SURVEY: Chinese New Year Celebrants

Interviewer

Blogger

Amelia Morales Fermia

Interviewees

Personal Information

First Respondent

Name: Blez Badilles

Age: 23

Status: Single

Citizenship: Filipino, 1/4 Chinese

Religion: Roman Catholic

Occupation: Medical Technologist at UERMMMC

In celebrating Chinese New Year…

1.    Why do you celebrate Chinese New Year?

      - It is said that it will bring good luck, happiness, longevity, and prosperity into the family and repels bad luck.

2.      Where do you celebrate Chinese New Year?

     -  We celebrate it in Caloocan.

3.      How do you celebrate Chinese New Year?

     - My mom, together with my aunts, used to cook Chinese dishes for the annual reunion dinner, watch the dragon dance and parade along the streets of China town in Caloocan, we then burn incense sticks.

4.      With whom do you celebrate Chinese New Year?

     - Aside from my family, we celebrate it with our relatives from my mother's side.

5.      When did you start celebrating Chinese New Year?

     - Our relatives on my mother's side celebrate it long before I was born; however, we no longer celebrate it after my mother died.

6.      Traditions and beliefs you follow in celebrating Chinese New Year  (ex: dress code, tikoy, red envelopes, incense, fireworks, etc)

      - What I can still remember was that we thoroughly clean the whole house to get rid of any ill-fortune and welcome the year with incoming good luck. As much as possible, we do not spend too much on that day as they say that it will drain the money in your pocket for that whole year. We, instead, put coins on a container and place it near the front door or on the top of the table. We used to fire firecrackers because the loud popping sounds can drive away bad spirits.

7.      What is the difference between the regular celebration of New Year and the celeb of Chinese New Year?

     - On how I see it, there is not much difference between the two. It's just that there are more rituals, practices and/or beliefs people follow during Chinese New Year.

8.      Personal perception about Chinese New Year.

     - During this time of the year, I think people rely more on things or practices that they believe will bring them fortune. Though there's nothing wrong with it, I believe people can really gain fortune if they work hard for it, for what they want or need and always keep their faith so they can have guidance in achieving it.

Second Respondent

Name:  Trisha Janine O. Caranto

Age: 20

Status: Single

Citizenship: Filipino; ¼ Chinese blood

Religion: Roman Catholic

Occupation: Studied at University of Sto. Tomas

In celebrating Chinese New Year…

1.    Why do you celebrate Chinese New Year?

      - It has been a tradition somehow in my clan to celebrate it.

2.      Where do you celebrate Chinese New Year?

     - Seng Guan Temple and Ongpin.

3.      How do you celebrate Chinese New Year?

     -Visiting Seng Guan, stolling around Ongpin and having food trips there.

4.      With whom do you celebrate Chinese New Year?

     - Family

5.      When did you start celebrating Chinese New Year?

     - When my angkong was still alive, he wanted to celebrate it. We celebrate it on the day itself.

6.      Traditions and beliefs you follow in celebrating Chinese New Year  (ex: dress code, tikoy, red envelopes, incense, fireworks, etc)

      - Eating misua, tikoy or any sticky-like foods, burning incense, and wearing red.

7.      What is the difference between the regular celebration of New Year and the celeb of Chinese New Year?

     -  Chinese New Year always has the dragon dance thing, because Chinese believes it attracts fortune.

8.      Personal perception about Chinese New Year.

     - Chinese New Year has been one of the days when most people, even those who aren't Chinese, heighten their beliefs regarding the do's and dont's in order to draw luck they want to have in their life.

Third Respondent

Name:  Ramil S. Solano Jr.

Age: 19

Status: Single

Citizenship: Filipino

Religion: Roman Catholic

Occupation: Studied at University of the Philippines- Diliman

In celebrating Chinese New Year…

1.    Why do you celebrate Chinese New Year?

      - I was invited by my Buddhist friend.

2.      Where do you celebrate Chinese New Year?

     - It feels so good to immerse yourself in a different culture.

3.      How do you celebrate Chinese New Year?

     -By attending their feast at Mabuhay Buddhist Temple and also

on their mass.

4.      With whom do you celebrate Chinese New Year?

     - I was with my Buddhist friend.

