WHAT'S DIFFERENT? Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese New Year Compared (春節, 설날, Tết, 正月)

chinese new year vietnamese new year korean new year japanese new year aren't they all the same look buddy here is a pro tip you should never say that they are all the same unless you want to get beat up that's why we use lunar new year nowadays the east asian cultures are very proud of their unique celebration of their new years to them it is a bigger celebration than christmas is to the west but of course there are still some similarities between them which makes the comparison even more interesting so in this video we are going to go on a deep dive and look into the similarities and differences between the new year celebrations of these different east asian cultures falls on the first day of the first month of the looney solar calendar which is based on the astronomical calculation on the movement of the moon and sun but due to the differences in time zone the appearance of the first new moon of the lunisolar calendar may take place on different days in the gregorian calendar this may happen once every few years in china this calendar is usually called the longlea agricultural calendar or yingli the yin calendar as opposed to the yang calendar which is the term used for the sun-based gregorian calendar the oldest form of the chinese lunar calendar was created during the dho dynasty over two millennia ago and it was periodically readjusted for accuracy the latest version of the luni solar calendar which is still used today is called the xin calendar it was created by the chinese christian scholar chi guangxi with the assistance of jesuit missionaries such as johann adam charles von bell from germany and other jesuits from various countries it was implemented at the start of the qing dynasty in the mid 17th century this version and the previous ones were also used by vietnam korea and japan but japan started calculating their own uni solar calendar in the year 1685 and eventually all these countries adopted the gregorian calendar china korea and vietnam uses the gregorian calendar for official purpose but still used the loonie solar calendar to mark their traditional holidays japan however just phased out the lunisolar calendar completely even though they still use some of the terms associated with the old calendar these are some of the old calendar terms that will pop up over and over again so let me explain them first new year's eve is called susie in mandarin or sometimes sou ye the first day of the new year is called yuen ru but yuen dan the first morning of the new year is more important the new year used to be commonly referred to as yuen dan until everyone started to call it something different in china the celebration would last all the way to the 15th the first full moon but due to the busy modern lifestyle everyone would return to work much earlier the first month of the year is called and this is actually what the japanese call the new year shokatsu since japan have their new year first let's start with japan and we will move along according to the time zone japan now celebrates their new year on the 1st of january of the gregorian calendar and officially calls it shokatsu but the term gantan or ganjitsu is still sometimes used and it means the 1st of january japan still uses the 12 zodiac animals based on the chinese calendar but some of the animals are adapted to the local equivalent the pig is changed to poor innushi and sheep became goat yaki like the other cultures they do their spring cleaning too over there it is called osoji the reason why they do it in japan is to welcome the shindo kami into their homes this is done at the new year's eve a long time ago it was done at the end of the lunar new year which signifies the end of winter so that it won't be too cold to open the doors and windows to sweep the dust away but since we have vacuum cleaners now it doesn't make that much of a difference anymore instead of visiting distant family members the japanese usually send each other postcards which are expected to arrive on the 1st of january the new year is usually spent with immediate family members living in the same home in the other east asian cultures they would pay respect and burn incense to their ancestors on the new year's eve japan doesn't seem to do that the children would receive odoshitama lucky money inside colourful envelopes the amount usually depends on the age of the children the older they are the more they get the japanese hang decorations called chime kasari on their front door it is used to keep away bad spirits and invite the gods in they would also display the kagami mochi rice cakes which represents the continuation of the family from one generation to the next and placed karomatsu by the door which became the temporary dwelling of the gods on new year's eve toshikoshi soba the crossing of the year noodles are eaten on the new year's day the special food to eat is osechi these are special new year dishes presented in classier bento boxes called chewbacco each dish has special meaning like the prawns which represents long life because the whiskers and bent back represents an old man it is usually a massive hassle to prepare so busy families often just buy these at convenience stores or department stores if they have the money the kagami mochi is broken cooked and eaten on the second saturday or sunday of january there are also quite a few distinctly japanese activities happening during this period on the new year's eve the bell of buddhist temples would be rang 108 times to usher in the new year this is called joya no kane since everyone would be home in the new year's eve there will also be lots of tv specials and a massive new year special that had been running for over 70 years is the kohaku utaka sen where celebrities are divided into teams of red and white and compete in a song contest kids who could peel themselves away from their video games may also play traditional games such as hanitsuki a badminton like game played with wooden paddle where the losing side would get punished by having ink drawn on their face there are other games too like kite flying top spinning and so on between the first day of the new year to the 6th many japanese would also visit the temple or shrine this first visit is called hatsumode over there they would usually get lucky charms and their fortune slips omikuji that predicts whether they will have a lucky or unlucky year ahead of them in china and vietnam lion dances are a big deal japan actually has its own lion dance which they imported from china but it is not a very important part of the new year while japan is often seen as a homogeneous society there are actually quite a few interesting regional differences in the oga peninsula of the akita prefecture there is a tradition called namahage where men dress as oni japanese ogres and scare naughty children on the days leading to the new year the legend associated with this tradition is actually quite interesting it is said that a long time ago the chinese han dynasty emperor khan