Chinese Holidays & Cultural Appreciation

Chinese Holidays & Cultural Appreciation

Key Terms

• 春节 (chūn jié) is the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year
• 红包 (hóng bão) is a red envelope
• 饺子 (jiǎo zi) are dumplings
• 年糕 (nián gāo) is a rice cake
• 鞭炮 (biān pào) are firecrackers
• 拜年 (bài nián) means paying respects during New Year
• 剪纸 (jiǎn zhĩ) is paper cutting
• 灯笼 (dēng lóng) is a lantern
• 春联 (chūn lián) are spring couplets
• 团圆 (tuán yuán) means reunion
• 食物 (shí wù) is food
• 农业 (nóng yè) is agriculture
• 节约 (jié yuē) means save/conserve (food, resources)
• 粮食 (liáng shí) refers to grain/food supply
• 环保 (huán bǎo) means environmental protection
• 节能 (jié néng) refers to energy-saving
• 减少浪费 (jiǎn shǎo làng fèi) means reduce waste
• 气候 (qì hòu) means climate
• 减少排放 (jiǎn shão pái fàng) means reduce emissions
• 森林 (sēn lín) is a forest

Key Chinese Holidays

• Traditional Chinese holidays are rich in cultural heritage and closely tied to the lunar calendar
• These holidays emphasize family, nature, and community with unique traditions, symbolism, and values
• Chinese New Year (春节, Chūn Jié) is the most important holiday, celebrating the start of the lunar calendar with family reunions, food, and decorations
• Lantern Festival (元宵节, Yuán Xião Jié) marks the end of Chinese New Year with lantern displays and riddles
• Tomb-Sweeping Day (清明节, Qīng Míng Jié) is a time to honor ancestors by cleaning graves and offering sacrifices
• Dragon Boat Festival (端午节, Duān Wŭ Jié) celebrates the poet Qu Yuan with dragon boat races and eating sticky rice dumplings (粽子)
• Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节, Zhōng Qiū Jié) celebrates family unity and the full moon by eating mooncakes
• Double Ninth Festival (重阳节, Chóng Yáng Jié) focuses on caring for the elderly and climbing mountains
• Laba Festival (腊八节, Là Bā Jié) marks the preparation for the Chinese New Year, with porridge (腊八粥)
• Qixi Festival (七夕节, Qi Xi Jié) is the "Chinese Valentine's Day," celebrating love and romance
• Ghost Festival (中元节, Zhōng Yuán Jié) is a day to honor ancestors and pray for protection
• Winter Solstice Festival (冬至, Dòng Zhì) is celebrated with family meals and dumplings, marking the longest night of the year

Sustainable Development Goals

• 农业 (nóng yè) is agriculture -节约 (jié yuē) save/conserve (food, resources)
• 粮食 (liáng shí) grain/food supply -环保 (huán bǎo) environmental protection -节能 (jié néng) energy-saving
• 减少浪费 (jiǎn shǎo làng fèi) reduce waste -气候 (qì hòu) climate

Chinese New Year

• Chinese New Year marks the beginning of the lunar calendar and is celebrated for 15 days
• Themes include Renewal, Family Unity, Prosperity, and Warding Off Bad Luck
• Key traditions include:
• Family Reunion Dinner (团圆饭, Tuán Yuán Fàn), a feast symbolizing unity
• Decorations with red lanterns (灯笼), Spring Festival couplets (春联), and paper cuttings (剪纸)
• Food such as Dumplings (饺子) for wealth, fish (鱼) for abundance, and rice cake (年糕) for progress
• Red Envelopes (红包) where elders give money to younger generations as a blessing
• Firecrackers (鞭炮) are used to scare away evil spirits and bring good fortune
• Symbolism:
• Red symbolizes luck, happiness, and prosperity
• Each year is associated with an animal from the Chinese Zodiac (e.g., rabbit, tiger)

Sustainable Development Goals

• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
• Promote eco-friendly decorations, reusable materials, and reduce firecracker use
• Use paper-cutting art (剪纸) as a sustainable alternative to single-use plastic decor
• SDG 15: Life on Land
• Protect biodiversity by incorporating designs or themes in paper-cutting that celebrate nature
• Avoid using materials that harm ecosystems or wildlife

Grammar

• 要 (Yào) Translation: Want, Expresses intentions, Subject + 要 + Verb + Object
• Example: Wǒ yào chì jiǎo zi, English: I want to eat dumplings
• Example: Wǒ yào chì zòngzĩ English: I want to eat rice dumplings
• 很 (Hěn) / 非常 (Fēi Cháng) Translation: Very: Intensifiers for adjectives. Structure: Subject + 很/非常+ Adjective
• Example: Chūn Jié hěn rè nào. English: Spring Festival is very lively
• Example: Jiǎozĩ hěn lěng English: The dumplings are very cold
• 因为...所以... (Yīn Wèi... Suo Yi...) Translation: Because & So, Function: Cause and effect, Structure: 因为+ Reason, 所以+ Result
• In the example: Yīn wèi Chūn Jié, suǒ yĩ dà jiā tuán yuán; Because it's Spring Festival, so everyone reunites
• Because today's Spring Festival, so everyone is cutting paper

Practical Mandarin in Everyday Situations

Key Terms

• Locations:
• 地铁 (dì tiě) – subway
• 公共汽车 (gōng gòng qì chẽ) – bus
• 银行 (yín háng) – bank
• 医院 (yī yuàn) – hospital
• 学校 (xué xiào) – school
• 饭店 (fàn diàn) – restaurant
• Ordering Food:
• 菜单 (cài dān) – menu
• 饮料 (yǐn liào) – beverage
• Grammar:
• 比 (bi) - than (used for comparisons)
• 要 (yào) - want to, intend to
• Directions:
• 下 (xià) - down
• 上 (shàng) - up
• 左 (zuǒ) - left
• 右 (yòu) - right
• 前面 (qián miàn) – in front of
• 附近 (fù jìn) – nearby
• 这 (zhè) - this
• 那 (nà) - that
• 外 (wài) - outside
• 里 (lǐ) - inside
• 边 (biān) - side

Grammar

• 要 (Yào): Translation: Want, Expresses intentions, Subject + 要 + Verb + Object
• In the example: Wǒ yào qù yínháng qù qián; English: I want to go to the bank to withdraw money
• Nĩ yào hē shui ma?; English: Do you want to drink water?
• 比 (Bi): Making comparisons: Structure: A + 比 + B + Adjective
• Zhège fàndiàn bĩ nàge fàndiàn gèng hǎochī. English: This restaurant is better than that one
• Dìtiě bì gōngjiāochē kuài. English: The subway is faster than the bus
• Directions: Using Directions Vocabulary in Sentences
• In the example: Fàndiàn zài yínháng de pángbiān. English: The restaurant is next to the bank
• Yìzhí zòu, ránhòu wǎng yòu guǎi. English: Go straight, then turn right.