Lunar New Year
Dragon on Princess Street
- Creator: David Dixon
Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival in China, is typically celebrated in East Asian and some South East Asian countries. Lunar New Year is the beginning of a calendar year whose months are cycles of the moon. The relevant calendar may be a purely lunar calendar or a lunisolar calendar. The dates of the holiday vary slightly from year to year, beginning some time between January 21 and February 20 according to Western calendars.
Dragon on Princess Street is available in the public domain via Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic .
"Dragon on Princess Street" by David Dixon is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/. | Source: Geograph Britain and Ireland
Lunar New Year
Firecrackers for sale during China’s 2014 Spring Festival
- Creator: vtpoly
- Year:
- Location: China
In mainland China, dances and fireworks are prevalent throughout the holidays.
Firecrackers for sale during China’s 2014 Spring Festival is available in the public domain via Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic .
"firecrackers for sale during China's 2014 Spring Festival" by vtpoly is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/. | Source: Flickr
Lunar New Year
Little Red Envelopes
- Creator: kyle tsui
On Chinese New Year’s day, family members receive red envelopes (lai see) containing small amounts of money.
Little Red Envelopes is available in the public domain via Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic .
"Little Red Envelopes" by kyle tsui is licensed under CC-BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/. | Source: Flickr
Lunar New Year
Lanterns for Chinese New Year 2010
- Creator: omegaforest
- Year:
In China, the celebration culminates to the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated on the last day of the New Year’s celebrations.
Lanterns for Chinese New Year 2010 is available in the public domain via Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic .
"Chinese New Year 2010" by omegaforest is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/. | Source: Flickr
Lunar New Year
Seollal, Korean New Year
- Creator: Jens-Olaf
- Year:
- Location: Korea
Korean New Year is called Seollal. It is one of the most important traditional Korean holidays. The celebration usually lasts three days: the day before Korean New Year, Korean New Year itself, and the day after Korean New Year. Families usually gather at the eldest house.
Some families follow the tradition of ancestral rituals called Charye (차례, 茶禮), a memorial service that is performed by the family members to ancestors. Charye involves the preparation of food by female relatives and the serving of food to ancestors by male relatives. Both sexes participate in the final step of the ceremony called “eumbok,” by eating the food and thereby gaining the ancestors blessing for the coming year. The food prepared for the ancestors differs by region, but rules like the placement of the food are generally similar.
Seollal, Korean New Year is available in the public domain via Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic .
"Seollal" by Jens-Olaf is licensed under CC-BY-NC 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/. | Source: Flickr
Lunar New Year
떡국, Rice Cake Soup
- Creator: Josiah Lau Photography
- Year:
- Location: Korea
Tteokguk[1] (떡국) or sliced rice cake soup[1] is a traditional Korean dish consists of the broth/soup (guk) with thinly sliced rice cakes (tteok). It is tradition to eat tteokguk on New Year’s Day because it is believed to grant the consumer good luck for the year and gain a year of age. It is usually garnished with thin julienned cooked eggs, marinated meat, and gim(김).[2]
떡국, Rice Cake Soup is available in the public domain via Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic .
"떡국" by Josiah Lau Photography is licensed under CC-BY-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/. | Source: Flickr
Lunar New Year
Seollal Yut Nori
- Creator: KOREA.NET - Official page of the Republic of Korea
- Year:
- Location: Korea
Yut Nori, also known as Yunnori, Nyout, and Yoot, is a traditional board game played in Korea, especially during Korean New Year
Seollal Yut Nori is available in the public domain via Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic .
"2015_Seollal_02" by KOREA.NET - Official page of the Republic of Korea is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/. | Source: Flickr
Lunar New Year
Chinese New Year Decorations
- Creator: pervezkaz
- Year:
- Location: Singapore
In China and other countries, there is variety of red decoration that people purchase in order to prepare for the New Year. The red is auspicious color in Chinese culture and it is supposed to bring luck. Each decorations has functions and meanings. Ornate Chinese paper cuttings are often used to decorate doors and windows to symbolize luck and happiness. Fai chun (揮春; pinyin: huīchūn) is a traditional decoration[1] that is frequently used in the doorways to create jubilant festive atmosphere since the phrases written on it means good luck and prosperity.
Chinese New Year Decorations is available in the public domain via Creative Commons No Copyright .
Source: Flickr
Lunar New Year
Hoa Mai for Tết
- Creator: Nhanvo
- Year: 2006
- Location: Vietnam
Tết ([tet˧˥] or [təːt˧˥]), Vietnamese New Year, Vietnamese Lunar New Year or Tet Holiday, is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture. The word is a shortened form of Tết Nguyên Đán (節元旦), which is Sino-Vietnamese for “Feast of the First Morning of the First Day”.
