NOTE: astrological, "predictive" sites update annually & I indicate such changes.  Sites describing traditional beliefs and activities, however -- even though they may mention the date and animal of the year when the page was written -- are dealing with age-old practices that remain accurate regardless of dates: thus, I rarely change them.

http://www.romanization.com/chinesenewyear/

[Added 3 January 2004:]  If you'd like to know the dates and animals for any Lunar New Year from 1645 to 2644, this is the site for you.

Chinese New Year

[Updated for 2004]:  This is a page chockfull of odd bits of information about Chinese Lunar New Year, Chinese astrology ("fortune-telling"), and much more.  About the year, times, and dates in general:

...Year 2004 is Male Wooden Monkey , the 21st of the Stem-Branch in the system. Because Wood(Tree) is equivalent to color Green in the Five-Element system, Year 2004 is also called Green Monkey year....The Chinese New Year day is on January 22nd, 2004. Because this is a new moon day, it is the first day of the first Chinese lunar month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar system. The new moon time is at 05:05 on 22-Jan-04 in China time zone. However, the new moon time is at 13:05 of 21-Jan-04 in the US Pacific Standard Time and also at 10:05 of 21-Jan-04 in the US Eastern Standard Time, so the Chinese New Year day is on January 21st, 2004 for USA time zones....

About world ecomomics:

2002 and 2003 were the years mixing Fire and Water, which are hostile each other. Past two years weren't peaceful for many areas in the world. World economics kept struggling for recovery. Many people worried about loosing their jobs. Basically, 2002 and 2003 are the cycle of Fire. Fire is the supporting element of Earth, any business something to do with to Fire or Earth had better luck during these years. For example, real estate (Earth) related business had a pretty good money luck in the past three years. The 2004 is the beginning of Metal cycle. Now it's the turn for the Metal business. Metal stands for gold, jewelry or money. Therefore the financial business will boom in these coming two years. You can see the mother nature is very fair. Everyone takes turn to share the luck....

The site looks at the fortune-telling aspect of the year in conjunction with wood, metal, fire, earth, and water elements in an individual's astrology chart.  There is enough informatiom here to let you see how immensely complex it really is.  You would need to have your own chart cast according to Chinese rules to make sense of it.

[Updated for 2004]:  Master Raymond Lo focuses on international politics and wars and sees the potential for serious conflict ahead in this Monkey year:

The Year of the Monkey, 2004, in the Hsia calendar, is symbolized by two elements – with wood sitting on top of metal. According to the cycle of birth and destruction, which governs the inter-relationship between elements, metal will destroy wood. Therefore, wood sitting on its destroyer – metal, is a symbol of disharmony and this may lead to international conflicts. The yang wood is always compared to a tall tree, with the characteristic of being proud, tough, stubborn and sticking to principles, inflexible and uncompromising. The metal sitting under the Yang wood is like a dagger cutting into the roots of the tree and kills it from underneath. As such, the quality of yang wood monkey could bring serious political struggles which will bring unrest, revolution, and over thrown of Government. It is a year more difficult to compromise and not easy to make peaceful settlements without using forces. And this may bring conflicts and regional wars. Middle east could be trouble spot again. In accordance with feng shui flying stars, the bad star 5 Yellow will be present in the centre in 2004. Therefore, areas with its name related to “Central” or “Middle” will be more easy to encounter conflict or natural disasters. Such areas include Middle East, Central America, China, Central Africa…etc.

The Chinese calendar year goes on 60-year cycle. This means that we had experienced the same year of yang wood on metal Monkey in 1944 when the world is deep at war and the allies are winning with the invasion at Normandy on 6th June.  2004, sixty years after, the same pair of elements wood on metal may bring such fierce fighting again, and we should see it as a year of decisive battle against international terrorism. Like the D-day, it will be a deciding year for long term world peace, but such peace can only come after a final struggle. And conflicts and skirmishes here and there will be inevitable....

Master Lo's is a comprehensive page covering a wide range of issues.  In addition to international affairs, he includes health, economy, investments, and Feng Shui.

