Lunar New Year

Tuesday 22nd January 2022 will be this year's start to the Lunar New Year (also known as Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival). Many will be celebrating on the eve of the New Year by eating large feasts, giving and receiving hongbao (red pockets) filled with money and watching lion dances on the streets; The celebrations and festivities are influenced by Chinese New Year, but Lunar New Year is celebrated in other East Asian countries - such as - Singapore, the Philippines and Tibet (countries with a large population of Chinese people). This year, it is the year of the tiger, which represents bravery and competitiveness.

 

The history of Lunar New Year can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046BC) in China, where there would be Winter sacrifices at the end and beginning of the year to the Gods and Ancestors, which would bring hopes of good crop harvest and prosperity in the new year. From 1046-256 BC (the Zhou Dynasty), the sacrificial ceremony became a social practice, and by the Han Dynasty in 202 BC-220 AD, there was a fixed date for Chinese New Year. However, it was only in the Wei-Qing Dynasty (220-1911) and onwards, did the celebrations become about the entertainment and social element, rather than about paganism.

There are many mysterious legends surrounding the beginning of Chinese New Year, and one of the most popular ones is the legend of "Nian". "Nian" was a beast that came every year to devour and destroy all the crops and properties in its way, and the name of the beast sounds like the word for year in Mandarin and Cantonese ('年'); to prevent the beast from demolishing everything the people would leave food outside their homes, so it would eat that food instead of the crops. Although this subdued the beast a little, it never satiated it fully and so it would continue devouring most of the crops, until a man discovered that "Nian" was scared of loud noises and the colour red. Therefore, people began decorating everything red every year and setting crackling fireworks off, to ward the beast away. Thus, the traditions of decorating homes with red banners, leaving lettuce on your front door, re-enactments of this legend and setting firecrackers off.

Another legend is of course the origins of the Chinese Zodiac signs that each represents a new Lunar Year: 'The Heavenly Gate Race' begins with The Jade Emperor wanting twelve animals to be his guards, and so he sent an immortal down to earth to announce this. In order for an animal to become a guard, they would have to be one of the first twelve to arrive at the Heavenly Gates. Once the news got around, the next day the Rat got up early and began to make its way, but when it encountered a river it jumped into the ear of another animal in order to get across; the other animal was the Ox, who did not mind that the Rat was using him to get across the river, despite it being a race. Yet, when the river bank was near enough for the Rat to jump off - it did - and was then able to get to the Heavenly Gates first, making the Ox come second. Meanwhile, the nimble Rabbit and the quick Tiger were close behind (the Tiger came third and the Rabbit, fourth). Coming in at fifth was the Dragon, but due to his handsomeness the Jade Emperor allowed sixth place to go to his son, sadly the Dragon left his son at home. Despite this minor discrepancy, the Snake posed himself as the Dragon's adoptive son, and thus made him sixth place. Next, the Emperor made the Horse and the Goat seventh and eighth place, because they both were so kind to one another, and the Monkey came ninth, even though it had fallen behind slightly. Finally, the last three positions went to the Rooster, Dog and Pig. Each animal becomes the symbol of each Lunar New Year. The tiger, in Chinese culture, symbolises being the 'King of Beasts', due to the way its stripes run along its body, creating the symbol '王' ("wang"), meaning 'King' in Chinese. The tiger can also be tracked back centuries in Chinese history, depicting it being worshipped and loved by the Chinese people. Each of the twelve animals are symbolic in different ways:

1. Rat

2. Ox

3. Tiger

4. Rabbit

5. Dragon

6. Snake

7. Horse

8. Goat

9. Monkey

10. Rooster

11. Dog

12. Pig

We wish everyone celebrating, or not, a Happy Lunar New Year, may you all be in good health and prosper!

 

Mary Queen of Scots Execution

Mary Queen of Scots' Execution

On February 01st 1587, Queen Elizabeth I signed the warrant for the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Mary Queen of Scots, or otherwise known as Mary Stuart, was the only legitimate child of King James V of Scotland, but sadly her father passed away when she was six days old. During her reign herself and Queen Elizabeth I of England were always compared to each other, since Mary Stuart was the first female Queen of Scotland, meanwhile Elizabeth was the second Queen for England, but also due to their opposite demeanours: Queen Elizabeth I was seen as tactical, cynical and strong willed, whereas Queen Mary of Scots was seen as feminine, romantic and reckless. These two portrayals of the women, could be due to their upbringing, because Queen Mary of Scots had a pampered childhood, where she was at the centre of the most glamorous and sought-after court (the French Court), all the while, Elizabeth I was watching her father beheading her mother (Anne Boleyn) and future step-mothers. Despite Mary's lavish childhood, she was in France to keep her safe from the English trying to invade Scotland, and was betrothed to Francis, Dauphin of France (later he would die, and she would marry her half-cousin, Henry Stuart).

By no fault of her own, she was cousin to Elizabeth I, and so she did have a claim to the English throne. At this time, England was a protestant country, because of Henry VIII creating the Church of England, due to the Act of Supremacy in 1534. Many people wanted England to be Catholic again, and so they wanted Mary Queen of Scots to be Queen (the Act gave the power as the Head of Church to the monarch). Elizabeth I, seeing this as a threat, she locked Mary up, and later found her guilty for plotting an assassination against the Queen. Hence, on the 01st February 1587, Queen Elizabeth I, signed the warrant for the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, and on the 08th February 1587 she was executed at Fotheringhay Castle.