The Year of Years

marking every new year that occurs during one 365 days revolution of the Earth round the Sun (2021 edition live!)

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Theravada Buddhist New Year this year began on 27th April - in contrast to the Mahayana New Year that was back in January. Songkran and the other solar new year celebrations in the last couple of weeks share common Theravadin roots, but unlike those which have mostly been fixed around about April 13th, or happen when the Sun enters Aries, this new year begins on the first full moon of April and lasts for three days. This post from 2017 describes some key rituals and I’ll share more in stories as usual. Happy New Year. Posted @withregram • @mexicaliblues On Tuesday, many of our Buddhist friends celebrated Theravada New Year. The symbolic elements of this celebration—sand and water—are simple. They are also particularly meaningful to all of us at Mexicali Blues. The tidal Damariscotta River runs right past our headquarters and many of our stores and homes are located on Maine’s coast. We are surrounded by sand and water and we know their powers of healing and renewal well. In this Buddhist tradition, each grain of sand represents a mark on your karma—a deed or thought you regret, or an action that harmed another. Buddhists in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia build sand mounds at monasteries and along riverbanks in the days preceding the New Year. On Theravada New Year, these sand markers are washed away by waves, tides or other means, cleansing and renewing karma. Statues and images of the Buddha are bathed in the waters and monks and elders are sprinkled with water as well. Happy Theravada New Year to all of our friends! #buddha #theravada #theravadanewyear #buddhism #mexicaliblues #magicalmexicali #theravadabuddhism #Theravada #TheravadaNewYear #TheravadaNewYear2021 #HappyNewYear As always, please let me know of any errors and I will correct, and would love to learn more. https://www.instagram.com/p/COMFZQQlblc/?igshid=k5fpx3pxwkx8

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In parallel to Mesha Sankranti was a third series of New Years, also based on the Sun’s entry into Aries: the traditional New Year in Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, as well in certain regions of India, China and northern Vietnam. This post from @vietlaokhmer describes some of the similarities and differences in the slides which I recommend reading and help explain the complex picture of new years around this time based in shared and regionally differing cultures. In Thailand, the festival is called Songkran. The traditional calendar calculations for Songkran are epic. This year according to complex sums based on the ancient Suriyayart scriptures, Songkran began at 3:39:36am on 14 April, and ended at 7:37:12am on 16 April 2021. In Laos, Pi Mai Lao is the start of the Lao Buddhist calendar for which the year is 2564. In Cambodia, Choul Chnam Thmey starts the new year in the Khmer calendar. Thingyan is teh festival in Myanmar - more in following posts. Water is a feature for most of these festivals, with origins in new year and Buddhist cleansing rituals. And as this is also the hottest time of the year for many, water-sprinkling has evolved in some places into wild public water fights. Here’s to a wet and Happy New Year. Repost @vietlaokhmer: We would like to wish a happy new years celebration to the various countries and cultures of Southeast Asia! From Cambodia to Laos to India to Sri Lanka, this "Solar New Years" celebration is distinct from the Lunar New Year or the Gregorian calendar New Year, typically being celebrated in the second week of April. Though there are some specific cultural differences, most new years celebrations stress a reverence for ancestors and elders, welcoming good luck for the coming year, and cleaning oneself of bad spirits using water in holy ceremony or through playful recreation. . #solarnewyear #newyear #panasianunity #southeastasia #myanmar #cambodia #laos #thailand #buddhism #cultural #traditions #hinduism #celebration #april #choulchnamthmey #cambodiannewyear #khmernewyear #ancestors #vietlaokhmer #songkran #pimailao #thingyan https://www.instagram.com/p/CN-LGpVlLqW/?igshid=xq16bkx0crru

[theyearofyears]