On Feng Shui:

...Feng Shui energies also changes from year to year. Therefore, it is necessary to watch out for the reallocation of good and bad energies at the beginning of each year, so that we can take necessary precautions if some bad energy happens to arrive at important locations of our residence or office. In the year of the Monkey, the bad energy called “Five Yellow” – symbolizing obstacles and misfortune, arrives at the centre. If your centre of the house is very active area such as passage ways, it is recommended to hang a metal windchime there to dissolve this bad energy. The worst months will be in February, August and November....

On the start of a new 20-year cycle and how it relates to the young:

...The Yang wood – in the system of Four Pillars of Destiny, is a symbol of spring with prospect of growth. It is ... a new beginning, like plants starting to germinate and grow. As such, the yang wood year will bring rebirth and recovery and new hope. 2004 is also the beginning of a new 20 year cycle in Feng shui called “Age of 8” when there is big shift of energy and we are entering a new 20 years of new influences.... Therefore, it will be a year full of new opportunities and revolutionary changes.  The “Age of 8” represents young son and we will see young people come up in power and achieve success at younger age. Younger world leaders will be more in control.... “Age of 8”, representing youthhood, may bring prosperity to health industry with revolutionary discovery in the field of anti-aging. However, [it] will also bring negative influence on young people and tragedy involving young people as well as social problems amongst the youngsters may also arise....

FYI: for another site carrying this lengthy lecture in a larger font size, see: http://www.fengshui-lo.com/page1.html. You may need to disable its background as it's quite "busy" and not very eye-friendly.

[Link & Annotation updated 3 January 2004]: This is Shelly Wu's Chinese astrology site but she hasn't updated her Lunar New Year pages for 2 years now.  There are links but when you go to the pages you find only a title and no further content.  Perhaps if enough people e-mail and ask her for updates on Lunar New Year, she'll comply <smile>.  Her work in earlier years was excellent and I miss it.  Regardless, it's still a good place to browse for information on Chinese astrology and related matters.  You can even get your Chinese year-animal and basic element by following one of her links (as indicated above however, for a thorough reading much more is needed than just those two ingredients).

This excellent page includes a fascinating Arts & Crafts section for children -- also Resources: if you click on the link, you'll find essays plus many family and classroom-oriented, annotated links to dragons and/or serpents, festive lore, customs, food, photos, Asian astrology, and much more.  This page provides an exceptionally wide range of annotated links to history, lore, lanterns, food, dance, dragon costumes, art, games, cards to send, and much more.  For a good essay on Chinese New Year, including tradional symbolism and do's and don'ts, click here: http://www.asianfamily.com/holidays/chinese_new_year.htm:

[Added 20 January 2004:] From Australia's Father Time's Net comes a page of customs for Chinese New Year:

...Chinese people believe that evil spirits dislike loud noises so they decorate their houses with plastic firecrackers. The loud noises are intended to frighten away evil spirits and bad luck that the spirits might bring.

They also go to the markets to buy plants and flowers that will bring them good luck for the New Year. The Kumquat tree is considered to be the luckiest because its name is a play on the word lucky.

The peach blossom is also considered to be lucky and the markets are decorated with the delicate blossoms wrapped in tissue paper that stops them getting damaged....

[20 January 2004 -- the link refuses to finish loading -- I have no idea why]:Don't miss this page from Jun Shan, the Chinese Culture guide at about.com, who tells an ancient tale of a fierce monster named Nian and a wise old man who saved his people from Nian.  Regardless of what animal rules an individual year, this story still lies at the root of Chinese New Year.  (Note: this tale is mentioned briefly on other sites but this is the only place where I found the full story.)

[12/28/01: addendum -- since about.com has recently been recklessly slashing their excellent guides' sites, I'm going to rescue this psychologically astute story lest it too vanish:]

The legend says, long ago, there was a monster called Nian. It was born to be very ugly and ferocious, which looked like either dragons or unicorns. On the first and the 15th of each lunar month, the monster would come down from the mountains to hunt people. So people were very much afraid of it and locked their doors early before sunset on the days of its coming.