5.      When did you start celebrating Chinese New Year?

     - I only celebrated this year.

6.      Traditions and beliefs you follow in celebrating Chinese New Year  (ex: dress code, tikoy, red envelopes, incense, fireworks, etc)

      - We wore red clothes and when we entered the shrine, we

have to cover our feet. We were given ampao or red envelope

with a handful of rice and incense. It is a symbol of a good year

and a good start.

7.      What is the difference between the regular celebration of New Year and the celeb of Chinese New Year?

     -  There is none at all. Same spirit but I guess because I was inside

the temple, discipline was observed.

8.      Personal perception about Chinese New Year.

     - Their culture was impressively rich. I really love the ambiance of

the temple. The celebration was much awaited as well as the

ritual they performed. I went home really late but there was no

sign of danger. I felt I was really blessed by Buddha. 

TOP 10 SUPERSTITIONS FOLLOWED DURING CHINESE NEW YEAR

“If you want 1 year of prosperity, grow grain. If you want 10 years of prosperity, grow trees. If you want 100 years of prosperity, grow people.”

Over the long years of stay of Chinese people in our country, the culture, traditions and rituals done by Filipinos became evidently influenced by the said neighboring country.

The bond between the Chinese and the Filipino community is unbreakable even with the heightened argument between land and sea territories. It is inevitable for the two to compromise since Filipino- Chinese or Chinoy as we call it, is one of the largest overseas communities in Southeast Asia.

Believe it or not, but the records show that, Filipinos with at least some Chinese ancestry- comprise 18- 27 % of the Philippine population, numbering up to 27 million people.

With such statistics, it is not an extraordinary thing for Filipinos to pay attention and concern on Chinese issues. But today, as the Chinese community within the country celebrate for the Spring festival or the Chinese New Year, the Philippine Government showed their acknowledgement to the season by making it an official non- working holiday.

In line with the celebration of Chinese New Year, Chinese and the Chinoys admitted that it has long been celebrated along with traditions, rituals and a bunch of superstitions.

And so to bring our list to light, here are the ten most popular Chinese superstitions usually followed during Chinese New Year.

1.      A clean home to start the New Year- Before the exact day of the main celebration of Chinese New Year, Chinese have to completely clean their houses. They have to sweep the floors because it is sid that it eliminates the bad energy from home.

2.    Absolutely no unpleasantries- Everything that happens on the first day of the New Year must be positive and good because it reflects the rest of the years. Foul languages and discouraging words should carefully be watched.

3.    No ghost stories- During the celebration of  Chinese New Year, both children and adults should refrain from telling ghost stories because they relate to death and negative energy.

4.    Don’t wash your hair- this is to avoid eliminating good luck from the body when one washes her/ his hair.

5.    Black clothing should be avoided- Chinese also avoids wearing something black on New Year, because again, they relate the color to death.

6.    Be careful with crockery- broken crockery equates to extreme bad luck on New Year’s Day.

7.     Don’t cry- Again, it is unpleasant to start the New Year with negative vibes or anything like that because it is believed to happen for the rest of the year, so crying will only make you sad whole year long.

8.   Wear red- Chinese people believe that red is a lucky color since the word red sounds like the word lucky in China. Red envelopes with cash  are also given to children by their parents as a reward. Red decorations can also be seen at home.

9.     Don’t cut anything- they believe that cutting gives a negative impact on your fortune and your life.

10.           Using fireworks-  it used in accordance with a mythical creature, a half lion and half dragon monster which is believed to come down from the mountains to scare the humans. To lit a firecracker symbolizes to frighten this mythical beast and show that the people are not scared.

Reference:

http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/10974271.Chinese_New_Year__top_10_superstitions/

Chinese National dies on celebration of Chinese New Year in Boracay

Despite the festive celebration of Chinese New Year, an unexpected turn of events happened when a vacationing Chinese national died of cardiac arrest in Boracay.

According to report of the Boracay Tourist Assistance Center (BTAC), the victim,   Jinmu Huang, 55, from Shanghai China was declared dead on arrival, when he was rushed to the nearby clinic.

The victim was said to have received an advice earlier from his 32- year- old daughter Wen Huang who also stayed with him in Boracay to celebrate Chinese New Year, to watch his food intake.

