Celebrating the Chinese New Year is an incredible experience. In China, it is a tradition for everyone to return to their hometown. People save money for a whole year to buy new clothes for this holiday. Years ago, before the law on pyrotechnics came into force, incredible light shows with fireworks were made. All preparations for the holiday include a rich meal, with food with symbolism for the new year being served. For the Chinese, flowers and blossoming branches are very important, because this is the holiday of spring – the beginning of the new year comes with spring. She announced this to Lili Marinkova in the studio “FACTI“ in the show “Conversation“ Assoc. Prof. Mariana Tien, Chinese language teacher.
„Chinese New Year is always associated with an animal. There is an old legend - that everyone who arrives at the Heavenly Ruler will give the name of their animal of the corresponding year. Interestingly, the Chinese calendar has similarities with the Proto-Bulgarian calendar. There is only a discrepancy with two animals - the cat and the rabbit. For the Proto-Bulgarians it is a cat, and for the Chinese it is a rabbit. The other discrepancy is with the animal leopard - for the Proto-Bulgarians it is a leopard, and for the Chinese it is a tiger. Everything else matches“, added the guest.
„I was very interested at the beginning of my studies in China in the 90s where to start and what to see. There is a park of ethnicities in Beijing - 56 ethnicities and 55 nationalities. Their traditional dwellings, architecture and costumes were built there. I was very impressed by one ethnic group - the Harni. They still preserve shamanic traditions today. They inhabited the northern regions for centuries, and later their paths reached the province of Yunnan. A very interesting people, with many common features and ancient customs with us, because they have martenitsa,“ added Mariana Tien.
See more of the conversation in the VIDEO.