bhuti came to oga and released demonic spirits to terrorize the people but the local residents defeated them through deception historically khan bhuti never went to japan so it makes this legend a very interesting crossover okinawa celebrates two new years the japanese new year and their own traditional new year which takes place on the same day of the luni-solar calendar because okinawa was formerly the kingdom of ryukyu and had its unique culture before it became part of japan by the end of the 19th century finally the festivities would end on the 15th of january as the kadumatsu is earned to release the gods and the japanese celebrate koshokatsu which means little new year or sometimes called women's new year they would eat rice cruel and sweet azuki beans south korea celebrates two new years the international new year and the traditional korean new year solel which takes place on the first day of the luni solar calendar obviously solal is a much bigger deal it is also sometimes known as wonton or unil the main difference here is that unlike the other cultures and their extended celebrations solal is a slightly more serious affair and it lasts for only three days the new year's eve new year and the day after new year the zodiac animals of korea is the same as the chinese ones before the new year korean families clean up their homes and wear new clothes to give themselves a fresh start they would also wear the hanbok the traditional korean dress if they have one koreans would go to the homes of the oldest living male relative to pay respect to their elders and ancestors so it's going to be a really busy travel period a very important part of the korean new year is the chari ritual where specially prepared food is presented to the deceased ancestors by the oldest male relative the placement of the food is quite important and the dishes may differ according to the provinces after the ritual they would then eat the food to receive the blessings of their ancestors besides respecting the ancestors the elder members of the family would also receive respect from the younger generations koreans would bow to their parents and grandparents and say their well wishes this is called sebei remember don't do it more than once because bowing more than once is for the deceased children who perform sebe to their elders would get their new year money in white envelopes instead of red like in the chinese or vietnamese version there are not much special decorations used for this holiday but the colorful hanbok and chariev food add plenty of colors to the festivities already another new year food besides the chariay is the tokkug sliced rice cake soup traditionally in korea people used to become one year older during the new year specifically after having the tokug games are another big part of solel yoon nori is a traditional korean game that's over a thousand years old i don't know how the rules work but it is loud and looks like a lot of fun if you want something newer though there is go stop which is played with the japanese hanafuda card but uses a slightly different rules to the koikoi rules there are also lion dances they are usually regional customs from certain provinces of north korea one version that is called bukchon sajanurum takes place at the 14th and ends at the 15th in north korea they also celebrate the two chair new year on the 15th of april over there they use the chair calendar which is a gregorian calendar based on the birthday of their country's founder kim il-sung on the 15th koreans will celebrate table room they will like a bonfire and celebrate the first full moon with a variety of folk games where they crack open nuts with their teeth doing this will bring them good fortune for the rest of the year now moving on to china one would expect that china would be the most traditional one here but it actually went through a bit of modernization too the international new year is now officially called yuen dan and the lunar new year is officially called 20 spring festival but the first morning of the chinese new year is often called yuentan ii so it can get confusing sometimes traditional festivals are still calculated based on the lunisolar calendar and the spring festival is the most important celebration of all for the chinese the preparation would start days before the new year's eve and would continue on until the 15th the first full moon the thing about the chinese new year is that there is a massive amount of regional variations because each provinces are so big they can rival the size of neighboring countries such as south korea and vietnam the biggest apparent divide is between north and south china mostly because of the climate different crops grow more easily in certain regions the north is more suited to grow wheat and the people there usually eat flower-based food while the south is more suited to grow rice and similar crops historically a lot of overseas chinese came from south china specifically the coastal region of fujian and guangdong so their customs are usually closer to the southerners but they also have developed some local variations due to massive internal migration within china and overseas tradition started to blur too so what i'm going to tell you are just some basic universal customs the zodiac animals are all the same throughout the chinese population the order is rat ox tiger rabbit dragon snake horse goat monkey rooster dog and pig the order is pretty much the same everywhere because it signifies the changing cycle of the year after the year of the ox it will be the year of the tiger and so on in the days leading up to the new year chinese families would clean their homes because it symbolizes the bad luck being swept away there are plenty of other traditional activities during the new year such as paying respect to the gods but hardly any family follow every single one of those traditions there are just too many of them the most important part of the new year is perhaps the reunion dinner which takes place at the end of the new year's eve families would travel back to their ancestral homes or the homes of their parents to celebrate together with a massive beast in mainland china this would create a massive wave of travel called tsunyun and is considered to be the largest annual human migration in the world some religious and traditionally confucian families would burn incense and offer prayers to their ancestors before reunion dinner but this practice is not as important to the chinese as it is to the koreans and vietnamese for the children the most important part of the chinese new year is the lucky money this is called lisu but often called hongbao which means red packet because traditionally it is always contained in red packets this are usually given to children and young adults adults usually have to start giving out red packets once they are married as for decorations everything red during the new year brings luck so many chinese will wear red clothes or at least new clothes you will see lucky phrases written on red couplets hung outside the door red lanterns and plenty of this