Surprisingly unknown Chinese New Year culture! Compare Korean/Chinese New Year's! When will the Chinese New Year be 2023? How to spend your time and what to eat?

Everyone, ``lunar new yearHave you ever heard the word?

Japan has a "New Year" culture, but neighboring countries such as South Korea and China also have a "Lunar New Year" culture!

Therefore, this time we will introduce in detail how and when the Lunar New Year is celebrated in Korea and China, which is a culture of familiar countries but is surprisingly little known.♪

You may find new discoveries, such as parts that are similar to Japanese New Year culture and parts that are completely different!

By all means,Learn about “Lunar New Year” culture and visit Korea and ChinaI hope you can feel closer to me (^O^)

What is Lunar New Year?

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Have you ever heard of the term "Chinese New Year"?

There are many countries around the world that take the holiday period that Japanese people take at the beginning of the year around February and celebrate the start of the new year anew!

In fact, what these countries celebrate at this time of year is ``lunar new year」♪

This is where we celebrate the so-called New Year's Day (January 1st) according to the lunar calendar, and we spend what we call "New Year's Day" in Japan, and countries like South Korea and China still cherish this Lunar New Year.

So, why is there such a difference between Japan and familiar countries like South Korea and China? !

The custom of celebrating the Lunar New Year is a custom that is not very familiar to Japan.

It is still common especially in Asian countries, and Japan is one of the rare countries in Asia that does not have a Lunar New Year!

However, it is said that this culture has a lot to do with the calendar (*´꒳`*)

In fact, in Japan, when the lunar calendar was used, the New Year was celebrated on "Lunar New Year" in the same way!

However, after the Meiji period, as exchanges with overseas countries became more active,

At this time, Western countries were already using the Gregorian calendar (= new calendar, Japan's current calendar),

The dates began to deviate from Japan, which used the lunar calendar.

Therefore, from 1895,Trying to meet world standards``Japan also changed to using the new calendar, and it is said that from there, the Lunar New Year, which was celebrated in the lunar calendar, was no longer celebrated in Japan.

It turns out that the customs of the Lunar New Year have a lot to do with exchanges with foreign countries and how the days of the year are counted.♪

So, what kind of Lunar New Year is spent in countries where Lunar New Year customs still remain? ?

This time, I will look at South Korea and China as examples ^^

[Korea Edition] Surprisingly, you don't know about it? ! Introducing Lunar New Year culture!

" in Korean설날,설 (Seollal, Seol)`` Lunar New Year♪

If you travel to Korea during this time, will the shops in the cities be closed? ! It is said that

In South Korea, it is considered an auspicious national holiday, but how do Koreans spend their time?

When is Korean New Year in 2023?

In fact, Lunar New Year is celebrated at different times each year!

The 2023 Korean Seollal/Lunar New Year schedule is as follows:♪ 　

January 21st (Sat) - January 24th (Tuesday)

Since we have 4 days off this year, let's take a look at how to spend the Lunar New Year holidays!

How do you spend your time?

During Seollal and Lunar New Year in South Korea, it is common for the whole family to gather together to celebrate the new year, eat together, and enjoy the company.♪

Especially during this period, people migrate to their hometowns!

Of course, there are people who use consecutive holidays to travel overseas, just like they do in Japan.

People try to spend as much time in the country as possible with their families, and it seems that the flow of people is more towards rural areas than towards tourist spots or big cities!

The biggest reason for visiting family and relatives living in your hometown is ``To give New Year's greetings」。

This overlaps greatly with Japan's New Year's culture ( ´ ▽ ` )

In Korea,세배 (sebe)There is a custom of greeting family members and relatives who are more senior than you, as well as people who usually take care of you, to wish them good health in the new year!

Here's how it looks!

The way men and women greet each other is slightly different, and children also greet each other in this way.♪

Now you know that the Korean style is to say New Year's greetings, gather together as a family, and enjoy the company!

It can be said that this reflects the Korean culture that values family above all else.♪

Next, let's take a look at the traditional things that appear during Seollal/Lunar New Year!

Things that appear during Lunar New Year (food, things to prepare, etc.)

Foods that Koreans must eat in Seollal떡국 (tokku, tokku)」！

It is a classic Chinese New Year dish, and is very similar to the way Japanese people eat zoni on New Year's Day.♪

Tteokguk, a traditional Korean dish, is a soup that contains thinly sliced and chewy rice cakes, unlike Japanese rice cakes!

It is often served with meat, eggs, and seaweed, making it a surprisingly simple dish to make ^ ^

Also, in Korea, it seems to have the meaning of ``eating a bowl of tteokguk makes everyone one year older.''♪

The formal attire prepared and worn for Seollal, ``Seolbim」！

It is the so-called special clothes worn during New Year's Day, and like the kimono, it is one of the traditional costumes that are rarely worn unless there is an occasion.

It seems more and more people are dressing small children in cute clothes or wearing them for New Year's events.♪

・세뱃돈 (Sebetton)

In Japan, “"Otoshidama".

