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.