NOTE: astrological, "predictive" sites are updated annually on my Current Year Page.  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 and remain accurate regardless of dates.

Chinese New Year:
General Information

Chinese Firecrackers
[From a now-defunct website]

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

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 1/26/09, thanks to my Links-Elf, Michaela, who found it]: This page is a treasure-trove of activities "for preschool, kindergarten and elementary school children. The crafts use materials found around the house, like cardboard, paper, boxes, string, crayons, paint, glue, etc." The site offers a yearly subscription for $20 but everything on this page is free. I was delighted with the wide and creative variety of crafts.

[Added 1/26/09, again thanks to my Links-Elf, Michaela]:  After a series of links to various topics (including some fine legends related to various years -- the one for the tiger is especially nice), this page reaches its true focus in seasonal Asian New Year recipes. They look delicious! If you enjoy cooking unusual foods, con't miss this one.

[Added 1/26/09]: This site touches briefly on the Ox Year but its primary focus is on traditional customs related to the week before, New Year's Eve, Day, the week following, and the Lantern Festival two weeks later.

[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....

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.

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

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Chinese New Year:
LEGENDS, LORE & ART
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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 I have been having trouble accessing this page lately, and since about.com has recently been recklessly slashing their excellent guides' sites, I'm going to rescue this psychologically astute story lest it 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.

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, I'm going to rescue the passage 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 Chinese New 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 small 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 charming legend of the Lantern Festival involves firecrackers, a city full of red lanterns, and a dumpling-making heroine who is a palace maid.  [22 January 2005 --although the Web Archive still has this page, load times tend to be long and it's probably prudent to rescue the legend, just in case]:

...During the reign of Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty, there was a palace maid named Yuanxiao. Yuanxiao was a clever and kind-hearted girl, but she was very sad and homesick as she was locked up in the palace all year round.  Luckily she found a friend in a minister called Dongfang Shuo. He told the emperor a clever story and helped Yuanxiao see her family again.

Shuo told the emperor the Supreme Deity of Heaven had ordered the God of Fire to set the city of Changan ablaze on the 16th day of the first month of the lunar year. Shuo sad the only way to prevent this from happening was to let off firecrackers and hang up red lanterns all over the city. Shuo said everyone – even the palace maids – would have to participate in the lantern show.  Knowing that the God of Fire loved to watch a good fire show and that he also liked the dumplings made by Yuanxiao, Shuo suggested to the emperor he allow Yuanxiao to present her dumplings to the god. Shuo said the fire god would surely be appeased and therefore save the city of Changan.

The emperor bought the story and ordered the city of Changan to spend that entire night letting off firecrackers and playing with lanterns. Nothing amiss happened that night and Yuanxiao took advantage of her time outside the palace to have a family reunion.  Emperor Wu Di had such a good time that the next year he again ordered that red lanterns be hung all over the city on that same day and the little palace maid made her dumplings again too.

Thus the 15th day of the first lunar month of the year became a festival. The Lantern Festival is also called the Yuanxiao Festival, named after the famous dumplings. On this night, people celebrate under the first full moon of the year, which is symbolic of family reunions and a full happy life.

Note: 31 January 2007: just in case, here's an alternate link, minus the opening sentence in the original:
http://www.orientalfood.com/culture/festival/legendoflantern.shtml

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

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Chinese New Year:
THE 12 ZODIAC ANIMALS
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1,000  year old Song  Dynasty jade artifact collection depicts the 12 Zodiac Animals (see directly below)

http://web.archive.org/web/20071021045741/http://thejadetrade.com/ian/p22h.html

[Added 1/26/09]: This is a lovely page from The Jade Trade with brief but concise data on all 12 Zodiac Animals. Unfortunately, it appears that the owner, Ian, a passionate jade expert for over thirty years, has retired and put his collection up for auction. His website is also for sale so check out this page while you can!  Usually, Web Archive doesn't include images but they are still intact on this page. Sometimes they won't all load and you'll get a page saying they aren't archived. But keep trying. They're all there -- and quite appealing. (Note: connecting pages also still seem to work although I never got all the art to load.)

[Added 1/26/09]:This is a Holy Mountain Trading Company page with individual links to all 12 zodiac animals -- the pages are handsome, illustrated, and offer excellent information. The opening comments on this introductory page offer the clearest distinction between Chinese and Western astrology that I have yet seen. Here is what they write:

The astrology that is practiced in the East is quite different to that of the West mainly because of the way each divides up and charts the year. The fundamental difference underlying the two systems is that, whereas in the West the calendar is based on the sun, in the East the Oriental year is based on the cycle of the moon. And whereas in the West the New Year is always constant, falling annually on the 1st of January, because the Chinese calculate the beginning of their year according to the second New Moon following the Winter Solstice, it means that their New Year is not fixed but may occur sometime within a span ranging from the middle of January to the middle of February....