Shubho Noboborsho! Pohela Boishakh is Bengali New Year, a secular festival. The Bengali or Bangla year is now 1428. In Bangladesh 14 April is new year and a national holiday, in other places its 15 April. Started in 1989 as a reaction to the then military dictatorship, Mangal Shobhajatra is a mass procession on Pohela Boishakh symbolising peace and unity, irrespective of class, age, faith or gender. It is now recognised on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. But rather than share pictures of that, I’m choosing this beautiful cake creation and wise words about life and sugar by lovely human, Rahul. Happy New Year. Posted @withregram • @bakewithrahul A #cake for Bengali New Year and some new decorations with some old techniques... Swipe to see the #royalicing cake topper! This week has so many #Indian #festivals, starting from #Navratri, #Baisakhi, Tamil New Year, Bengali New Year and also #Ramadan! A collection of amazing #celebrations across all the sub-continent and world. As a #Bengali, Bengali New Year on 15th April, is probably the closest to my heart! As it is celebrated at the end of spring and beginning of summer time, it just brings so much more joy and happiness. Along with some beautiful flowers, this is the time of #mangoes, #watermelon, #lychees and jackfruit! An amazing time to welcome the New Year indeed! Even though it is the time to celebrate the New Year and the new beginnings, we can’t let the #old go into oblivion! Welcoming the new never meant forgetting the old, instead it is more like embracing the new with the old! So, in this cake there is some royal icing #filigree and decorations, which was extremely popular till about 1980s, along with some modern concrete style frosting as well as wafer paper flowers. These days we don’t use royal icing as much, but you can do some amazing work with it. Give it a go. One egg white and approximately 240-250g icing sugar will do the magic! Hope you all have an amazing week! Sending lots of #love to all! #instacake #cakeart #concretefrosting #recipe #bengalinewyear #gbbo #bakeoff #waferpaperflowers #butterfly #royalicingdecoration #swissmeringuebuttercream #magnolia https://www.instagram.com/p/CNu0GpgFQ5t/?igshid=x39zj35vbp0m

[theyearofyears]

Yesterday was Hindu lunar calendar, today we’re turning to the sun. Today is Mesha Sankranti, the first day of the new year of most of Hindu Solar calendars. And, as the lunar new year, its is celebrated many different ways. It’s complex, so here’s some info directly from Drik Panchang Hindu calendar site: “Mesha Sankranti… marks the beginning of the New Year in most Hindu Solar Calendars…Solar calendars follow different rules to mark the first day of the year depending on exact time of the Sankranti. In Orissa (officially Odisha) first day of the year is celebrated on the same day as the Sankranti if it occurs before Hindu midnight. Mesha Sankranti is celebrated as Pana Sankranti in Orissa. In Tamil Nadu when Sankranti takes place after sunrise and before sunset the year begins on the same day. If Sankranti takes place after sunset then the year begins on the following day. Mesha Sankranti is celebrated as Puthandu in Tamil Nadu. In Malayalam calendar, the day between sunrise and sunset is divided into five parts. If Sankranti takes place within the first three of them the year begins of the same day, otherwise it begins on the following day. In other words if Sankranti occurs till Madhyahna it is observed on the same day otherwise it would be observed on next day. Mesha Sankranti is celebrated as Vishu in Kerala. In Bengal, when Sankranti takes place between sunrise and midnight of the day the year begins on the following day. If it occurs after midnight the year begins on the next following day. Mesha Sankranti is celebrated as Naba Barsha or Pohela Boishakh in West Bengal. Mesha Sankranti is celebrated as Bihu in Assam and as Vaisakhi in Punjab.” More to follow, for now Happy New Year. Posted @withregram • @pujaservicespvtltd Sankranti means the movement of the Sun from one Rāshi (constellation of the zodiac in Indian astronomy) to the next. Hence, there are 12 Sankrantis in a year. To know more about the various festivals related to Sankranti, visit www.pujaservices.com https://www.instagram.com/p/CNqTqMlF278/?igshid=6krzbmuyzvrj

[theyearofyears]