There lived an old wise man in a village. He thought it was the panic in people that made the monster so bold and furious. Thus the old man asked people to organize together and to conquer the monster by means of beating drums and gongs, burning bamboo, and lighting fireworks in purpose of making large noises to threaten the hateful monster. When he told people about the idea, everybody agreed on it.

At a moonless and freezing cold night, the monster, Nian, appeared again. The moment it opened its mouth at people, burst out the frightening noises and fire made by people, and wherever the monster went, it was forced to back off by the terrible noises. The monster couldn't stop running until he fell down with exhaustion. Then people jumped up and killed the evil monster. Savage as the monster was, he lost in the end under the efforts from the cooperation of people.

Since then, people have kept the tradition by beating drums and gongs, and lighting fireworks at the coldest day in winter to drive the imagined monsters away and to celebrate the victory over it. Today, Nian refers to the New Year's day or the Spring Festival. People often say Guo Nian, which means 'live the festival.' Furthermore, Nian also means the year. For an example, the Chinese often greet each other by saying Xin Nian Hao, which means Happy New Year! Xin means new and Hao means good.

[20 January 2004 -- the link refuses to finish loading -- I have no idea why]:Again from Jun Shan comes a charming page on each household's "Kitchen God" (a kind of cosmic spy), whose feast falls a week before Chinese New Year.  On this day the deity returns to heaven to make a report on the family's good or ill deeds over the preceding year.  Read the page to find out how the family makes sure the report is in their favor.  It gives a whole new meaning to the concept of "sacrifice."

[12/28/01: addendum -- again, since about.com has recently been slashing their guides' sites, I'm going to rescue the passage I mentioned above, lest it too vanish:]

Traditionally the Spring Festival actually begins its course a week before the Chinese New Year (the 23th of the last month from Chinese lunar calendar), with the practice of offering a sacrifice to the Kitchen God, a god sent from Heaven to each family to take charge of family's affairs and make a report on what the family has done in the past year to Heaven annually on the date of the 23th. Strangely enough, the sacrifice to the Kitchen God is a lotus root-like sticky cake made of a kind of confection, a typical Chinese traditional candy, instead of the usual cows, pigs or sheep. The purpose of the practice is compromising, for people are making full use of the sticky cake to prevent the Kitchen God from speaking ill of the family in Heaven by sticking his mouth. Of course, it seems to be quite a tacit agreement between the Kitchen God and his prayers; he is always accepting the sweet food from the people around. This tradition is no longer popular in cities now, but may still be observed in some areas of countryside.

Note:  both this page and the one directly above are two among many interesting links on Jun Shan's index for ChineseNew Year's found at: http://chineseculture.about.com/culture/chineseculture/library/weekly/topicsub1.htm

This is "Peach Wood Charms and Evil Spirits, a reference to red papers adorning Chinese doors at Lunar New Year.  The red papers replace charms originally carved or painted on peach wood:

...According to legend, two brothers, Shennai and Yulei, lived on a beautiful mountain and grew a large grove of peach trees. They often helped the poor fight against monsters and demons. After their death, the two brothers became gods in heaven and were ordered by the Supreme Deity of Heaven to punish the evil spirits. The story says the spirits were so scared of the two brothers that even the mere sight of the peach trees they had planted would be enough to scare the spirits away, hence the peach wood charms....

This brief page from Inside China Today looks at the lantern festival held in China on the 15th day of the first lunar month:

...In ancient China, new year celebrations started from New Year's Eve and reached a second climax during the Lantern Festival....

The page looks at the charming legend of the Lantern Festival -- it involves  firecrackers, a city full of red lanterns, and a dumpling-making heroine (a palace maid named Yuanxiao).

This is a small and select collection of annotated Chinese New Year links from the Open Directory.  This is a great place to browse if you're looking for more in-depth explanations of Asian beliefs, calendars, astrology, and lore.

From China the Beautiful comes a page of lovely graphics which are traditionally hung throughout the house for Chinese New Year's.  The best are from Yanliuqing, which were first produced between 1573 and 1620. There are 3 linked pages here.