upside down full character this is actually a pun on the phrase fool means fortune and the word tao which means upside down sounds the same as the word arrive so hanging this character upside down means let the fortune come as for food different regions have their own traditional new year food in the north georgia dumplings are a big deal and in the south it is glutinous rice dumplings fish dishes are also popular in the south because it is mainly coastal region but most areas would also have at least one fish dish this fish is not eaten completely because of the auspicious pun nyeonyen which means there is overabundance every year overabundance and fish sounds the same so to make sure that they have over abundance of good fortune they make sure that there is some leftover fish i think you are starting to see the pattern here the chinese love their puns rice cake is also common feature in most regions the difference between the chinese and korean rice cakes is that most chinese rice cakes are brown and are usually eaten sweet on new year's day there will be plenty of fireworks and firecrackers but many regions have banned firecrackers due to it being a fire hazard nowadays they just go to firework events taking family portrait is a relatively new tradition but it is becoming an important one as for new year games there aren't any special ones adults would usually just gamble mahjong or majiang mainly good kids may play cards and board games without gambling but not all kids are good if you know what i mean in mainland china the cctv spring special gala will be watched by hundreds of millions you will also see lion dance troops traveling around performing outside shops and homes that invited them to bring luck just to let you know you have to arrange a payment with them so that they would come they are not doing it for free you know northern and southern lions have different designs and performance style by the way lion is not a native animal to china the closest species is the asiatic lion from western asia and middle east so this art form may have been influenced by cultures from the west of china a long time ago since there are so many regional variations between the provinces and overseas chinese it is practically impossible to practice all of them unless you want to set a record one tradition that was developed among the malaysian chinese yusun mixing of ingredients was even transmitted back to the mainland so if you want to celebrate chinese new year with your chinese friends just ask what traditions they follow because almost all families just fuse their traditions from different regions the chinese new year is celebrated all the way until the 15th of the lunar calendar the first full moon on the 15th they will celebrate yuen enchantier also known as the lantern festival on this day rice balls with sweet stuffing is eaten to symbolize family togetherness in vietnam they celebrate the new year based on the looney solar calendar 2. this festival is called dead moon or date for short yeah this is the same that as pet offensive it was a very big surprise for the americans because date is a very important celebration for the vietnamese and it was almost unimaginable that they would miss it for anything else the zodiac animals of vietnam has one very distinct difference to the rest that's because the rabbit was replaced with a cat one explanation for this was because the ancient word for rabbit sounds like the word cat so some people say that a mixed up happened a long time ago cleanups need to be done before the new years because sweeping during the new year itself would sweep away the good fortune like korea and china vietnam would return to their ancestral home or families and this creates a massive movement of people a very important part of the vietnamese new year is paying respect to their ancestors at the ancestral altar fruits flowers and offerings will be displayed and this is where we will start to see the regional differences between north and south vietnam in north vietnam the flowers displayed would be peach blossoms and in the south it is yellow apricot blossoms the five fruits tray would also be using fruits that are more common to the region in vietnam they will also give out red packets filled with money to the children it is called lisi here the color red is a big thing in vietnam too many vietnamese will wear red for good luck or wear new clothes homes will be decorated with many types of flowers specific to the region and various red items red lantern red couplets the full character which means fortune but the difference between vietnam and china is that the full character in vietnam is not displayed upside down in vietnam there is a very distinct new year food it is called panchong and in the south banter the northern vietnamese banjon is square shaped and the southern vietnamese pandey is cylindrical shape the main ingredients inside are similar glutinous rice but different regions may use different meat feelings and panted may use coconut as part of the cooking process there are also plenty of other special food of course such as the sweet sticky rice called soy firecrackers and fireworks are everywhere on dead gambling is also quite a popular activity here and some may play the vietnamese game by good donka the vietnamese diaspora overseas many of which are refugees from the vietnamese war may watch the good old paris by night vietnamese new year gala this is a program made annually by the desperate community to celebrate vietnamese culture it is banned in vietnam itself but they can still get it quite easily another big thing for the vietnamese is the lion dance the vietnamese lion dance costume resembles the southern chinese version but it is supposed to represent gaelan or chili instead of a lion if you look at the horn the horn of the vietnamese version is slightly bigger as previously mentioned there are plenty of regional differences between the celebration of date by the northern and southern vietnamese since there is also quite a large number of overseas vietnamese population the tradition may be practiced slightly differently and some of them may even be fused on the first full moon vietnamese buddhists may offer prayers to buddha the lantern festival is usually celebrated by the local chinese population ok those are the differences and similarities between the new year celebrations of these different cultures i gained these information mainly from my international friends and some research so i may miss some stuff and if i do please comment below and tell everyone what i missed on the cool history bros channel we cover the history and culture of asia and the rest of the world so if that sounds like you're saying then subscribe because we've got plenty of great contents planned for the future until next time stay cool my bros

Channel: Cool History Bros

Views: 305,475

Keywords: Lunar, New Year, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Lion dance, 春節, 설날, Tết, 正月

Id: UT6z66cIQ5E

Length: 24min 28sec (1468 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 14 2021