At the start of a busy period of new years, this post is about today being the 1st of Chaitra, the first month of the Hindu lunisolar calendar. It is a new year across much of India and for many Hindus. It’s not new year for all Hindus though; some celebrate later this revolution. There are other new year festivals celebrated this week, following concurrent calendars. These are across both in India and other countries and cultures in south, southeast and east Asia - more on those over following posts. Many posts (such as this one) call this a festive season in India, and recognise and share greetings for the various ways this new year is celebrated regionally. For example, Marathi and Konkani Hindus celebrate today as Gudhi Padwa - also known as Samvatsar Padvo. As well as new year, they celebrate today as the birth of the universe, decorating their homes with Gudhis - symbolic flags made of bamboo, yellow cloth, mango and neem leaves, red and green flowers and an inverted copper pot. Ugadi or Yugadi is the celebration of Hindus from the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka. Ugadi includes ritual bathing and eating pachadi - a dish including sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent and spicy flavours to symbolise how life contains experiences of all types, and one should accept them all. It is hard to see in an illustration of contemporary India a complete picture of all the ways this new year is celebrated. For example, Cheti Chand is the New Year festival for Sindhi Hindus, who originate in Sindh, Pakistan but during the Partition many were exiled. Many posts highlighting the shared festive period also acknowledge the turbulent times both from the pandemic and conflicts happening in and around India. In these deeply challenging times, hopefully some of the wishes will bring a Happy New Year. #HinduNewYear #Chaitra #Lunisolar #GudhiPadwa #Ugadi #Yugadi #ChetiChand Posted @withregram • @prism_projects ONE Nation Many Festivals. Warm wishes for Baisakhi in North and Central India, Rongali Bihu in Assam, Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Vishu in Kerala, Pana Sankranti in Odisha and Poila Boishakh in Bengal Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, https://www.instagram.com/p/CNnyfOwFgAV/?igshid=15dinro0ftara

[theyearofyears]

Happy New Fiscal Year, taxpayers of the United Kingdom! I could add a lot of New Years to this project if I included all the various tax years by country and by type - personal, corporate, government. (I haven’t yet decided that I won’t… ) For today, 6th April, it is just the UK. Plenty of countries use 1st April - including the UK for its governmental fiscal year. There’s also Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Japan (government/corporate) New Zealand (personal/corporate only), Singapore, South Africa. The anomaly of 6th April is an interesting one, if you are interested in such things. Its history is in the switch in 1752 from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian that is still in use today. The big difference was that the Julian calendar counted a year as 365.25 days and the Gregorian calls it 365.2425 days. That 0.0075 of a day - or 648 seconds - was causing a slow drift away from dates lining up with seasons. To simplify a long story, this was most keening felt as the “Moveable Feast” of Easter was losing its connection to the Spring Equinox. The drift had gotten 11 days ahead (which is a lot of 0.0075s). In 1752, an Act of Parliament made 11 days - 3rd-13th September - not happen. And the tax year? 25th March used to be New Year’s Day. England had kept this date for way longer than most countries - including Scotland which switched to 1st January 150 years earlier. When the Gregorian switch was made, the New Year started on January 1st, but the tax years - and quarters - stayed put. Still with me? The final piece of the puzzle is that taxation law stated that the tax year began ‘from’ 25th March - and the legal definition of ‘from’ meant the day after - ie 26th March. So add eleven days and here we are, 6th April. And if that hasn’t made your day I don’t know what will. Happy New Year #FiscalYear #TaxYear #Tax #ILoveTax #648seconds #GregorianCalendar #JulianCalendar #HappyNewYear #TheYearOfYears Image: a brightly coloured pie chart and list describing the different types of UK taxes and how much each contributes to the whole pot. (Source: wikipedia) (at United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNV1sM-lB5S/?igshid=19itk6xo1ihuh

[theyearofyears]

Happy New Fiscal Year, taxpayers of the United Kingdom! I could add a lot of New Years to this project if I included all the various tax years by country and by type - personal, corporate, government. (I haven’t yet decided that I won’t… ) For today, 6th April, it is just the UK. Plenty of countries use 1st April - including the UK for its governmental fiscal year. There’s also Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Japan (government/corporate) New Zealand (personal/corporate only), Singapore, South Africa. The anomaly of 6th April is an interesting one, if you are interested in such things. Its history is in the switch in 1752 from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian that is still in use today. The big difference was that the Julian calendar counted a year as 365.25 days and the Gregorian calls it 365.2425 days. That 0.0075 of a day - or 648 seconds - was causing a slow drift away from dates lining up with seasons. To simplify a long story, this was most keening felt as the “Moveable Feast” of Easter was losing its connection to the Spring Equinox. The drift had gotten 11 days ahead (which is a lot of 0.0075s). In 1752, an Act of Parliament made 11 days - 3rd-13th September - not happen. And the tax year? 25th March used to be New Year’s Day. England had kept this date for way longer than most countries - including Scotland which switched to 1st January 150 years earlier. When the Gregorian switch was made, the New Year started on January 1st, but the tax years - and quarters - stayed put. Still with me? The final piece of the puzzle is that taxation law stated that the tax year began ‘from’ 25th March - and the legal definition of ‘from’ meant the day after - ie 26th March. So add eleven days and here we are, 6th April. And if that hasn’t made your day I don’t know what will. Happy New Year #FiscalYear #TaxYear #Tax #ILoveTax #648seconds #GregorianCalendar #JulianCalendar #HappyNewYear #TheYearOfYears Image: a brightly coloured pie chart and list describing the different types of UK taxes and how much each contributes to the whole pot. (Source: wikipedia) (at United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNV1sM-lB5S/?igshid=19itk6xo1ihuh