[Added 1/26/09]: What I like about this "Cultural China" site are its many internal links to Chinese astrology, folk art, crafts, clothing, ornaments, food, festivals, customs, history, archaeology, literature, and other aspects of China. This makes it a great place for browsing. In addition, each Zodiac animal is featured in its own story. The layout of this site tends to be "busy" but the data is surprisingly rich. The page on how the 12 animals of the zodiac are arranged, for example (see this link at: http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/Traditions47bye191.html), sounded a bit dull to me until I saw that it included not just the times connected to each animal, but why the times are connected. As a Rabbit (both year- and hour-born), I love the reason for the rabbit's 5-7am time -- it helps me understand why I'm often still writing and/or webbing at that time <smile>:

The selection and arrangement of the 12 zodiac animals are said to be based on the active time of each animal during a day. The period from11:00 pm to 01:00am is the Chinese hour of Zi, during which the mouse gets most active. During the Chinese hour of Chou, i.e. the period of 01:00am and 03:00am, the ox is chewing the cud. In the Yin hour, which is from 03:00am to 05:00am, the tiger is loitering and seeking food. This is the time of day the tiger becomes most ferocious. The time period between 05:00am and 07:00am is called the hour of Fan. During this time, the sun is not out yet and the moon is in the sky. The Jade Rabbit in the moon is said to be busy pounding medicine in a mortar.

When the hour of Chen, 7:00am to 9:00am, arrives, it's time for the divine dragon to control the rain. The period between 9:00am and 11:00am is called the Si hour, during which the snake becomes active. The Wu hour, which is between 11:00am and 01:00pm, the world abounds in the energy of yang. It's time for the heavenly horse to soar across the sky. The period from 01:00pm to 03:00pm is the Wei hour, during which the sheep is eating grass and it'll grow stronger. The Shen hour is from 03:00pm to 05:00pm. The monkey gets active during this period. When the You hour, i.e. 05:00pm to 07:00pm, comes, the rooster begins to return to its cage. The period from 07:00pm to 09:00pm is the Xu hour, during which the dog keeps watch. And the period between 9:00pm and 11:00pm is the Hai hour. During this period, everything is quiet and the pig is fast asleep.

[Added 1/26/09]:This is an elegant, simply illustrated, and beautifully organized Zodiac page. If you want a quick and easily accessible overview of the animals' meanings and legends (with details I haven't seen elsewhere -- e.g., the dragon's role), this is the page for you.

[Added 1/26/09]: Exceptional page on Chinese astrology -- detailed, accessible charts. Nothing fancy here but great data. Here, for example, is a great little quick reference chart:

When trying to calculate the relevant year, an easy rule to follow is that years that end in an even number are yang, those that end with an odd number are yin. The cycle proceeds as follows:

    * If the year ends in 0 it is Yang Metal.
    * If the year ends in 1 it is Yin Metal.
    * If the year ends in 2 it is Yang Water.
    * If the year ends in 3 it is Yin Water.
    * If the year ends in 4 it is Yang Wood.
    * If the year ends in 5 it is Yin Wood.
    * If the year ends in 6 it is Yang Fire.
    * If the year ends in 7 it is Yin Fire.
    * If the year ends in 8 it is Yang Earth.
    * If the year ends in 9 it is Yin Earth.

And here are the zodiac animals in other Asian countries that differ from China's:

The Chinese zodiac is also used in some other Asian countries that have been under the cultural influence of China. However, some of the animals in the Zodiac may differ by country.

For example, the Vietnamese zodiac is almost identical to Chinese zodiac except that the second animal is the water buffalo instead of the ox, the fourth animal is the cat instead of the rabbit and the eighth animal is the goat instead of the sheep. The Japanese zodiac includes the wild boar instead of the pig, and the Thai zodiac includes a naga in place of the dragon. The European Huns used the Chinese Zodiac complete with "dragon", "pig". This common Chinese-Turkic Zodiac was in use in Balkan Bulgaria well into the Bulgars' adoption of Slavic language and Orthodox Christianity. Following is the Hunnish or Turkic Bulgarian Pagan zodiac calendar, distinctive from the Greek zodiac but much in conformity with the Chinese one: Kam-Boyan Calendar....

...[Added 1/26/09]:  This Chinese Zodiac series of images is from Canadian artist, Minouette -- they are black and white limited edition linocuts (she offers these for sale at very reasonable $20-30 prices). She hasn't done the Rat yet but the other eleven express vitality and charm.

...[Added 1/26/09]:   This is "Steev-o's" collection of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals. He works in watercolors and colored pencils -- his approach has an amateurish quality (at least to my eye) but there's also an engaging innocence and often exuberant use of color. I couldn't find any one link that included all the zodiac animals, so I had to start with the Ox link from google and patiently work backwards, link by link (he gives "previous" and "next" thumbnails on the righthand side of the page). He doesn't list the animals in order -- his first in the set, for example, is the pig and last is the rat (which is actually the first in China). Regardless, I enjoyed most of the images.