Note: China the Beautiful has a wide selection of exceptionally well-done pages focusing on Chinese art, literature, culture, and history.  For a listing, go here: http://www.chinapage.com/china-rm.html

[Added 20 January 2004:] Again from China the Beautiful comes this page of assorted facts and annotated links for Chinese New Year.

 Japanese New Year

This page has annotated links to Japan's New Year celebration: there are fewer links here because many Japanese celebrate the New Year from January 1-3 instead of using the more traditional lunar calendar [see below].  Nevertheless, though few, the links are well chosen, especially those for children on special New Year's toys and games.  This is an accompanying essay on Japanese New Year: http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/japanese_new_year.htm:

...Japan has adopted the solar calendar since 1873 and the New Year celebration starts on January 1.   However, in rural Japan, villagers continue to follow the lunar calendar and Oshogatsu is the Lunar New Year....

[Added 20 January 2004:] From Father Time's Net in Australia comes an informative little site on Japanese New Year, which is celebrated starting January first, but the celebrations include older Shinto aspects from Lunar New Year.

This is an engaging little essay by Japanese American, Dean Toji, on many pan-Asian New Year celebrations -- these range from November to mid-April.

Although New Year's is now generally celebrated January 1-3 in Japan, many of the customs connected with this celebration have simply been shifted from the much older lunar New Year.  Thus, I am including this link on this page as well as on my Solstice/Yuletide page.  This enjoyable site looks at Japanese New Year's customs and offers a wide range of clickable photos depicting decorations, symbols, foods, and much more.

Korean New Year

[Added 4-5 January 2004:]This is an engaging, charmingly written page on Korean customs and rituals (quite detailed) at the New Year.  It's also beautifully illustrated.  Here's a passage on New Year's Eve that I especially love:

Before going into the "New Year's day," let's see what happens on New Year's eve:
"Sut dal kum mum" is New Year's eve in Korean and on that night nobody is supposed to sleep. It's the so called "je yah". There was a belief that if someone slept on that night, the eyebrows would turn white. That was the reason why the light was on at every room, the "maru" and even in the kitchen. This was done to receive the brand new year's day with awaken eyes and brightness. During the New Year's eve day people perform an overall cleaning, brushing off old dust. At the evening they heat water and take a bath. They also burn bamboo sticks to cast off every single house demon. They thought that with the sound of the exploding bamboo's knots, the demons would get scared and run away. At night, as a sign of appreciation, people greet the family's elders and if there is a "sadang" at home they present an offering there. It's the ceremony of the last day of the year....

I only had time to check the first two annotated links here but found the first one (Click Asia) informative and beautifully illustrated, and the second one (Korean Insights) a great resource for children, especially the delightfully illustrated folk tales.  There are also links to more academically oriented data.  For a brief essay on Korean New Year, click here: http://www.asianfamily.com/holidays/korean_new_year.htm

[Added 4-5 January 2004:]  From Father Time's Net comes a brief page on Korean traditions:

The first day of the lunar new year is called Sol-nal. This is for families to renew ties and prepare for the new year.  New Year's Eve: People place straw scoopers, rakes or sieves on their doors and walls to protect their families from evil spirits in the new year....

[Added 4-5 January 2004:]  From a world travel site comes an informative page on Korean customs at the New Year. It includes links for those wishing to travel to Korea for this celebration.

[Added 20 January 2004:]  This gentle little page (with good photos) looks at Korean New Year's customs from the perspective of adopted Korean children living in the United States.

Some Korean children living in Middle Tennessee as the adopted children of American families had the opportunity to learn about the holiday's customs Saturday at a Korean New Year's Party put on by the Murfreesboro Korean School.  Traditional Korean food, crafts, clothing and music were a part of the event, said Jan King, the mother of two adopted Korean children and founder of the school.

"It's not all dragon parades and fireworks," said King, referring to popular images of the celebration. "It's a much simpler, family event. The Korean New Year's is mainly a way of showing your respect for your parents and your elders and predecessors, and hoping to start your New Year off right"....

