L ư u Thùy Dung Nguyễn Thị Hà (14-05) Nguyễn Thị Hảo Lê Thị Hằng

CONTENT Tradition of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year Chinese New Year traditions ???????

I: THE VIETNAMESE NEW YEAR 1.Preparation for Tet cleaning their houses, polishing their copper and silverware and paying off all their debts. Decorating the tree with bells, flowers, and red streamers

 Packaging Chung’s cakes  materials: green  beans, glutinous rice  salt, fresh pork meat,, fish sauce and pepper and pepper, leaves from arrowroot from arrowroot.arrowrootarrowroot  Preparing some food such as vermicelli noodles, pickled onions, dried bamboo shoot soup, boiled chicken, steamed momordica glutinous rice…….

 Fruits of Tet:  The “five fruit tray” on the ancestral altar during the Tet Holidays symbolizes the admiration and gratitude of the Vietnamese to Heaven and Earth and their ancestors and demonstrates their aspiration for a life of plenty.  Watermelon is considered lucky because the flesh is red, so the choice of the melon must be taken carefully so as to find one rich in color. The seeds are often dyed red also and served as delicacies

 Preserved fruit (Mut)  Prepare a week before Tet. The most important thing is to maintain the shape of the fruit. Use apple, potato, tomato, plum, ginger, mandarin, or gourd.  Flowers – the symbol of New Year

2: NEW YEAR EVE The Giao Thua is the most sacred point of time, the passage from the old to the new year. every home makes offerings in the open air to pray for a good new year.

3: ACTIVITIES DURING TET HOLLIDAY On the first day of the New Year they visit all their closest friends, teachers and their parents. The second day they visit their in-laws and other friends who are not as close. Third day they visit the family of their teacher and their more distant relatives. On the fourth day the spirits return to heaven and business returns to normal. Adult usually give red packets, Lucky money for children.

They also visit their local temple and they bring back flowers or greenery as a gift from the celestial spirits. This gift will be kept in the house all year.

Chinese New Year traditions New Year in China is completely different and unique from any of the New Year celebrations made in any part of the world. In China, New Year is also called as ‘The Spring Festival’. It is marked as the most important festival of Chinese culture and tradition. The day of New Year is celebrated on the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar and ends with Lantern Festival which is on the 15th dayLantern Festival

Prepare for new year Cleaning the house and decorating it: Houses are cleaned from top to bottom with the belief that it will help them get rid of back luck from the previous year and to ready the house to accept good luck for the coming year. Doors and windows are hang up signs and posters having the word "fu”, which translates to luck and happiness

Prepare for new year Buying flowers for the home is also commonplace since they symbolize the coming of spring and a new beginning

Prepare for new year Make lanterns The New Year's festivities come to an end on the fifteenth day of the new year, which is celebrated by the Lantern Festival Families will light lanterns, which symbolize the brightness of spring, and hang them on walls around the house, or on poles to be carried in lantern parades

Prepare for new year Honor the animal associated with the New Year: Every year is associated with one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, with each animal being represented once every 12 years. These animals are often represented in decorations during the holiday2012 is the year of the dragon according to Chinese zodiac. So, while the Chinese adorn their houses during this time, they are sure to use dragon figures in their decorations.

Prepare for new year New clothes: Wearing new clothes is one of the Chinese New Year traditions. The Chinese try to wear red or bright clothes, as they believe the color helps in getting rid of evil spirits. But they do avoid wearing black clothes as they consider "black" as the sign of death. They also cut their hair so as to make a fresh start to the year ahead.

Some activities in Chinese’s New Year The first day is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth, officially beginning at midnight. It is a traditional practice to light fireworks, burn bamboo sticks and firecrackers and to make as much of a din as possible to chase off the evil spirits as encapsulated by nian

Some activities in Chinese’s New Year Later on the paper seals on the houses are broken, red clothes worn for luck and visits are made to family and friends. It is a good time to be friendly to others and forget old arguments. People greet each other by saying 'Kung Hei Fat Choy!', which means Happy New Year!

Some activities in Chinese’s New Year Family gatherings and feasting: The Chinese visit their relatives' houses and have a grand feast with eight to nine dishes, as these are considered to be lucky numbers. Some dishes eaten normally during this festival are Chinese dumplings, long noodles, and oranges. The noodles symbolize long life and oranges are a sign of completeness. A bowl of sticky rice is offered to the Kitchen God as a thank you dinner. Sticky rice cakes and sweets are also eaten during this time.

Some activities in Chinese’s New Year Giving good luck presents: Most adults give to their younger family members, relatives, and friends red envelopes -hong bao -filled with money in order to symbolize wealth and prosperity for the coming year. The recipients bow three times to show their respect when accepting hong bao. Envelopes are not to be opened until the recipient has left the home of the giver.

Festivals The Lion Dance: Street celebrations often include a traditional lion dance which is thought to bring good luck

Festivals The Dragon Dance: There are also processions in the streets. These are normally led by a dragon, which is a symbol of good fortune and power. The dragon model always includes the colours red, gold and green. It is supported by a team of dancers and weaves its way round the streets collecting money from houses.

Festivals The Lantern Festival : The Lantern Festival honors the first full moon of the year and represents the coming of springtime. Everywhere is decorated with lanterns of different sizes and in the streets there is music and dancing. The making of lanterns in China is a tradition which goes back 500 years. Red lanterns are thought of as lucky.