Japanese New Year

New Year Surimono
Gakutei Yashima (1786-1868)
Artelino Gallery

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.  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.

As noted above, many Japanese celebrate the New Year from January 1-3 instead of using the more traditional lunar calendar [see below].  Nevertheless, though few, there are some well chosen links here. This is an essay on Japanese New Year:

...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 1/26/09]:From Holy Mountain Trading Company comes another fine page -- this time the focus is on New Year celebrations in Japan. It covers traditions, history, food, sake, and much more -- an excellent summary. Here's an excerpt on the end-of-the-year bell:

...The New Year's events are widely celebrated and enjoyed in Japan, beginning on New Year's eve with the tradition of striking the joya no kane (end-of-the-year bell) from nearby Buddhist temples. The tolls represent the leaving behind of 108 bonno, or worldly concerns of the old year, which, according to Buddhist belief, torment mankind. During this ceremony, each toll is struck after the reverberations from the preceding toll have dissipated. The last peal of the bell is struck at midnight, coinciding with the first few seconds of the New Year; thus a new beginning dawns, enabling the start of a prosperous and joyous year....

Here's a brief historical excerpt:

...Most Japanese households -- and most families of Japanese descent living in the United States -- still observe rituals that go back as far as the Edo period of the 17th century. New Year's resolutions in Japan are made to bring prosperity and happiness for the future....

[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 falling from November to mid-April.

Korean New Year

Korean Girls in new clothes for Seolnal (New Year's Day)
See site directly below...

[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 with many photos.  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. [Note: as of 1/22/05, some of the links have died -- if you are especially attracted to one, you might try the Web Archive.]  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....

[Added 1/25/09]: This is a more detailed look at the meaning of New Year's customs in Taiwan. It includes several great photos.  The article looks honestly at disruptions brought about by modern life and yet ends on a reassuring note:

...Changing times and the hectic pace of modern living have taken a toll on many time-honored New Year traditions that had their beginnings in a slower-paced agricultural society. Wearing new clothes during the New Year holiday, a tradition from ancient times to begin the year with a fresh start, while still a practice, is no longer a novelty. For Taiwanese of the present, wearing new clothes is a very common occurrence. Food preparation has become simpler, and foods that once were longed-for, once-a-year holiday treats, are now readily available all year round in supermarkets, a boon for busy families even as their uniqueness fades....

...The spirit of New Year's is definitely alive and well in Taiwan. While the attachment to old holiday practices may be loosening, the shared memory of a common past going back over the centuries, together with bright hopes for the future, firmly remains.

Tibetan New Year

Tibetan Astrology

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.

[Added 22 January 2005:]  This page on Losar (New Year) comes from the Venerable Salden of Namgyal Monastery -- the personal monastery of the Dalai Lama.  I found especially intriguing the role of Belma, an old woman who understood lunar time and gave this knowledge to others:

...The word Losar is a Tibetan word for New Year. LO means year and SAR means new. The celebration of Losar can be traced back to the pre-Buddhist period in Tibet. During the period when Tibetans practiced the Bon religion, every winter a spiritual ceremony was held, in which people offered large quantities of incense to appease the local spirits, deities and protectors.... The [Buddhist] festival is said to have begun when an old woman named Belma introduced the measurement of time based on the phases of the moon. This festival took place during the flowering of the apricot trees of the Lhokha Yarla Shampo region in autumn, and it may have been the first celebration of what has become the traditional farmers' festival. It was during this period that the arts of cultivation, irrigation, refining iron from ore and building bridges were first introduced in Tibet. The ceremonies which were instituted to celebrate these new capabilities can be recognized as precursors of the Losar festival. Later when the rudiments of the science of astrology, based on the five elements, were introduced in Tibet, this farmer's festival became what we now call the Losar or New Year's festival....

The page continues with a number of interesting traditions connected with this day, including the role of the Dalai Lama, where again the feminine plays a significant role, this time as a goddess:

... In the early dawn of this day, the monks of Namgyal Monastery offer a sacrificial cake (Tse- tor) on top of the main temple (Potala in Tibet) to the supreme hierarchy of Dharma protectors, the glorious goddess Palden Lhamo. Led by the Dalai Lama, the abbots of three great monasteries, lamas, reincarnated monks, government officials and dignitaries join the ceremony and offer their contemplative prayers, while the monks of Namgyal Monastery recite the invocation of Palden Lhamo....

... In Tibet before the Chinese came, Losar had been celebrated for fifteen days or more. In India today we celebrate for three days, and in America we have minimized it to one day....

