Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction
Chinese New Year is a Chinese festival
celebrated at the turn of the Chinese calendar, also called Spring Festival;
it’s translation of the modern Chinese name. The celebration runs from Chinese
New Year’s Eve, when the last day of the last month of Chinese calendar, and
celebrated in countries with Chinese population include Malaysia. Sometimes the
peoples with other religion or races were celebrating together.
1.1.1
History
The most important holiday for Chinese
around the world is undoubtedly Chinese New Year -- and it all started out of
fear.
The centuries-old legend on the origins of the New Year
celebration varies from teller to teller, but they all include a story of a
terrible mythical monster that preyed on villagers. According to tales and
legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a
mythical monster’s name was Nian (年) which is also the Chinese
Word for “year."
The "Year" looks like an ox with a lion head
and inhabits in the sea. At the night of New Year's Eve, the "Year"
will come out to harm people, animals, and properties. Later, people found that
the "Year" fears the color red, fire, and loud sounds. Therefore, for
self-protection, people formed the habit of posting red Dui Lian in front of
their house as well as launching fireworks, and hanging lanterns at year end.
The villagers took the old man’s advice and the Nian was
conquered. On the anniversary of the date, the Chinese recognize the “passing
of the Nian” known in Chinese as guo nian (过年),
which is also synonymous with celebrating the new year.
But it is unclear when the exact beginning of the New
Year celebration in China is. Normally, it was said to start from the year end
religious ceremony during the Shang Dynasty (1766 BC - 1122 BC). A few believe
that it started from as early as Emperor Yao and Shun (~2300 BC). At the
beginning, the date of celebration varied from mid-winter to early spring. With
the maturity of the solar base calendar, Emperor Wu (157 BC - 87 BC) of the Han
Dynasty (206 BC - 220), established the first day of the first month as the
beginning of the year, where it remains. The following is a brief list:
·
Emperor Yao and Emperor Shun (~ 2300 BC): small scale New Year
celebration type of activities.
·
Shang Dynasty (1766 BC - 1122 BC): New Year celebration
started from religious ceremony.
·
Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220): New Year celebration is
official at the first day of the first month and crack bamboo appeared. (Crack
bamboo will create loud cracking sound when put on fire. It is believed that
the sound drives away evil.)
·
Wei Dynasty (220 - 265) and Jin Dynasty (265
- 420): Fireworks used in New Year
celebration. The tradition of Shou Sui formed.
·
Song Dynasty (960 - 1279): Fireworks using gun powder
began.
The date of Chinese New Year changes each year as it is
based on the lunar calendar. While the western Gregorian calendar is based on
the earth’s orbit around the sun, China and most Asian countries use the lunar
calendar that is based on the moon’s orbit around the earth. Chinese New
Year always falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice.
Other Asian countries such as Korea, Japan and Vietnam
also celebrate New Year using the lunar calendar.
While both Buddhism and Daoism have unique customs during
the New Year, Chinese New Year is far older than both religions. Like many
agrarian societies, Chinese New Year is rooted in much a celebration of spring
just like Easter or Passover.
Depending on where rice is grown in China, the rice
season lasts from roughly May to September (north China), April to October
(Yangtze River Valley), or March to November (Southeast China).
The New Year was likely the start of preparations for a
new growing season. Spring
cleaning is a common theme during this time, as many Chinese will clean out
their homes during the holiday. The New Year celebration could even have been a
way to break up the boredom of the long winter months.
1.1.2
Festival
v Lantern
Festival
The Lantern
Festival is the last day (traditionally) of Chinese New Year, known as Spring
Festival. Actually Lantern Festival celebrated on the 15th day of
the first Chinese lunar month. After the Lantern Festival, Chinese New Year taboos are no longer in effect, and all New
Year decorations are taken down.
The Lantern
Festival is also the first full moon night in the Chinese calendar, marking the
return of spring and symbolizing the reunion of family. However, most people cannot
celebrate it with their families, because there is no public holiday for this
festival.