On her statement, Huang said her father did not listen to her advice and consumed a lot of tikoy and other viand organized by the resort management for the celebration of Chinese New Year.

The findings show that the victim died of cardiac arrest after experiencing difficulty in breathing.

The Huangs were among the Chinese tourists to visit Boracay and celebrate the said holiday.

During the Chinese New Year, Chinese, Korean and Taiwanese nationals went to Boracay to witness the multi colored fireworks display prepared by the Department of Tourism Boracay for the season.

Tatak Pinoy: FILIPINO TRAITS & VALUES

         Years after being colonized by foreign countries, Filipinos have saved the original values that they practice even before alien cultures invaded our own.

         Although we have adopted to the influences of the mixture of Spanish, American, Chinese and Japanese culture, Filipinos were able to cultivate and made these traits their own marks of being a genuine Pinoy.

Filipino people are said to be very versatile when it comes to adapting to new surroundings. They are flexible and they always come in trend.

But, aside from those positive traits and values that we acquire from our ancestors, we Filipinos, acknowledge that we also give ourselves in negative qualities, qualities that we possess since the start of the world.

Now let us take a quick look to the common traits and values that Filipinos from around the globe share.

POSITIVE TRAITS

1.   FAITH IN GOD

It is a common thing for Filipinos to be seen on their bended knees, with their candle in one hand or sing praises on the top of their lungs. There is no question as to whether Filipinos believe in God.

We may be a member of different churches, but we put faith and strongly acknowledge the presence and existence of one true God.

2.   CLOSE FAMILY TIES

Other countries may find it absurd, but for us Filipinos, we prefer to stay and live with our family even after we are married off. The family members are almost complete when you try to visit a house owned by a Filipino. From the grandparents up to the last bit of their grandchildren, these people are what comprise a Filipino home.

3.     HOSPITABLE

It is one of the Filipino traits that people from other countries often commend to us. We are notable in terms of being accommodating to our visitors. When we have visitors, we always welcome them with warm smiles, good conversation and tasty food.

4.     OBEDIENT AND DUTIFUL

Filipinos always acknowledge those that are in authority or someone superior to them. Even inside the family, children can be found obediently following their parents instructions.

5.     RESPECTFUL

It is a part of our custom and even in our language to pay respect to the elderly or to people superior to us. We use the words “po” at “opo” when talking to someone older to us and do act of “pagmano” as a sign of respect.

6.     HELPFUL

Whenever someone needs someone else’s aid, Filipinos are always ready to give a hand to that person. One great example of Filipino custom portraying helpfulness is the act of “bayanihan.”

7.     DILIGENT AND PATIENT

Because of the situation of our country, agriculture as one of the primary sources of a living has contributed to these traits of Filipinos. They do strenuous planting and the same in gathering them.

8.     RESOURCEFUL AND CREATIVE

Being dubbed as a third world country, Filipinos have learned to adapt to their conditions. Consequently they learned the practice of improvising things by recycling trashes to useful things.

9.     CHEERFUL

Filipinos often find themselves in struggle to survive for a day. In response to this, they tend to cheer themselves up and just laugh their problems off.

10. THRIFTY AND FRUGAL

For a typical Filipino, it is ordinary to see them eat foods that are considered too plain, they buy simple clothes and things that are really needed. They don’t spend money to just everything ar anything they want.

NEGATIVE TRAITS

1.     NINGAS- KUGON

There is a tendency for Filipino people to show eagerness on the start of the way but lacks of it as the work progresses.

2.     MAÑANA HABIT

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Philippines is still under developed country. Filipinos often put off doing things until it is too late.

3.     CRAB MENTALITY

Another dark side of Filipino traits is how insecure we could get to somebody who is on his/ her way to success that we find a way to pull that person back down, rather than striving to be better.

4.     COLONIAL MENTALITY

We perceive the Filipino made products as inferior to what imported products offer us.

5.     BAHALA NA

When cornered to a situation that seems to remain unsolved, we often let the fate dictates on whatever will happen.

6.     SORE LOSERS

Many times, Filipinos become very competitive and hate losing. At times, when we lose, we find a way to get even.