[Added 22 January 2005:]  This page looks at New Year traditions in nearby Ladakh -- scroll past about 1/3rd of the page until you get to a section called "Losar: How Ladakh got its new year":

This New Year festival has an interesting history. In the 17th century, King Jamyang Namgyal decided to lead an expedition against the Balti forces during winter. He was advised that any expedition before the New Year would be inauspicious. Like Alexander's solution to the Gordion Knot, his solution was direct and simple. He advanced the New Year celebrations by two months, establishing a tradition that people still follow- celebrating Losar on the first day of the eleventh month of every year....

The page doesn't explain why the populace didn't simply revert to their usual date the following year but it does offer information on rich customs associated with the festival.

[Added 22 January 2005:]This is a huge mega-site on Tibetan New Year with dozens, maybe hundreds, of links.  The links aren't annotated but they do include the first line or two so that you can get some idea of their content.   Many are from tour organizations with good (albeit brief) data and photos.

Vietnamese Tet

Tet in Vietnam

31 January 2007
Author's Note:

FYI:  I lived in Hue with my father on Le Loi Street from March to June 1961. I briefly taught English to eager, wonderful Vietnamese students at USIS (United States Information Service). My father taught histology and other medical courses at the University of Hue (I typed out the course-notes for his classes). I cannot "grok" these links about Tet and Hue without remembering my friends and students, many of whom died in the Tet Offensive. I cannot remember without crying. Part of me will always be there.

This is a beautifully written and exquisite page on Vietnamese Tet.  It's available in both French and English. [14 February 2010]: Although "dead" for several years, my Links Elf has now located this lovely page not only on Web Archive (see link above) but also in a PDF file at: http://www.vietnammonpaysnatal.fr/ENGLISH_PDF/etet.pdf: Unfortunately, none of the site's new PDF files will load on my computer, but at least the link is now available for those who can access it.

[Added 31 January 2007:] From the above site, this is the compassionate Legend of Tet:

The myth of Táo Quân is based on the tragic story of a woodcutter and his wife. This modest couple lived happily until discovering they could not have children, the unfortunate husband began drinking and ill-treating his wife. The latter not being able to put up with it any longer left him and married a hunter in a village nearby. But one day, fooled of solitude and full of remorse, the  woodcutter decided to pay a visit to his wife to present his excuses.

At that moment, the hunter came home. In order to avoid misunderstanding, the young woman hid her first husband in a cowshed covered by a hatch roof, located next to the kitchen where the hunter was smoking his game. By misfortune, a spark burst out from the hearth and the cowshed caught fire. In panic, the young woman threw herself in the cowshed to save her ex-husband. The hunter followed her to give help and all three perished in the fire. The Emperor of Jade, from the height of his celestial throne, deeply touched by this sad fate, deified these unfortunate three and put them in charge of looking after the well-being of people at the vantage point of the kitchen.

Therefore they are from then on the gods of the Hearth.

Here is the home page of this site -- it offers many legends and other fine data:
http://www.vietnammonpaysnatal.fr/anglais.html:
[1/26/08: updated; 2/14/10: new link -- as my Links Elf comments: "Obviously such a labor of love."]

[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

[Added 31January 2007:]This is a general site on Vietnam with many links to all aspects of this lovely country.

Pan-Asian Lunar New Year

Singapore: Chingay Festival

[Added 1/25/09]: This site covers New Year's celebrations from China to Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hanoi. It is illustrated with photos of colorful, lively traditions along with interesting text.

[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.

[Added 1/25/09]: This is a Michigan newspaper's report on college students from Korea and China discussing what they most miss about not being home for Lunar New Year. It gives a gentle, intimate sense of the worldwide importance of this celebration.

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OTHER RELEVANT Myth*ingLinks PAGES:

The Current Lunar New Year page

The Tiger in Art, Literature, & Culture:   January 2010: (Officially launched 29 January 2010)

A Gallery of Art Related to the Ox:

Pigs in History, Religion, Culture, & Art:
[This is one of my new January 2007 pages with general information
but also great material on ancient China's pigs and pig-dragons.]

2009-2010 Earth Ox
 2008-2009 Earth Rat
 2007-2008 Fire Pig
 2006-2007 Yang Fire Dog
 2005-2006 Wood Rooster
 2004-2005 Wood Monkey
 2003-2004 Water Goat
 2002-2003 Water Horse
 2001-2002 Year of the Metal Snake
 2000-2001 Year of the Metal Dragon

To the ASIA menu-page

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

..Explore Your Karmic Roots with Kathleen Jenks, Ph.D.....
Epiphany/Three Kings Eve, 5 January 2010:
Because I love doing this work -- and to make it affordable for more people throughout 2010 --
I'm initiating a sliding scale of $75 - $150 for a telephone session.
If you're interested,  please email me directly:
jenks7ATacdDOTnet
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