聚時刻

For ethnic Chinese, the reunion dinner on the eve of Lunar New Year is often the biggest and most elaborate meal of the year, with the whole family gathering for this special occasion. A reunion dinner usually features long noodles, symbolising long life. A type of black hair-like algae, fa cai, is also found in many dishes as its name sounds similar to "prosperity". Fish is the last course of the meal, but it is intentionally not finished. The reason for this stems from a Chinese saying, “nian nian you yu” (meaning every year there is leftover), which is a homophone for “being blessed every year". On the final day of the New Year, families gather to make round dumplings shaped like the full moon to symbolise family reunion and perfection.
對於傳統的中國人來說，農曆新年的除夕團圓飯往往是一年中最盛大、最精緻的一餐，全家人在這一特殊時刻團聚在一起。團圓飯通常都有長麪條，象徵着長壽。一種黑色 毛髮狀藻類，即髮菜也見於很多菜品之中，因爲它的名字聽起來與發財相近。魚是最後一道菜，並且有意不吃完此菜，其原因源於中國的說法“年年有餘”（意思是每年都有結餘），跟“年年富裕”諧音。在新年的最後一天，全家人聚在一起包餃子，餃子形狀似滿月，寓意全家團圓美滿。

Singapore's biggest street parade新加坡最大的街頭遊行

The Chingay parade is a uniquely Singaporean celebration that has grown from being a traditional Chinese New Year procession to being Asia’s largest street parade. The name “Chingay” is a Hokkien phrase that means “the art of costume and masquerade”. Since the first parade in 1973, Chingay has evolved into a diverse festival with global influences, involving 2,000 performers from Singapore and other countries such as Ghana, Brazil and Slovenia. “To me, Chingay represents the ethnic diversity of Singapore. There are performances from many different ethnic groups and cultures,” said Tay Yan Ping, a percussionist from Singapore-based Lila Drum Productions, who has performed twice at Chingay. “I am definitely proud to have been a part of Chingay, especially in my home country!”
“妝藝大遊行”是新加坡獨有的慶祝活動，它從傳統中國新年遊行發展成亞洲最大的街頭遊行。其名字“妝藝”是一個閩南詞語，意思是“服裝和化妝舞會的藝術”。自從1973年的第一次遊行，妝藝大遊行已經演變成影響全球的多樣化節日，參與遊行的2000名錶演者分別來自新加坡和其它諸如加納、巴西和斯洛文尼亞等國家。“對我來說，妝藝大遊行代表新加坡種族的多樣性。這裏有來自不同民族和文化的表演者”鄭堰坡說，他是來自新加坡製作莉拉鼓的一個打擊樂手，曾在妝藝大遊行表演過兩次。“我非常自豪能成爲妝藝的一員，尤其是在我的祖國。”

Tossing up good fortune好運折騰來

On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, also known as renri or “human day”, ethnic Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore practise the culinary tradition of lo hei, a Cantonese phrase meaning “tossing up good fortune”. Families and friends gather to toss up the ingredients of this raw fish salad, while chanting auspicious well wishes out loud for good luck. It’s believed the higher the participants toss the ingredients, the greater their fortune will be. The salad is usually made up of white and green radish, carrots, pickled ginger, radish and slices of raw fish (commonly salmon), drenched with a fragrant dressing of plum sauce and five spice powder. This is an essential tradition in my home, and even though lo hei often results in a mess, everyone in the family enjoys the fun that comes with tossing food around.
在農曆新年的第七天，也被稱爲人日或“人天”，馬來西亞和新加坡的華裔盛行一道節日的慶祝菜式,撈起(粵語,意爲好運折騰來)。家人和朋友團聚在一起攪拌生魚沙拉的原料，同時高喊吉祥祝福語以祈求好運。據傳參與者折騰的越高，他的好運越大。沙拉通常是由白色和青色的蘿蔔、胡蘿蔔、生薑、蘿蔔和生魚片（一般爲三文魚）組成，用含有五香粉和香醬片的梅子醬浸溼。這是我家鄉的重要傳統，即使撈起經常導致一片混亂，大家都很享受折騰實物的這一樂趣。

Freedom to celebrate in Indonesia在印尼自由地慶祝

Under the authoritarian ruler Suharto from 1966 to 1998, Chinese Indonesians were not allowed to publicly celebrate Lunar New Year. In 1998, however, Suharto stepped down, ending 32 years of rule and ushering in Indonesia’s era of reform. Lunar New Year was then declared a national holiday in 2002. “Over the past few years, Chinese culture has been more accepted in Indonesia,” said Lim Mui Suan, a native Indonesian from Pontianak. “These days, New Year decorations and goodies are much more available and we can even light fireworks in public.”These Chinese immigrant communities brought the unique traditions of their hometowns to Indonesia.
在蘇哈托獨裁的統治時間，從1966到1998，印度尼西亞的華裔不允許公開慶祝農曆新年。然而，1998年，蘇哈托下臺，結束了其32年的統治，開創了印尼的改革時代。2002年，農曆新年被定爲全國性的節日。“在過去的幾年中，中國文化越來越多地被印尼當地人所接受。”廉梅算，一位來自坤甸的印尼當地人說道：“近年來，新年裝飾品和糖果已隨處可見，我們甚至可以公開放煙花。”這些中國移民團體爲印尼帶來他們家鄉獨特的傳統。

Filipino Chinese unite菲律賓華裔聯歡

For centuries there has been a significant Chinese presence in the Philippines. Filipinos of pure Chinese descent are called “Tsinoy”, while Filipinos with some Chinese ancestry are “Sangleys” – in total, they make up between 18% to 27% of the total Philippine population. The country’s biggest Lunar New Year celebrations are held in Manila’s Chinese district, Binondo, with massive lion dance parades and street performances.
數百年來，菲律賓始終存在一個顯著的華裔團體。純中國血統的菲律賓人被稱爲Tsinoy，同時，中國與菲律賓混血的被稱爲Sangleys，他們佔菲律賓總人口的18%到27%。該國最大的農曆新年慶祝活動在馬尼拉的華人區岷倫洛舉行，那裏有大規模的舞獅遊行和街頭表演。