v Johor
Chin Gay
The Johor Bahru Chin gay Parade has a
140-year history. To begin with the word Chin gay must be explained. The two
characters Ching and Gay (庄艺) is
the Min Nan dialect (including Teochew) for ‘the Art of Decorating (or
Make-up). Johor Bahru residents have rarely referred to their annual parade of
the deities as Chingay Parade. This name is mostly used by the non-Chinese
speaking public; probably due to the non-religious fancy parades in Penang and
later in Singapore. Although the decorated floats and painted Chinese
folk-characters are part and parcel of this annual parade, the main theme
actually is the procession of the Five Deities from the five main
dialect-groups of Johor Bahru. Thus for a JB resident, especially the
Chinese-educated, this annual parade is always termed ‘YOU-SHEN’ (游神) or ‘Parade of the Deities’. As the
principal deity in the Johor Bahru Old Temple is Yuan Tian Shang Di which the
Teochews call Tua Lau Ya, this festival is still referred to by the Teochews as
‘Yia Lau Ya’ (in Mandarin Yin Lao Ye—营老爷) which
in Teachew patois means ‘carrying and parading the Lau Ya’. This sets it apart
from the non-religious ‘Chingays’ of Singapore and Penang which are annual
parades of a festival nature to cater for tourists and to celebrate the Lunar
New Year.
The JB You Shen is held annually on the 20th to the 22nd day of the
First Month of the Lunar New Year also as part of the Lunar New Year celebration
and as a harbinger of peace and prosperity for the coming year for the town.
This annual event is inextricably linked to the Old Temple at JalanTrus. The
exact date of the origin of this temple is rather hazy; but there are two
artifacts within that pointed to its existence 140 years ago; one plaque bears
the words "8th year of the Tongzhi era" (1870) and a bell has the
engraving "13th year of the Tongzhi era" (1875). Historical records
uncovered in the even older fane in KangkarTebrau shows that the early Teo Chew Kang
Chu or River-mouth Chief
(this kangchu and kangkar-system was innovated by Sultan Abu Bakar to encourage
Chinese immigrants to settle inland to cultivate virgin land, which is why to
this day there are numerous kangkars all over Johor which are rural Chinese
settlements). Then the most convenient mode of transport was by the river and
hence riparian settlements sprouted up at river-mouths and estuaries; but due
to the proliferation of diseases such as malaria and also the dangers of wild
animals and crocodiles, Tan Khai Soon the original kangchu of this old fane
moved down to Tanjung Petri just at about the same time when Sultan Abu Bakar
had commissioned the ‘Yap Ah Loy’ of Johor Bahru; Wong Ah Fook to build the new
capital. And so the old deity in KangkarTebrau, the Yuan Tian Shang Di found a
new abode at the JalanTrus Temple. As Johor Bahru was mostly populated by
Teochews in its early history, naturally the Teochew faction dominated the
cultural, social and religious aspects of the day-to-day life of JB Chinese
community. As time went on the other dialect groups started to settle in JB and
so with them came the deities they worshipped; this is common practice among
Chinese communities overseas; they tend to bring their respective village or
clan deities to the new lands they emigrated in order to seek the blessing and
protection of their ‘patron saints’.
Today the JB Old Temple has five main deities for the five main
dialect-groups: Yuan Tian Shang Di (元天上帝) or Tua Lau Ya (大老爷)for the Teochews, Hong Xian Da Di (洪天大帝) for the Hokkiens, GanTian Da Di (感天大帝) for the Hakka’s, Hua Guang Da Di (华光大帝) for the Cantonese and Zhao Da Yuan Shuai (赵大元帅) for the Hainanese.
Figure
1: “YOU
SHENG”游神five
deities were enthroned in the Old Temple at Johor.
These deities each has its own ‘birthdays’ which are also celebrated on
that particular day in the Old Temple or in some specific fanes dedicated to it， elsewhere. After the five deities
were enthroned in the Old Temple, the five clans formed a Chinese community organization
called the Hua Qiao Gong Suo (华侨公所) or Overseas Chinese Community Hall which was later
transformed into the present-day Tiong Hua Association (中华公会) in 1945. It is this umbrella-organization
that oversees all the activities if the Old Temple and governs all the rituals,
rules and owns its assets (including burial grounds, crematorium and funeral parlous).
Figure
2: “YOU SHENG”游神five deities were enthroned in the Old Temple.
The direct body that runs the Old Temple is the Johor Old Temple
Management Committee which is under the parent organization. As the parent body
of the Five Clans the TiongHua Association therefore takes the lead in unifying
the Chinese clans in Johor Bahru and through festivities like the You Shen
Parade, fosters inter-clan cooperation and unity. The festivities begins each year
on the morning or noon of the 19th day when a troop of gong-bearers adorned
with a divine banner will be seen walking and clanging the gongs along the
entire parade route to ‘wash the way’. On the 20th day of the Lunar Calendar
robust young men will then enter the Old Temple at the opportune time in the
morning to prepare the deities for their annual journey; this preparation is
elaborate and only the real experts are qualified to tie the sedans and fasten
the idols so that they will not drop during the jostling and tussling when
borne. Having secured the idols to the stable and lofty positions then each of
the sedans is carried out by robust devotees onto JalanTrus amidst the shouts
of ‘Huat-ah’ or ‘Heng-ah’ (Prosperity-ho! Fortune-ho!). These sedans are then
carried on a straight journey to be placed at the Jalan Ngee Heng Shen Chang (神厂) or Deities’ Depot for general
worship.
