Here are (what I like to call) “snapshots” of the Chinese New Year celebrations in February 2019. The Chinese use a lunar calendar, and the New Year started on 5FEB19, and started the week-long celebration.
This celebration is profoundly different than anything experienced in the West. It is a time of family and friends. It is a time of crazed dancing, and orgy of food, and prolonged heavy drinking. It is also a time when you will see friendships renew, relationships expand, and families strengthen.
The cultural aspects of this event are (in large part) unknown in the West, but I find them fascinating. Everything from the “spontaneous dancing upon arrival”, grain alcohol guzzling, monkey parades, and the barbecued octopus tentacles dipped in hot spicy pepper sauce becomes commonplace during this time.
Here we look at a series of scenes from China. All of the scenes are in the form of micro-videos. All videos were taken within the week of 3FEB19 through 8FEB19 and represent a cross-section of typical China as observed by typical Chinese using their cellphones. The application used to record these videos is the TikTok APP.
Travel
While officially, the week vacation is a full week, many businesses and factories stay shut down for an entire month. They work reduced shifts leading up to, and after the official holiday. They also rely on reduced staffing during this period, as most Chinese travel great distances from their employer to go back home for the holidays.
Of course, the traffic is crazy and the crowds are massive. It is very difficult to get a plane seat, or a seat on the train as literally millions of people are moving here and there, to and from, leading up to the Chinese New Year holiday. As a result, many hop in their cars and drive for two or three days to make it back home.
Here’s a video of what it is like. Of course, there are often instances of heavy traffic, and other frustrations of driving long distances…
To save on the expense, they often share the ride with other similar people traveling in the general direction. For instance, this year, one of my product engineers drove home and shared a ride with a fellow from Guangzhou. He lived in a nearby town, and was a friend of a friend.
Impromptu and spontaneous dancing upon entry
Of course, it is always great to see loved ones. But, the Chinese do so with a new twist. many Chinese like to welcome each other with a dance. I kid you not, and when that happens, you are obligated to go ahead and dance with them.
Now, the reader should be aware that this is not a traditional thing to do. At least, I don’t think it is traditional. It seems to have cropped up literally “out of the blue” this year, and is all over the social media. Yeah. I know, it’s silly.
But then, on the other hand, it is certainly memorable…
I really do not know where this all got started from. It seems like everyone is able to take part in it. From little kids, to school boys and girls, to adults, to aunties to grandparents. It’s the darnedest thing, I’ll tell you what.
The rules are simple;
- The originator of the dance is the person in the house.
- They will play a song upon the arrival of friends or family.
- They will then start dancing impromptu as soon as the door opens.
- Those who enter and find the host dancing are obligated to dance with them as well.
- The guests are not expected to remove their shoes when dancing.
- If they are carrying something, they can put it down so that they can dance.
Yes, it is pretty crazy. Whether or not this fad will continue throughout the year, or will die this Chinese New Year is up to speculation. I guess that we will all just have to wait and see.
Partying with Friends
Of course, the entire week is filled with meals and parties. The Chinese really do love to party.
They drink (that grain alcohol), and wine… not to sip… but to quaff down in entire glass-fills. This is not only reserved for friends, but for co-workers, classmates, cousins, immediate family, extended family, and even the entire village (if you come from a smaller settlement).
I have videos and videos and videos of this. I have thousands of videos taken during the KTV, or adventures in the bars. I have videos at the BBQ pits that are everywhere, to the impromptu get togethers that seem to reflect what China is today.
Friends get together with friends. Girls go out with girls. Guys go out with guys. Brothers go out with brothers. Sisters go out with sisters. This is a time when everyone goes out to party with each other
Here are some general videos that seem to represent most of what is going on during this period of time.
Just some gals having fun with their friends. They could be co-workers or just friends. But, what does it matter, really? Life is too short to play the corporate “game’. Go out, go forth, and make friends. have a good time, and get drunk with your co-workers. Life is meant to be lived.
That’s some chicks in a bar. What about the guys? What if you are in the midst of building your life, and aren’t in a city bar? What can you do?
