“Guo lai!” shouted my host mother. It was ten o’clock New Year’s Eve morning; I was hoping to sleep in, but the clamor from the kitchen and the threatening “Come here!” interrupted my dreams. Afraid that I was missing breakfast or some great tradition, I raced out of bed.
My host mother and father hurriedly carried dish after dish of steaming food to the kitchen table. Plastic cups filled with Chinese alcohol bordered the table; red decorations hung from two chairs; large red streamers decorated one end of the table; and, four bowls held burning cigarettes, all standing upright—a lazy substitute for incense I presume. “What is going on?!?!” I screamed in my head.
I stood at the table bewildered, “Are we eating dinner at 10 a.m.? Is this some type of ancestor worship? What’s with the cigarettes? If it is ancestral worship,” I reasoned, “they’ll soon have more joining their ranks from the cigarette smoke!”
My host dad noticed my baffled expression and kindly explained that this was in fact our dinner, but we would eat it at the normal dinnertime. For now at least, they were offering it to the gods in hopes of gaining prosperity for the coming year.
Not wanting to miss anything, for the rest of the day I hopped between the smoke-filled living room and my freezing bedroom (I had opened my window and offered my smoke to the smog in hopes of another year of good fortune). At one point, when I emerged from my bedroom, I was shocked to see a fire burning in the middle of the living room. Yes, there was a fire in the house! The table decorations had been put into a metal bowl to burn… The Spring Festival had begun!
Dating back centuries, the Chinese Lunar New Year, otherwise known as the Spring Festival, is the largest and most important Chinese holiday. Although it technically lasts fifteen days, only three to four days are officially a government-sanctioned holiday, and most celebrations conclude by the fifth day.
Three days before New Year’s Eve, a buzz took over Shanghai. Stores held large sales to attract those wanting a new outfit to ring in the New Year; people frantically cleaned their houses; and, decorations appeared all over town. Even my host family partook in the frenzy purchasing new clothes and decorating the house with new plants.
The main celebration of the Spring Festival is New Year’s Eve. Traditionally, extended family members gather for a feast (think Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner), but this year, it was just my host dad, mom, sister, and myself. Don’t worry though, there was plenty of food: a full chicken, a large part of a pig, numerous vegetables, and even a whole fish! I think there might have been more food than a typical Thanksgiving feast!
After dinner, we gathered to watch CCTV, the national Chinese television network. Since 1982, they’ve hosted an extravagant New Year’s program similar to the New York ball drop, with famous actors, comedians, and performers of course.
A Shanghai television station, however, also hosts a New
Year’s Eve special. Interestingly, it was a constant battle between my host
sister and her parents as to which show to watch. The national show is very
traditional and nationalistic—performances by ethnic minorities and even an
appearance by women in the air force. The Shanghai program, on the other hand,
is much more Western and entertaining—performances by famous pop stars scantily
dressed. I would say we watched an equal amount of each show.
At about 11:50 p.m., we trekked outside with two bags full of fireworks. Although fireworks had begun intermittently by midmorning and grew in intensity throughout the day, we waited for the coming of the New Year to contribute to the deafening roar of fireworks.
When midnight came, trust me, no one in Shanghai was sleeping. I’ve never seen or heard anything like it. The sky lit up in all directions accompanied by the piercing sound of firecrackers.
If you only heard the racket outside, you would naturally presume that you were under enemy attack, soon to die. After hours of this, I think I could now live in a war zone without flinching. Let’s hope, though, I’m never in a bombing, since I’ll miss the alert to run for cover!
I finally fell asleep at about 2 a.m., when the roar quieted down to a gentle clatter; however, at 7:53 a.m., I was suddenly awoken by firecrackers directly under my window. Little did I know that this racket would continue and continue and continue interminably. In fact, as I write this over a week since New Year’s Eve, I hear the silence-shattering sounds of fireworks.
On New Year’s Day, Sunday, we packed up the car and headed to Suzhou, a beautiful town 80 km from Shanghai, to visit relatives. One of the most important values of the Spring Festival is family. Children are expected to return home to their parents, even if it means travelling for days on a train. Cities grow eerily empty since most people are originally from the country.
After about two hours in the car, we arrived at a farmhouse in the countryside. This was definitely not Suzhou! It turns out we were visiting my host mother’s parents, who live two hours outside of Suzhou. Needless to say, it was a enormous contrast from Shanghai with people living in houses, not small apartments squished together, with outdoor courtyards and old style kitchens complete with stoves heated by grass fires. Surrounding the houses were plots of land growing all types of fruits and vegetables.
Although this was the countryside, traces of modernity were emerging—a stretch of low, modern buildings lined the main road and factories loomed in the distance. I am sure that when my host mother lived there as a child it retained a much more rustic feel, but nevertheless, we were in the countryside.
We spent 24 hours visiting my host mother’s family. I met her mother, father, brother, and many neighbors. I spent the time eating—to celebrate visiting family, large feasts are served; snuggling under blankets in the bedroom to keep from freezing; and straining to follow conversations, before ultimately surrendering to my daydreams.
On Monday afternoon, we drove to Suzhou to meet my host father’s family, stopping first to pick up his mother for dinner. His mother is one of the sweetest people I have met in China. She always smiles, and surprisingly, she’s a Christian!
For dinner, we ate with my host father’s two brothers, sister, and some of their extended family. It lasted for about three and a half hours with enough food to feed an army. I tried to follow the conversation, but again I got caught up in my own thoughts; however, before I zoned out, I managed to follow a fifteen-minute stretch where I was the topic of conversation. They can’t believe that I go out so much but still study hard. Ha—at least I’ve got them fooled! My favorite, though, was an adorable schnauzer who was content to sleep on my lap!
The next day, Tuesday, after visiting a nearby lake and enjoying another three-hour meal with my host dad’s family, we left to visit my host mom’s classmate. After yet another feast, we headed home exhausted.
Wednesday night, the fifth day of the celebration, marked another cacophonous night in Shanghai equal to New Year’s Eve. Fireworks are launched in hopes of gaining the attention of Guan Yu, a Chinese mythology god, so that he will bring good favor. Good fortune is a central, driving theme throughout the New Year’s celebration. Many customs and traditions are carefully followed, all aiming to foster good luck. For example, the word “death” is carefully avoided, and all New Year’s greetings include a tagline of good fortune. Given the deafening roar of the fireworks, I’m in for one good year! There’s no way that Guan Yu missed this!
Since Thursday, life has slowly returned to normal—shops have opened and Shanghai no longer feels vacant—even though the festival continues until next Sunday. In the meantime, I have been living my last few days of vacation to the fullest visiting must-do attractions and spending a lot of time with friends. I am a little sad to see the break end, but I am excited for my new adventures this term including two internships—more on that after my first day.
I took more than a few photos during New Year’s, and you can click here to view. In the meantime, Happy Lunar New Year!