On the 21st day at about 7 in the evening is the grand parade; all the
devotees and those with designated tee-shirts of the respective associations
will then enter the Deities’ Depot to lift their respective deities for the
night parade; this will be accompanied by troupes of opera characters, musical
bands, lion-dancers, dragon dancers, decorated floats, acrobats, stilt-walkers,
big-headed dolls, giant flags and many other groups to entertain the town-folks
who by then will line along the entire route eagerly awaiting the deities to
pass; for the more devoted and superstitious each time a sedan passes by they
will clasp their palms in prayer and yell Heng-ah or Huat-ah. The order of the
procession is always predetermined; the first deity to lead the parade will be
Zhao Da Yuan Shuai of the Hainanese clan, followed by HuaGuang Da Di
(Cantonese), then GanTian Da Di (Hakka), Hong Xian Da Di (Hokkien) and the last
to round up the back is the main deity Yuan Tian Shang Di (Teochew). This last
deity is given the most revered position at the back and for good reasons and
good sense too; this deity is always followed by an army of joss-stick wielding
devotees all humbly following the entire route; in days of yore it was not
uncommon to see some weaker old women hiring trishaws to follow and fulfill
their vows! All told the number of people involved in this gigantic festival
numbers about 200,000! This unquestionably is the largest annual festival in
Johor Baharu.
Figure 3: “YOU SHEN”游神the show of the “San Tai Zi” dance.
The entire journey is about 10 kilometers and due
to its snaky and winding route and stoppages at pivotal points such as the town
centre and the Royal Dais, the parade will only grind to a halt back at the
Depot in the wee hour of the morning, usually around 1 a.m. when the tired young men
will call it a night. The route of the night parade is different from those of
the ‘Coming-Out-of-Palace‘and ‘Going-Back-to-the-Divine-Abode’ parades. These
two journeys are more direct and shorter. Upon the return of the Deities to
their Divine abodes, then will JB residents finally feel that the Chinese New
Year is indeed over!
For those who have not witnessed this unique JB phenomenon, the
experience can be intimidating and sometimes amusing! When the divine sedans
are carried for the three journeys, robust devotees, usually young men with
bravado will jostle, push and shove for a hold on the sedans and it is not
uncommon that they will end up with bruises, sprains and other minor injuries!
With this jostling and shoving, the sedans will rock wildly and violently,
sometimes even keeling over to knock at the devotees or bystanders! The
believers insist that the sedans rocked because of the deities’ mood and the
jostling for positions is to steady and keep them firm.
This annual parade has become a symbol of Chinese culture, attracting
researchers, scholars, journalists and historians from Singapore, Taiwan,
Thailand and even China, to come and study this unique practice which is far
more elaborate than similar You Shen festivals in China itself, the place of origin!
1.1.3 Chinese New Year Customs:
·
Cleaning and Purchase
Cleaning before Chinese New Year is a
tradition in Chinese culture. In Chinese, “dust” is a homophone for the word
“old” (Chen), thus cleaning means to drive the bad luck or the old things away from
the house to get ready for a new start.
·
Chinese Couplets
The customs of pasting couplets can be traced
back over 1000 years to the Shu State (934-965), and the antithetical couplets are
written start from Song Dynasty (960-1279) to express people’s good wishes as
well as being a decoration. The couplets include antithetical on 2 sides and a
horizontal scroll hanging on the top.
·
Word “Fu”
The character “Fu”,
meaning good fortune or happiness, is used to express people’s good wishes and
yearning for the future, usually paste on the gates or some furniture in the
house during the Chinese New Year. If paste upside down, meaning the “arrival”
(Dao) of happiness or good fortune.
·
Red Envelopes ( Ang Pau )
Also called lucky money, is prepared for
children or somebody who haven’t married by adults and elderly. In folk
culture, the children will live safe and sound for the whole year if they get
lucky money.
