Sunday, May 17, 2020
The Basics of Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is the most important festival in Chinese culture. It is celebrated on the new moon of the first month according to the lunar calendar and is a time for family reunions and scrumptious feasts. While Chinese New Year is celebrated in Asian countries like China and Singapore, it is also celebrated in Chinatowns spanning New York City to San Francisco. Take the time to learn about traditions and how to wish others a happy new year in Chinese so that you can also partake in Chinese New Year festivities wherever you are in the world. How Long Is Chinese New Year? Chinese New Year traditionally lasts from the first day to the 15th day of the New Year (which is the Lantern Festival), but the demands of modern life mean that most people don’t get such an extended holiday. Still, the first five days of the New Year are an official holiday in Taiwan, while workers in Mainland China and Singapore get at least 2 or 3 days off. Home Decor A chance to leave the problems of the previous year behind, it is important to start the New Year fresh. This means cleaning up the house and buying new clothes. Homes are decorated with red paper banners which have auspicious couplets written on them. These are hung around doorways and are intended to bring luck to the household for the coming year. Red is an important color in Chinese culture, symbolizing prosperity. Many people will wear red clothing during the New Year celebrations, and houses will have many red decorations such as Chinese knotwork. Red Envelopes Red envelopes (ââ€" ºhà ³ng bÄ o) are given to children and unmarried adults. Married couples also give red envelopes to their parents. The envelopes contain money. The money must be in new bills, and the total amount must be an even number. Certain numbers (such as four) are bad luck, so the total amount should not be one of these unlucky numbers. â€Å"Four†is a homonym for â€Å"death†, so a red envelope should never contain $4, $40, or $400. Fireworks Evil spirits are said to be driven away by loud noise, so Chinese New Year is a very loud celebration. Long strings of firecrackers are set off throughout the holiday, and there are many displays of fireworks lighting up the evening skies. Some countries such as Singapore and Malaysia restrict the use of fireworks, but Taiwan and Mainland China still allow the nearly unrestricted use of firecrackers and fireworks. Chinese Zodiac The Chinese zodiac cycles every 12 years, and each lunar year is named after an animal. For example: Rooster: January 28, 2017 - February 18, 2018Dog : February 19, 2018 - February 04, 2019Pig: February 05, 2019 - January 24, 2020Rat: January 25, 2020 - February 11, 2021Ox: February 12, 2021 - January 31, 2022Tiger : February 1, 2022 - February 19, 2023Rabbit: February 20, 2023 - February 8, 2024Dragon: February 10, 2024 - January 28, 2025Snake: January 29, 2025 - February 16, 2026Horse: February 17, 2026 - February 5, 2027Sheep: February 6, 2027 - January 25, 2028Monkey: January 26, 2028 - February 12, 2029 How to Say Happy New Year in Mandarin Chinese There are many saying and greeting associated with the Chinese New Year. Family members, friends, and neighbors greet each other with congratulations and wishes for prosperity. The most common greeting is æâ€" °Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¥ ¿ «Ã¤ ¹  – ââ€" ºXÄ «n Nià ¡n Kuà i Là ¨; this phrase directly translates to â€Å"Happy New Year.†Another common greeting is æ Ã¥â€"Å"Ã¥ ‘è ´ ¢Ã‚ – ââ€" ºGÃ… ng XÇ FÄ Cà ¡i, which means Best wishes, wishing you prosperity and wealth. The phrase can also colloquially be shortened to just æ Ã¥â€"Å" (gÃ… ng xÇ ). In order to get their red envelope, children have to bow to their relatives and recite æ Ã¥â€"Å"Ã¥ ‘è ´ ¢Ã§ º ¢Ã¥Å'…æ‹ ¿Ã¦ ¥Ã‚ ââ€" ºGÃ… ng xÇ fÄ cà ¡i, hà ³ng bÄ o nà ¡ là ¡i. This means Best wishes for prosperity and wealth, give me a red envelope. Here is a list of Mandarin greetings and other phrases that are heard during the Chinese New Year. Audio files are marked with ââ€" º Pinyin Meaning Traditional Characters Simplified Characters ââ€" ºgÃ… ng xÇ fÄ cà ¡i Congratulations and Prosperity æ Ã¥â€"Å"ç™ ¼Ã¨ ² ¡ æ Ã¥â€"Å"Ã¥ ‘è ´ ¢ ââ€" ºxÄ «n nià ¡n kuà i là ¨ Happy New Year æâ€" °Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¥ ¿ «Ã¦ ¨â€š æâ€" °Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¥ ¿ «Ã¤ ¹ ââ€" ºguà ² nià ¡n Chinese New Year é Žå ¹ ´ è ¿â€¡Ã¥ ¹ ´ ââ€" ºsuà ¬ suà ¬ ping Ä n (Said if something breaks during New Year to ward off bad luck.) æ ²Ã¦ ²Ã¥ ¹ ³Ã¥ ®â€° Ã¥ ² Ã¥ ² Ã¥ ¹ ³Ã¥ ®â€° ââ€" ºnià ¡n nià ¡n yÇ’u yà º Wishing you prosperity every year. Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¦Å"‰é ¤Ëœ Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¦Å"‰é ¦â‚¬ ââ€" ºfà ng biÄ n pà o set off firecrackers 憾éž ç‚ ® 憾éž ç‚ ® ââ€" ºnià ¡n yà ¨ fà n New Year’s Eve family dinner Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¥ ¤Å"é £ ¯ Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¥ ¤Å"é ¥ ââ€" ºchà º jià ¹ bà ¹ xÄ «n Relace the old with the new (proverb) é™ ¤Ã¨Ë†Å ä ½Ë†Ã¦â€" ° é™ ¤Ã¦â€" §Ã¥ ¸Æ'æâ€" ° ââ€" ºbà i nià ¡n pay a New Year’s visit æ‹Å"Ã¥ ¹ ´ æ‹Å"Ã¥ ¹ ´ ââ€" ºhà ³ng bÄ o Red Envelope ç ´â€¦Ã¥Å'… ç º ¢Ã¥Å'… ââ€" ºyÄ suà ¬ qià ¡n money in the red envelope Ã¥ £â€œÃ¦ ²Ã©Å' ¢ 压å ² é’ ± ââ€" ºgÃ… ng hà ¨ xÄ «n xÇ Happy New Year æ è ³â‚¬Ã¦â€" °Ã§ ¦ § æ è ´ ºÃ¦â€" °Ã§ ¦ § ââ€" º___ nià ¡n xà ng dà yà ¹n Good luck for the year of the ____. ___Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¨ ¡Å'Ã¥ ¤ §Ã© ‹ ___Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¨ ¡Å'Ã¥ ¤ §Ã¨ ¿ ââ€" ºtiÄ“ chÃ… «n lià ¡n red banners è ² ¼Ã¦Ëœ ¥Ã¨ ¯ è ´ ´Ã¦Ëœ ¥Ã¨ †ââ€" ºbà n nià ¡n huà ² New Year shopping è ¾ ¦Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¨ ² ¨ 办å ¹ ´Ã¨ ´ §
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Oskar Schindler s Influence On His Life - 1274 Words
His accomplishments have benefited those throughout his life. Although his kindness for his fellow man ran deep, so did his greed for boosting his own personal status within the community. There are still those today that believe that Oskar Schindler only saved the Jews for his own personal gain, but there are also those that believe that he did it out of kindness. Whether he did it out of good morale or simply for his own greed, Oskar Schindler accomplished many things within his life, such as saving the Jews, helping the economy, and being a German spy. During his younger years, Schindler grew up within a rich lifestyle, leading to him being a very greedy and power hungry man. He never missed an opportunity to gain a profit, so he followed the path of the SS in Poland. This path led him to the black markets and the underworld of Poland, which is where he befriended the SS. This friendship led to his ownership of his own factory. Also around the time of the extermination of the Jews, Schindler began to falter in his cynical ways of thinking once he saw the full cruelty of the Nazi s. For he once stated If you saw a dog going to be crushed under a car, wouldn t you help him?†(Susan Pottinger, Schindler s Biography). So with a change of heart, his factory became the gateway to saving the lives of thousands of people of the Jewish nature. His accountant, being Jewish himself, began to use this to his advantage and began to guide Schindler into hiring more Jewish workers,Show MoreRelated Oskar Schindlers Actions During the Holocau st Essay examples1534 Words  | 7 PagesOskar Schindlers Actions During the Holocaust The Holocaust usually refers to Nazi Germanys systematic genocide of various peoples during the Second World War, the main target of this designed massacre being the Jews. Approximately 6 million Jews became the victims of this fanatical racism, slaughter, and cruelty. 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The great and awesome role of being a leader has been scrutinized, studiedRead MoreThe World War II Was The Darkest Point Of Human History And Its Most Devastating War1950 Words  | 8 Pagesâ€Å"The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don’t always spoil the good things and make them unimportant†-(The 11th Doctor). World War II was the darkest point in human history and its most devastating war, yet not everything that happened as result of the war caused pain and death. WW II started on September 1st 1939 with the German invasion of Poland and ended on August 15 1945 with theRead More Steven Spielberg Biography Essay example2581 Words  | 11 Pagesone of our nation’s most creative storytellers. â€Å"His badness was so original,†she recall s (Stein 3). Steven Spielberg, the