Heck you do what we used to do in Pennsylvania (and Florida, New York and California, and Michigan too). You get a keg of beer, and a bunch of food and have a BBQ outside, and crank the music up loud.
And yes, they have meals inside and outside. In fact, the Chinese love BBQ and many a great night can be spent drinking beer, chatting, dancing, and singing over BBQ…
Can you blame them?
You’ll also note that the Chinese will cook other things with the BBQ. Truthfully, the BBQ is anything cooked over flame. So, the Chinese will often cook such things as chicken, beef, pork, and mutton. In addition, they will cook such things as onions, lettuce, pepper (actually very good), toufu, and bread. They will cook things like fish, wrapped in aluminum foil, and even make up a batch of noodles.
The noodles are kind of rare, but, heck, if you want some spaghetti, well… go for it. All food is glorious. Don’t ya think?
Here’s a video of some guys at a KTV. What? They aren’t singing. Oh, I wonder why… Oh, look one of the guys just made a call and arranged for some pretty girls to join them for fun and frolic. Gosh, youse just got to love China!
Fireworks
Of course, everyone knows about the fireworks. We have fireworks in the United States. Ah… yeah, but the Chinese do it differently.
To them, the noise and the lights scare away evil spirits that retard growth, prosperity and wealth. The louder the fireworks, the noisier the fireworks, and the louder… the better. So when you see the fireworks in China, it is absolutely amazing. It completely dwarfs anything seen in the USA by a factory of a thousand.
Check this out. Isn’t it just amazing?
What is truly amazing is that these fireworks don’t last for 45 minutes or so. They last all night. They last for 12, and even 24 hours! Just like this. I well remember seeing the scene from my house in TangXia when the morning sun lifted and I could survey the city around me, that the fireworks and smoke still continued in all it’s crazy glory. It looks like the hills are all on fire. Seriously.
And good luck trying to get some sleep. LOL.
This is all over the world. Here is a very impressive display from a tiny, tiny village in the middle of the mountains. Pretty impressive eh? make the firework display in NYC look like a child’s toy.
To me, it all looks like a horrible weapons barrage that seems endless. What ever it might look like, I can tell you that any bad spirits would be too frightened by all the noise, the bright lights and explosions. For certain!
Family Meals
Many families eat outside in the restaurants, however many families have these huge spreads in the homes. Just like the United States, there are familial get together’s where all the kids get to play and the adults make the food, chat, play cards, and generally get shit-faced drunk.
Here is a typical middle-class family. Note that many families live in those large apartment buildings. The smaller homes are quite expensive and are worth many millions of dollars. The furniture is typical, as is the flooring and the walls. The Chinese do not like carpeting in the least. (It’s dirty.) They prefer white, gold and red colors, and while this household might look opulent to us Americans, know that it is pretty much typical for the middle class Chinese.
This video could have been taken anywhere in China. It could have been taken at my in-laws, or my friends house. It could have been taken in Shenzhen, Shanghai or Beijing. It’s very typical.
I actually pointed this out before to other Americans. They responded that that couldn’t possibly be the case. They argued that if this was true that we would see examples of Chinese houses in the American media…
Sure. Sure. Sure.
Hum. I guess they still believe in the Easter Bunny. You don’t argue with people who have closed minds and who’s reality was formed by the American media and their distortions, inaccuracies, and outright lies.
Here’s another typical Chinese house made up for the 2019 Chinese New Year holiday…
Parades
Of course, there are parades. Some have the famous dragon that can be seen in China-town in the States. But the Chinese parades tend to be quite different than the United States in ways difficult to describe…
Here we have a bunch of “monkey kings” dancing in the parade. This, in my mind, is pretty darn awesome, and you won’t find anything even approaching it in the States.
Some things are unique to China, and cannot be found anywhere else. Guys… different is good. You don’t want all the restaurants to look like McDonald’s. You don’t want all the coffee houses to look like Starbucks, and you don’t want every nation to have democrats like Ocasio-Cortez reforming everything to make it “better”.