1.1.4 Chinese New Year’s taboos:
ü Cannot using medicine in the first day of
Chinese New Year.
ü Porridge and meat should not eat and must
cooked rice to be the first meal of the year.
ü Needle work should not be done.
ü A woman may not leave her house.
ü A married woman may not leave her house.
ü Cannot sweep.
ü Cannot breaking tools or other equipment.
ü Cannot debt.
ü Cannot kill.
ü Cannot wear black or white.
1.2 Objective
Ø To
decrease the matter wasting and remain the people about the recycle during
Chinese New Year.
Ø To
make a new design to replace the old design
Ø To make it all the students more
communication with the seniors and lectures
1.3 Problem Statement
·
Not
recyclable
·
Too
traditional
·
Low
communication between SOMAD students and lecturers.
1.4 Scope
1.4.1
Limitation
v Keep in traditional style.
v Follow the Chinese New Year’s law.
v Celebration for Chinese
1.4.2
Delimitation
v The style of celebration.
Chapter 2: Literature
Review
ü Too
Traditional
Ang Pau, which are little red packets containing new money, play an important
part in the Chinese culture. The origin of Ang Pau
dates back to the Sung Dynasty in Chang-Chieu, a village in China. A young
orphan boy fought and defeated the evil dragon that was terrorizing the village
at that time. All the villagers were delighted and hence, they presented the
young boy with an Ang Pau. Since then, Ang Pau became a part of the Chinese
tradition.
However being in such a multi-cultured country like Malaysia, cultures
have been assimilated. Both the Malays and Indians have accepted the Ang Pau
giving practice as part of their cultural practice. The Malays usually give
green packets of the same size of an Ang Pau but adorned with Islamic motifs
during Hari Raya. The Indians, on the other hand, give purple coloured packets
to children during Deepavali.
Now, why red
and not black or gray? Red, to the Chinese, is a colour that represents
prosperity and good luck. The Chinese also believe that it is a colour to scare
away evil spirits. Hence, most Ang Pau is red adorned with Chinese
elements and well wishes like Chinese tangerines, gold pineapples, willows and
dragons.
These Ang Pau are usually given by the married adults to young children as a sign
of continued prosperity. The amount given is not such a big deal as receiving
Ang Pau, whether small or big sums, has always been fun and exciting,
especially for young children. However, it is important to note that when
giving an Ang Pau, it should be a red envelope and not white as money put in
white envelopes are meant for funerals.
It is often
expected if not customary that Ang Pau given out are brand new, both the
packet and the money inside. Hence, used Ang Pau packets are usually recycled
for decorations or some even throw them away. This is also because these
packets are widely available and cheap. Most banks, departmental stores and
major shopping joints give out free Ang Pau packets a few weeks before Chinese
New Year. Sometimes, their designs are much nicer and more colourful than the
ones we purchase from bookstores or stationary shops.
Ang Pau giving
is not only practiced during Chinese New Year; its convenience and practicality
has gotten most people to practice the same when giving a gift during
auspicious occasions like birthdays, weddings and anniversaries.
(The example of the angpau)
Greeting Card
A greeting card is an
illustrated piece of card or high quality paper featuring an expression of
friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on
special occasions such as birthdays,
Christmas or other holidays, they are also sent to convey thanks or express other
feelings. Greeting cards, usually packaged with an envelope, come in a variety of styles. There are both
mass-produced as well as handmade versions that are distributed by hundreds of
companies large and small. While typically inexpensive, more elaborate cards
with die-cuts or glued-on decorations may be more expensive.
In Western
countries and increasingly in other societies, many people traditionally mail
seasonally themed cards to their friends and relatives in December. Many service
businesses also send cards to their customers in this season, usually with a
universally acceptable non-religious message such as "happy holidays"
or "season's greetings".
The Greeting
Card Association is an international trade organization representing the
interests of greeting card and stationery manufacturers. John Beeder, former
president of the Greeting Card Association, says greeting cards are effective
tools to communicate important feelings to people you care about: "Anyone
feels great when they receive an unexpected card in the mail. For me, there’s
nothing like a greeting card to send a special message. I’m proud to be a part
of an industry that not only keeps people connected, but uses both imagery and
the power of words to help us express our emotions.”
Type of Greeting Card:
Counter
cards:
Greeting cards
that are sold individually. This contrasts with boxed cards.
Standard
Greeting Cards:
A standard greeting card is printed on
high-quality paper (such as card stock), and is rectangular and folded, with
a picture or decorative motif on the front. Inside is a pre-printed message
appropriate for the occasion, along with a blank space for the sender to add a
signature or handwritten message. A matching envelope is sold with the card.