At Tết, every house is usually decorated by Yellow Apricot blossoms (hoa mai) in the central and southern parts of Vietnam; or peach blossoms (hoa đào) in the northern part of Vietnam; or St. John’s wort (hoa ban) in the mountain areas.
Hoa Mai for Tết is available in the public domain via Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported .
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Lunar New Year
Banh Tay
- Year:
- Location: Vietnam
Bánh chưng and bánh tét: essentially tightly packed sticky rice with meat or bean fillings wrapped in dong (Phrynium placentarium) leaves. When these leaves are unavailable, banana leaves can be used as a substitute. One difference between them is their shape. Bánh chưng is the square-shaped one to represent the Earth, while bánh tét is cylindrical to represent the moon. Also, bánh chưng is more popular in the northern parts of Vietnam, so as bánh tét is more popular in the south. Preparation can take days. After moulding them into their respective shapes (the square shape is achieved using a wooden frame), they are boiled for several hours to cook. The story of their origins and their connection with Tết is often recounted to children while cooking them overnight.
Banh Tay is available in the public domain via Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported .
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Lunar New Year
Cham Dance Performance during Losar
- Creator: Gustavo Thomas
- Year:
- Location: Tibet
Losar is the Tibetan New Year, a festival that instills sacred and secular practices such as prayers, ceremonies, hanging prayer flags, sacred and folk dancing, and partying. It is an occasion to keep oneself in convivial spirit with family members, relatives, friends and neighbors. It is the most widely celebrated of all Tibetan festivals and represents a time for all things to be purified and renewed.The last two days of the old year are called Gutor, is when people begin to prepare for the New Year.
On the New Year’s Day, people wake up early and put on new clothes after having taken a bath. They then make offerings to the gods by placing them on their household shrines and worship them. This day family members also exchange gifts. Families have a reunion dinner, usually consisting of a kind of cake called kapse and an alcoholic drink called chang, which is drunk to keep warm.
Cham Dance Performance during Losar is available in the public domain via Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic .
Source: Flickr
Lunar New Year
Losar Tibetan New Year 2145 (2018) Year of the Earth Dog
- Creator: ngawangchodron
- Year:
- Location: Victoria Buddhist Dharma Centre, Victoria BC
Khapse (or amjok[what language is this?]) is a Tibetan/Sherpa biscuit[1] that is traditionally prepared during the Tibetan/Sherpa New Year or Losar.[2] The dough for the khapse is usually made with flour, eggs, butter and sugar and is then shaped into different shapes and sizes.
Losar Tibetan New Year 2145 (2018) Year of the Earth Dog is available in the public domain via Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic .
Source: Flickr
Lunar New Year
Getting ready for Losar
- Creator: Ailiajameel
- Year: 2017
- Location: Tibet
Tibetan monks getting ready for perform a form of lion dance found in the Tibetan areas is called the snow lion dance or Senggeh Garcham.[9] The name seng ge and its related forms come from Sanskrit siṅha,[1] and cham or garcham is a Buddhist ritual dance.[10] The snow lion dance may be performed as a secular dance, or as a ritual dance performed by bon po monks.
Getting ready for Losar is available in the public domain via Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported .
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Lunar New Year
Monk Dancing at the Tibetan Losar
- Creator: Ljbonner
- Year:
- Location: Tibet
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Monk Dancing at the Tibetan Losar is available in the public domain via Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported .
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Lunar New Year
Tsagaan Sar banquet
- Creator: harunire
- Year:
- Location: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
The Mongolian Lunar New Year, commonly known as Tsagaan Sar (Mongolian: Цагаан сар, Cagán sar / ᠴᠠᠭᠠᠨ ᠰᠠᠷᠠ, Mongolian pronunciation: [t͡sʰaɢaːŋ sar] or literally White Moon)[note 1], is the first day of the year according to the Mongolian lunisolar calendar. The festival of the Lunar New Year is celebrated by the Mongols and some Turkic peoples.
The traditional food in Mongolia for the festival includes dairy products, rice with curds (tsagaa-цагаа) or rice with raisins (berees-бэрээс), a pyramid of traditional cookies erected on a large dish in a special fashion symbolising Mount Sumeru or Shambhala realm, a grilled side of sheep and minced beef or minced mutton steamed inside pastry, steamed dumplings known as buuz, horse meat and traditional cookies.[14] Tsagaan Sar is a lavish feast, requiring preparation days in advance, as the men and women make large quantities of buuz as a whole family, along with ul boov, a pastry reserved for both dessert and presentation.[12]
Tsagaan Sar banquet is available in the public domain via Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic .
Source: Flickr