...The adoption of Korean children by American parents started during the Korean War and has continued throughout the 50 years since that time. When some of the older adoptees reached adulthood, they were able to communicate the problems they faced as Asian children raised by mainly Caucasian Americans.  When the adoptions began, King said, "Parents were advised to take them home and treat them like their own children. They suffered a lot, because society felt they were Asian, and they felt they were American, and so they had identity crises.  "They felt they were white, but were not always accepted as white by the general public. Over the years, it was found that one of the best things we can do for them is teach them about their heritage."

As a way to do this, adoptive parents began starting Korean schools in their communities where Korean-American children can learn about the culture, language and traditions of their ancestors.  "This way, they kind of get to have a dual heritage," King said.

  http://www.fathertimes.net/taiwanesenewyear.htm

[Added 20 January 2004:] From Father Time's Net comes an entry-level page on Taiwanese traditions:

...To insure the arrival of luck and wealth in the new year, several taboos must be heeded. Floors may not be swept and garbage may not be disposed for fear of casting riches out the door, cussing and quarreling is to be avoided at all costs, and anyone who breaks a dish on this day must quickly say Peace for all time, to avoid incurring misfortune....

Tibetan New Year

A few days ago Dharma Publishing sent customers an e-mail of special bargains for Tibetan New Year (beginning 24 February 2001 and lasting for a week).  They included great data on traditions connected with this celebration.  I checked their website to see if they had a page on this.  They did not.  I wrote to see if they planned to launch one and, if not, could I?  They gave me their gracious permission to reprint their e-mailed material.  I created a special page for this -- the above link will take you there.  Enjoy!  <smile>[12/28/01: note -- I've e-mailed for an update on the Horse Year since this page currently only considers the Snake Year: no response.]

[Added 20 January 2004:]   From Father Time's Net in Australia comes an entry-level site on Tibetan New Year, or Losar.

Vietnamese Tet

This is a beautifully written and exquisite page on Vietnamese Tet.  It's available in both French and English.

[Added 20 January 2004:] From Australia's Father Time's Net comes this interesting little page on Tet:

The more popular name for the Vietnamese New Year is Tet, whereas the formal name is Nguyen-dan.  Tet is a very inportant festival because it provides one of the few breaks in the agricultural year, as it falls between the harvesting of the crops and the sowing of the new crops....

I especially like gradually changing animals into dragons, with the carp-stage coming just before the crowning event:

...They observe the custom of the kitchen god tao for a week before the New Year, they believe there are three gods represented by the three legs of the cooking equipment used in the kitchen. The middle god is a woman the other two are her husbands. It was once customary to provide the gods with a carp on which to travel. The carp represents the second last stage in the process by which animals are gradually transformed into dragons. They buy the carp from the market, bring it home and place it in a bucket of water to place at the altar of the house before it is later set free....

This an extensive collection of annotated links to the Vietnamese Tet celebration -- the links include folklore, customs, the Vietnamese zodiac, food, art, and college term papers with many well researched details (and bibliographies).  Of those I checked, the quality was first rate.  This is an accompanying essay on Tet: http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/tet.htm

Pan-Asian Lunar New Year

[Added 20 January 2004:] This is "New Year Around the World," a cross-cultural collection of pages from Australia's Father Time's Net.  Listed alphabetically by country, all New Year celebrations are featured here, including Lunar New Year.

 

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OTHER RELEVANT Myth*ingLinks PAGES:

To the 2003-2004 Water Goat page

To the 2002-2003 Water Horse page

To the 2001-2002 Year of the Metal Snake page

To the 2000-2001 Year of the Metal Dragon page

To the Asia menu-page

To Common Themes: Time
(Calendars, Millennial Issues, etc)

Begun: 17 January 2000 for Dragon Year: for subsequent logs, see archives for earlier years.

*******
2004: Designed Monkey Year page & started updating links: 12:45am-ish 30-31 December 2003.
More updated links and launched page (5:06 pm EST) as work-in-progress: 3 January 2004.
20 January 2004: finished grokking new links; announced completion on Home Page.
26 October 2004: put on hiatus due to heavy traffic; restored 1 November 2004, 9:25pm.
19 January 2005: updated Raymond Lo link as he's revised his whole URL-system. Not updating other links -- they'll be on new page.