Some cards and envelopes feature fancy materials, such as gold
, ribbons or glitter.
Photo
Greeting Cards:
In recent
years, photo greeting cards have gained widespread popularity and come in two
main types. The first types are photo insert cards in which a hole has been cut
in the centre. A photo slides in just like a frame. The second types are
printed photo cards in which the photo is combined with artwork and printed,
usually on a high-end digital press, directly onto the face of the card. Both
types are most popular for sending holiday greetings such as Christmas, Hanukkah & for baby showers.
Personalized
Greeting Cards:
Websites using
special personalization technology, such as Moon pig, allow consumers to personalize a
card which is then printed and sent directly to the recipient.
Reusable
Greeting Cards:
These are greeting cards for the budget
conscious. There are two common formats for reusable cards. Firstly there are
cards with slits in them positioned to hold pages. Secondly there notepad style
cards where pages stick to the back of the cards. The pages that have been used
for reusable cards can be removed after being received and fresh pages can be
used to reuse the cards.
Risqué
Greeting Cards:
Some companies offer risqué greeting cards,
with adult-based humor and cartoons. The humor in these cards can sometimes be
offensive to more conservative parts of the population.
Musical
Greeting Cards:
Recently greeting cards have been made that
play music or sound when they are opened. They are commonly 3D handmade
birthday cards which play traditional celebration songs such as Happy.
Electronic
Greeting Cards:
(Also called E-cards) Greeting cards can also be sent
electronically. Flash-based cards can be sent by email, and
many sites such as Facebook enable users to send greetings. More
recently, services have launched which enable users to send greetings to a
mobile phone by text message or use mobile app for this purpose such cards are
called Mobile E-cards or M-Cards. Many of these electronic services
offer open or anonymous chat, to enable further discussion.
Pop-Up
Cards:
Pop-Up Cards are
normally cards that, once opened, have a picture coming outward, giving the
reader a surprise. Pictures and printed messages in greeting cards come in various
styles, from fine art to humorous to profane. Non-specific cards, unrelated to
any occasion, might feature a picture (or a pocket to paste in a personal
photograph) but no pre-printed message.
(The example of Chinese new year greeting card)
Chapter 3: Methodology
3.2 Method use for Montage
1.
Analysis
2.
Design
3.
Develop
4.
Implementation
5.
Evaluations
3.2.1 Pre-production (Scripting, Storyboard,)
We
do the research about the video of freedom style. This kind of video is most
like in travel and adventure. We decide
to take the video at KL Petaling Street, Melaka or Ipoh.
3.2.2 Production (Video recorded, Editing)
First
we will shoot at shoes, start walking and keep shooting at walking shoes. The
camera start move upward slowly until the object in front can be seeing.
The
scene change to another place, which is street with full of Chinese New Year
decoration, night market with many people or activities, depends on New Year
like lion dance, firework, dance and more.
Last
change to the beginning scene and continue walking and shooting. The camera
move downward slowly and shoot on shoes. The scene turns black and gives the
greeting from SOMAD.
3.2.3 Post-Production (How it’s going to present = TV Commercial, YouTube.)
Editing
in Adobe Premium Pro. The video we will upload in YouTube, Facebook and SOMAD
website.
3.3 Method used for Final Project
3.3.1 Analysis
The Chinese New Year is just a celebration
of Buddhism and Taoism, but now we try to want to change to for all races can
celebrate it with Buddhism and Taoism.
We try to let all the people know about
Chinese New Year not only celebration of Buddhism and Taoism and the nice place
or decoration of Chinese New Year.
3.3.2 Design
We use of the style of freedom, all the place
is the really place and we more use on colourful type.
3.3.3 Develop
We most on software AI and use technic of
RDCF:
R=
Research
D=
Development
C=Choose
F=Final
3.3.4 Implementation
We
will promote with give some sample for the person who will needed.
3.3.5 Evolution
Chapter 4: Development
Chapter 5: Conclusion
Reference:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/holidays/new-year/customs.htm
http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/festivals/chinese-new-year-taboos
http://chineseculture.about.com/od/chinesefestivals/a/ChineseNewYear.htm
http://www.chinesenewyears.info/chinese-new-year-history.php
http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/chinese-new-year
http://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/lantern-festival.htm
http://publicholidays.com.my/chinese-new-year/ang-pau/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greeting_card