Which is a great plus about China. They have declared war on SJW folk and take active steps to have them removed from society before they can tarnish and destroy time-honored traditions. Thank God for China and realizing that SJW moments harm the nation in numerous ways.
Anyways…
And here is another “parade” in a small village.
I really don’t have a word for what is going on here as this kind of thing is alien to the West. It certainly does not exist in America. It is where locals dress up like famous gods and heroes and go from house to house scaring away the bad spirits that might bring bad luck during the year.
Prayers to the Gods
One of the things that the Chinese do is light these mini candles that float up into the sky with the wishes and prayers of the sender. It’s actually a wonderful sight to behold, and many people take part in this ritual throughout the nation.
I read about this being tried in the United States. In fact, I read two stories about this, and the crazy reactions that resulted. The first story had the people doing this arrested for creating “UFO hoaxes”. The second story, also had people arrested, only this time it was because they did not have a permit to launch anything like this, and that it might disrupt the ability to fly.
Gosh darn it! Can’t Americans just be left alone?
Other Celebrations
Of course, the smaller communities in the rural areas would do what rural communities always did. They would host parties filled with song and dance (and free alcoholic beverages) for the towns people to enjoy. This was true in Europe and the United States, prior to all the new “progressive government” ushered in around 1913 or so…
If you don’t know what I am referring to, then I must humbly suggest that your knowledge of history is seriously in dire need of readjustment. I would suggest that you find some elderly people in your community and start talking with them. If you cannot, they find old issues of “The Good Old Days” magazine and read it.
All the progressive “improvements” such as banning alcohol, smoking, and making things “safer” did not exist until the 19th Amendment was passed. Those progressive assholes in the early 19th century really fucked everything up for the rest of us. They destroyed our Republic and gave us a Nanny-State. A land where everyone reports to “Big Momma”.
Sorry about that. I get sidetracked so easily.
Here we have some folk having fun, drink and song in a small village. Don’t they look like they are having fun? Don’t they look like they are having fun? Don’t they look like they are having a great time? Why can’t we have this in the Untied States?
Sorry, Dude… It’s because “of the children”…
And… in Tibet
For most Americans, we believe that Tibet is an annexed land that is under repression by the evil satanic communists. It must be set free!
Yah, maybe fifty years ago. Today, Tibet is wholly integrated into China. You could no more remove Tibet from China, as you could remove California, and Texas, and Nevada from the United States. Don’t believe me? Check out this map and see for yourself.
Anyways, today, the population of Tibet is predominantly Han-Chinese. It’s pretty understandable, as the Chinese government gave incentives for the Chinese to relocate into Tibet. It’s sort of how the American democrats give free welfare to any illegal who enters the United States, as long as they will vote for democrats. Its the same thing.
Here we have a Chinese gal in Tibet celebrating the new year of the pig…
Aftermath
You’ll notice that many people talk with hoarse voices, as all the “white wine” pretty much tore holes in their throats. People gather their belongings, and start the trek back home. All the free drink, the free cigarettes, and all the food comes to an end. It’s a quiet calmness…
Conclusions
This was just a short and sweet posting of various videos taken in China during the CNY 2019 year of the pig. I know it’s not covered by the American media. The best that you can ever expect is a small blurb mentioning that new Chinese new year.
We interrupt our hate-fest against President Trump with some news from around the world. In China, they had a new year. Some fireworks were lit. Meanwhile Democrat XXXXXXX proposes some taxes to support the banning of YYYYYYY. It's for global warming, don't you know.
For most Americans, it is an interesting bit of trivia. Like how many buttons the average coat has, or the average size of a chicken egg. This is unfortunate, as the CNY holiday is much, much more than simply a “holiday”. It represents many things of significant value, and the fact that half the population of the world celebrates it should be reason for consideration.
I hope that I was able to present some new and interesting aspects of this holiday to the reader that is sorely lacking in the WELL (Super Well-Paid) “journalists” that work for the Washington Post, the New York Times, the LA Times and Salon… sigh. They are NOT doing their jobs.
Obviously one of two things must be true. Either [1] their job is no longer to inform, or [2] they are seriously incompetent, as are the complete editorial staff at the media headquarters.
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