Week 5 - Chinese New Year And The Passover
”… put off your old self… put on the new self…” (Ephesians 4:22-24)
“Honor your father and mother…” (Ephesians 6:2)
The celebration of Chinese New Year is accompanied by rich and meaningful traditions and customs. The focus of celebration is the family, which is very similar to Thanksgiving. The family reunion dinner on Chinese New Year’s Eve, the paying of respect to one’s parents, visitations to relatives and members of the immediate family, and the adorning of new clothes are part and parcel of Chinese New Year traditions.
Origins of Chinese New Year
Section titled “Origins of Chinese New Year”The origins of the Chinese New Year Festival goes back thousands of years. According to one legend, Nien (or “year” in Chinese), there was a monster who ate people only on New Year’s Eve. To keep Nien away, red-paper couplets were pasted on doors as Nien is said to fear the colour red. Early the next morning, having successfully kept Nien away for another year, the most popular exchange of greeting heard is “gong xi,” or “congratulations.”
Why Is Chinese New Year Similar to the Passover?
Section titled “Why Is Chinese New Year Similar to the Passover?”There appears to be a number of similarities between Chinese New Year and the Jewish Passover as recorded in the Bible. They are both Spring festivals, and both mark the beginning of the lunar year.
Chinese families traditionally clean their houses before the New Year; this is called ‘Spring cleaning’. This tradition symbolises the sweeping away of all things unpleasant accumulated from the year that had just ended. This custom is referred to as “da sao chu,” or “spring cleaning” — literally translated as sweeping out. Such a practice is akin to the Jewish tradition of clearing the yeast out of the house. The instruction given by the Lord to the Israelites can be found in Exodus 12:15, “On the first day remove yeast from your houses…”
Red is the one colour that is hard to miss during the Chinese New Year festive period. Red is used to fend off Nien. The Chinese hang Spring couplets, or red paper scrolls inscribed with auspicious Chinese characters such as “good fortune,” “wealth” and “longevity” on their doors.
Many traditional Chinese families place red banners over the top and sides of their main door to “ward off evil spirits.” I am told that in Taiwan, they decorate their main door with seven-character couplets written in gold on red strips of cloth. I recently saw such a couplet hanging from a wall in the centre of the West Coast Food Centre. Why seven, the biblically perfect number?
It is believed that the monster Nien eats only small children. This would appear to be parallel to the angel of the Lord killing the firstborn Egyptian children (though the Bible does not specify the ages of the firstborn). The Lord said to Moses in Exodus 12:12 (ESV), “For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt… when I see the blood, I will pass over you.”
The colour red scares away the monster Nien. During the Jewish Passover, the blood of a lamb was applied to the top and posts of the main door so that the Angel of Death would “pass over” and spare the life of the firstborn. Why is red such an auspicious colour for the Chinese? Could it be because it is the colour of the blood of redemption?
The phrase “Guo Nian” is used to describe the dawn of a new year. It echoes the advent of the Jewish Passover. Monster Nien “passes,” just as the angel of the Lord “passed over.”
The similarities between the two festivities could serve as a bridge for the gospel. Perhaps there is more than meets the eye. Could it be that the story of the Jewish Passover was passed down to the Chinese as a legend about Nien? Could we use this comparison to start a conversation about its similarities with the biblical accounts of the Passover when we meet our relatives and friends during our visitation this Chinese New Year?
New Clothes and Filial Piety
Section titled “New Clothes and Filial Piety”Children are the focus of attention during Chinese New Year celebrations. They are given new clothes and when families gather, the elderly like to regale children with stories on the virtues of filial piety.
The Apostle Paul talked about putting on the new self and honouring our parents in his epistle to the Ephesians: “put off your old self… put on the new self” and “honor your father and mother” (
Have a blessed Chinese New Year!