Jingkids has been an essential family resource for Beijing international families since 2006. And just as kids grow up in the blink of an eye, Beijing has grown and changed almost beyond recognition in that time. In Throwback Thursday we jump in the time machine, traveling through our 15 year-strong blog archives to dig out the most entertaining, fascinating, and thought-provoking stories for your reading pleasure. Ready? Let’s go…
Chinese New Year is here and it’s time to dig out everything red in your closet. While the city gets a red makeover and big round lanterns are hung all over town, have you ever stopped to ask yourself, why red? Why not yellow or blue?
Red clothing (especially underwear) is worn during Chinese New Year to ward off back luck. And if it happens to be your zodiac year (本命年 běnmìng nián), it’s even more important to wear red underwear to ward off the evil spritis, but only if they’re given to you as gifts. Guess it’s time to call up some friends and ask them to buy you lingerie…
Jingkids writer Wendy Xu shared all the superstitions behind Chinese New Year last year. It’s time to take a look and refresh ourselves on the Chinese ancient gods.
What and when is Zodiac Year of Birth (本命年 Běnmìng nián)?
There are 12 animals (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig) in the Chinese zodiac, and each year welcomes a new animal. People are born under one sign and will run into their Zodiac Year of Birth (本命年 Běnmìng nián) every 12 years, which is on their 12th, 24th, 36th 48th, 60th, 72nd, 84th, 96th birthday etc.
Every year is considered to be managed by a God of Age (太岁 Tàisuì); if you were born under the same sign as the Tàisuì of that year, you are more likely to have the Evil Spirit (凶星 Xiōngxīng) get you in trouble.
How to ward off bad luck in your Běnmìng Nián?
Wear red
The most common and popular way is to wear red underwear. Other than that, a red waist belt, red bracelet, or any other red clothing is supposed to help. But all this red stuff must be purchased by other people; otherwise, the effect is believed to be greatly reduced.
Wear jade, crystal, or gold accessories
Jade, crystal, and gold are said to have enough spiritual power to drive away the evil spirit in Chinese culture. That’s why you can see a lot of people, especially old people, wearing these kinds of accessories in China.
Worship the God of Age
As each year is controlled by a God of Age (太岁 Tàisuì), people also choose to go to temples to worship the God of Age and make a wish every year.
What’s special about red in Chinese culture?
In Yijing (易经, Classic of Changes), one of the Five Classics of Confucianism, red is associated with the “division” trigram of the “Bagua” (八卦, Eight Diagrams), which also represents “light”. According to the theory of Yin and Yang, red is Yang, which can kill the darkness and evil spirits. Wearing red is a simple way to avoid the bad luck considered to be Yin.
In addition, red is a color that means life and hope in Chinese culture. People choose to wear red for good luck for the new year.
KEEP READING: Mixed Feelings on Receiving Hongbaos
Photo: pixabay.com, shutterstock.com, fengshuitoday.com, tripsavvy.com