It seems that Korean children also receive New Year's greetings from their grandparents and other adult relatives after finishing the New Year's greeting.♪

It's strange that the format is so similar to Japan!

Also, in Korea, when adults earn money, they often give money to their parents and grandparents!

・설 선물세트

This is also very similar to Japan,In Korea, there is also a custom of giving what is called "year-end gift" in Japan!

Food gifts are especially popular, such as sets of meat such as Hanu beef, Korean ginseng, Korean seaweed, seasoning sets, and canned sets such as Spam.

Even in Korean cuisine, standard foods are often given as gifts.♪

[China Edition] What is the difference between Japan and Korea? Introducing Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year is called Spring Festival and pronounced Chunjie in Chinese!

In China, it is said that the Spring Festival is even more exciting than January 1st, when the new year begins.♪

Also, since it will be a week-long holiday that is longer than the New Year's holiday, it can truly be called a major national event in China!

Let's take a look at how people in China are spending this period!

When is Chinese New Year 2023?

Chinese New Year and Spring Festival also happen on different dates every year!

The Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year schedule for 2023 is as follows.

Sunday, January 22ndOn the day of the Chinese New Year,

January 21st (Sat) - January 27th (Fri)It seems that it will be during the Chinese New Year holidays.♪

Korea's Lunar New Year holiday was 4 days long, so people in China will have a longer holiday!

How do you spend your time?

In Japan, the number of Chinese tourists suddenly increased around February, and some of you may have seen them buying items and going on group tours.

Therefore, you may have the impression that people are enjoying traveling abroad during the Chinese New Year, butIn reality, the whole family often celebrates at home.♪

Not only is Spring Festival a long holiday for Chinese people, but it is also the most cherished national event of the year!

In addition, in China, many people travel from place to place to return to their hometowns during the Spring Festival holiday, so this situation is also referred to as the Great Ethnic Migration.♪

Due to the size of the land and large population, you can imagine how the Lunar New Year is unique to China (*^ω^*)

So, can you imagine it in Japan? ! Let's take a look at what kinds of things are unique to Chinese New Year.♪

Things that appear during Lunar New Year (food, things to prepare, etc.)

Dishes on the Chinese New Year table,yearly dinner」。

In China, even numbers have long been considered more auspicious than odd numbers, and many dishes with even numbers are served on the table.♪

Here we will introduce three typical Chinese New Year foods!

① Gyoza

Just like people in Japan eat Toshikoshi soba on New Year's Eve, in China the whole family eats gyoza on New Year's Eve.

In China, the character ``zi'' in ``gyoza'' (jiaozi in Chinese) has long been thought to represent the time period from 11:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

It is said that gyoza is eaten during the time when the date changes, meaning the New Year's Eve when the old year changes to the new one!

In addition, since the shape of gyoza resembles the shape of money in ancient China, it is said that the whole family eats ``New Year's Eve Gyoza'' with the meaning of increasing financial luck.♪

②Fish dishes

The pronunciation of the kanji for "fish" is "Yu", and the pronunciation of "Yu" in the Chinese four-character idiom "nennian youyu", which means "I hope you can live a comfortable life every year", is combined.

It is said to be an auspicious food!

③Tea & sunflower seeds (nuts)

Roasted sunflower seeds are a classic snack in China, and are often eaten with tea as a palate cleanser after meals!

In China, there are programs to cheer up the new year just like in Japan!

That's it「Chinese New Year Festival」♪

Like Japan's representative New Year's Eve program, ``Kohaku Uta Gassen,'' the event will be filled with songs, as well as comedy, speeches, dance, and other forms of entertainment, regardless of genre.

The performers are all super famous celebrities that everyone knows!

Chinese New Year can't start without seeing this! It has become a national New Year's special program ^ ^

During the Spring Festival, the doors of Chinese homes are decorated with the word ``Lucky''!

Moreover, the letters are displayed upside down!

The reason is that the pronunciation of ``Dao'', which means upside down, and ``Dao'', which means to come or arrive, are the same, so when they are multiplied together, they have the meaning of ``blessing is coming.''♪

You can see that in China, there is a common custom of assigning meaning to kanji by how they are read.

In addition to lucky decorations, there is also a custom of decorating with bright red paper called Chunren!

This is also a type of custom of displaying letters on doors, just like the letters of fortune. During the Spring Festival, it is said that red paper with auspicious couplets written on it is displayed at the entrance of each house or shop.

It may be a custom similar to Kadomatsu in Japan><

Summary

What did you think?

Both South Korea and China have their own unique ways of celebrating the Lunar New Year at different times than Japan.♪

However, there are some things that are quite similar to Japan, and this is what Japan says! It's interesting that there are surprisingly many overlaps (*^ω^*)

Also, as introduced in this article, Lunar New Year is such an important event that in both countries the whole city gets into a festive/holiday mood!

If you are planning a trip, you may be able to enjoy your trip more if you plan your trip with the Lunar New Year in mind.♪