only child of Leah and Arnold Spielberg, was born on December 18, 1946 at the beginning of the Baby Boom years in Cincinnati, Ohio. It does not take a great stretch of the imagination to see that Steven’s film influences were derived from his father’s experience as a World War II veteran and computer technician and his mother’s past profession as a concert pianist. TheRead MoreSimplifying the Kosovo Conflict through Media Correspondents Essay example6476 Words  | 26 Pagesdemagogic, Serbian-chauvinist government continues to repress ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, and most Kosovars still want independence from Yugoslavia†(â€Å"Hostility and Hope in Kosovo†B6). One article even called helpful Serbians Schindlers, â€Å"nicknamed after Oskar Schindler, who saved Jews from Nazi slaughter†(Milligan 1). By comparing this crisis to the Holocaust, the media was able to strike the hearts of the people directly. However , through coverage such as this, the public was left uninformed
Boston Marathon Bombing free essay sample
The whole issue started when two bombs struck near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, turning the prepared celebrations into a bloody scene of destruction. According to what was said by Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, the death toll had been three. Scores were injured at the scene. One of the dead was an 8-year-old boy, according to a state law enforcement source. Hospitals reported at least 144 people are being treated. At least eight of the patients are children. At least 10 people injured had limbs amputated, was treated by serial operations later on. Some injuries were so severe amputations were necessary. This all because of two mad young brothers vowed to protect and respect America and praised Allah to bless it. Some words are there about police deep failure said by many Americans connecting it to the failure of the CIA and FBI to prevent the 9/11 attacks, even though many of the perpetrators were known to these agencies and were being tracked. We will write a custom essay sample on Boston Marathon Bombing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Despite the staggering security lapses that were acknowledged in the aftermath of 9/11, no high-level officials were fired. The American mass media have ignored an a report in the Russian newspaper Izvestia that it is in possession of documents from the Georgian Interior Ministry revealing that Tamerlan Tsarnaev , the guy who operated the attacks, attended a workshop in Georgia in the summer of 2012 sponsored by an organization called the Caucasus Fund, whose purpose was to recruit operatives in the northern Caucasus. The Georgian Interior Ministry has denied Izvestia ’s allegations, insisting that Tsarnaev never set foot in Georgia while all the American agencies were taking a nap out of all this. The US government has a long tradition of cultivating ties with such reactionary forces. It played a central role in fomenting radical Islamism in Afghanistan before and during the Soviet-Afghan war of the 1980s, in an effort to undermine Soviet influence in the region. The emergence of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, which evolved out of the organization that oversaw logistical support to the Islamist anti-Soviet fighters, was the direct product of this war. Bin Laden is the first suspect in the attacks of 9/11 and recently killed near the boundary area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. ( New questions on Boston bombing suspects’ ties to us intelligence, 2013) The US intelligence community should change his way of treatment going deeper into the reasons of such attacks to cut them off. No single justification will be accepted if any other American has been killed over the American Land by the hand of a terrorist. There is so much money and endless funds are spent for the sake of the national security. Those people are to work harder without any faults because a small damned fault can cost American people certain death. That’s the only recommendation to be given to prevent any coming attack. References 1. Andrea , P. (2013). New questions on boston bombing suspects’ ties to us intelligence. Retrieved from http://www. wsws. org/en/articles/2013/04/29/izve-a29. html
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