[theyearofyears]

In Iran, Nowruz celebrations last 13 days. That’s without counting Chaharshanbe Suri, well introduced a video post from @middleeastmatters (see Stories), which includes the purifying ritual of jumping over fires, and other customs such as qāšoq-zani or ‘spoon-banging’ - a trick-or-treat like custom of dressing up, knocking on doors, banging pots and pans and getting snacks as treats in return. This article (link in bio) by Omid Roustaei, @thecaspainchef, on @thekitchn, beautifully describes the Nowruz Iranian customs: cleaning in new year preparation, visiting relatives, the Haft-seen table of seven symbolic items beginning with S to welcome the new year. He also talks about many types of cookies and so many other delicious sounding traditional foods, plus recipes. Something I really like about the research for this project is finding melting edges between different cultures’ specific customs - here aash-e reshteh is a symbolic noodle soup, as “noodles are believed to be a symbol of good fortune.” In Tibet, Guthuk is noodle soup that ushers in Losar; eating Korean Tteokguk ages you a year on Seollal. (It also led me to find the wikipedia “List of Notable Soups” page, which I shall enjoy off the Year of Years clock.) Omid also describes Seez-deh Be-dar, the ritual of gathering bundles of wheatgrass gently grown from seed from the beginning of Nowruz and, on the 13th and final day of the festival, sending these to float away on a river, symbolically taking away anything negative of the last year and making a wish for the new one. His wish: “This year, I’m wishing for an end to the global pandemic, so that once again we can embrace our loved ones and kiss them on both cheeks to regain that deep belonging and connection we have been missing.” Happy New Year. #Nowruz #IranianNewYear #PersianNewYear #HappyNewYear #soup Posted @withregram • @thecaspianchef I am thrilled to announce that I have joined @thekitchn team as a freelance contributor and my first two articles relating to Nowruz, the Persian New Year and a traditional Nowruz dish, Sabzi Polo are now posted. Thank you the Thekitchn team and the brilliant illustrator @atieh.sohrabi https://www.instagram.com/p/CMxc_OQFzFX/?igshid=1qnhyqzvtwc1y

[theyearofyears]

Persian New Year, as highlighted here by @middleeastmatters, is celebrated by thousands across the world in variations on this deeply ancient festival. Like Lunar New Year it is a public holiday in many countries, and celebrated in many more. Despite its deep roots, official celebrations have been stopped or challenged due to the political regimes at different times in many of these places. Nowadays, according to an article on @livingintehran, Nowruz is officially celebrated in these countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Iraq (Kurdistan region), Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia (Bayna Olgii region), Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. Nowruz marks the start of the Solar Hijri, or Shamsi Hijri, calendar, the official calendar in Iran and Afghanistan. The calendar starts at midnight on the Spring Equinox, and today is the first day of the year 1400. Measuring the beginning directly by the Equinox rather than a fixed date means the calendar’s start date can vary, usually 20th or 21st March, and a complex cycle measuring leap years that is mostly 33 years, though sometimes 29 or 37 years, to keep itself right with the Earth’s turns. Happy New Year. Posted @withregram • @middleeastmatters Happy Nowruz to all who are celebrating! ✨ Every March, 300 million people from across the world celebrate Nowruz. “Although it’s a secular holiday, it’s widely believed to be rooted in Zoroastrianism — one of the world’s oldest monotheist religions, dating back 3,000 years and preceding both Christianity and Islam.” ~ Assyrians celebrate Nowruz as well. Their celebration for the spring equinox, also called Kha-B-Nisan, include parades, dance circles, and family picnics. It is a tradition in Assyrian villages for girls to gather flowers and herbs, which are then suspended under the house's roof. The bunches are referred to as "Deqna d-Nisan" (ܕܩܢܐ ܕܢܝܣܢ), meaning "the beard of April/Spring". ~ ✨If you celebrate Nowruz, tell us where you’re from in the comments below. ✨👇 📝Info from an article written by Farida Zeynalova for the National Geographic #nowruz #happynewyear #middleeast #middleeastmatters ‎#نوروز https://www.instagram.com/p/CMrprKAl2De/?igshid=18jyfunbzkhw

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14 March was 1 Chet, the first day in the Sikh Nanakshahi calendar. This year is the year 553, as the calendar is counted from 1469, the year the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak, was born. Many of the main Sikh festivals celebrate the birthdays of the Gurus, but although this calendar marks Guru Nanak’s birth, the festival of his birthday, Guru Nanak Jayanti, is celebrated according to the old Bikrami calendar, falling on November 19th this year. Although its use goes back further, the Nanakshahi calendar has only been in official use for a few years, since 2003. Then there were modifications in 2010 that have caused controversy, and some Sikhs still choose to use the old calendar. While researching these various calendar systems I’ve found fairly scant information about how this new New Year is celebrated, just a few posts describing a spiritual meditation - like the one below, from the Chardikala Turban Academy, a fascinating UK organisation run by Sikh volunteers sharing the rich history, meaning and technical know-how of the Turban. Nanakshahi New Year does fall pretty close to the major festival of Vaisakhi, a month later, which among other things marks the start of the Bikrami calendar. More on that, then. I’ll keep researching - meanwhile I’d love to hear from anyone who does celebrate more of the customs, and wish you all a Happy New Year. #NanakshahiNewYear #SikhNewYear #NanakShahi553 #TheYearOfYears As always happy to correct, delete or add anything missing. Posted @withregram • @chardikala_turbanacademy Happy Sikh New Year 1 Chet, Samwat Nanakashahi 553 ਚੇਤਿ ਗੋਵਿੰਦੁ ਅਰਾਧੀਐ ਹੋਵੈ ਅਨੰਦੁ ਘਣਾ ॥ In the month of Chayt, by meditating on the Lord of the Universe, a deep and profound joy arises. ਸੰਤ ਜਨਾ ਮਿਲਿ ਪਾਈਐ ਰਸਨਾ ਨਾਮੁ ਭਣਾ ॥ Meeting with the humble Saints, the Lord is found, as we chant His Name with our tongues. Artwork by: @singh_style_designs #chet #sikhnewyear #sikhcalendar #monthofchet #nanakshahicalendar #nanakshahi553 https://www.instagram.com/p/CMiVIObFIGy/?igshid=tpp9265n0y2j

[theyearofyears]

March 12th/13th is the traditional celebration of Yancuic Xihuitl, which is the Nahua - indigenous culture of parts of Mexico and El Salvador - New Year. It’s also known as Mexica or Aztec New Year. This new year celebrates the turn of a complex and ancient calendar, and with just internet research to go on, it’s easier to find academics who have worked out different times for when the new year should be than contemporary celebrations and stories. And much of what I have found is in Spanish/Castilian - I’ll share some though IG translate isn’t super great. But @calpulli_tonalequeh, who "host the largest Azteca Mexica New Year Ceremony in the nation,” are hosting their ceremony right now, a covid-safe live on Facebook. The Aztec calendar itself is fascinating, with two concurrent cycles, an agricultural and a spiritual one. One 365 days, one 260 days long. Days, months and year cycles have names and numbers. This year is Chicnahui Calli which means 9 House. It follows Chicueyi Tecpatl - 8 Flint Knife. The year names follow a 52-year cycle, and are made up of 4 signs - Tochtli (Rabbit), Acatl (Reed), Tecpatl (Flint Knife) and Calli (House) - in rotation, each occurring 13 times. The current 52 year cycle ends with 13 Calli in 2025. The ancient custom of the New Fire Ceremony, which there is lots of info on wikipedia about, would take place to celebrate the turn of the 52 year cycle. I’m keen to learn more as to what may happen nowadays. One of the yearly rituals, burning last year’s flag and celebrating the new years’s flag, is beautifully described below from @calpulli_tonalequeh ceremony in 2019. Happy New Year. #YancuicXihuitl #AztecNewYear #Nahua #MexicaNewYear #AztecCalendar #HappyNewYear #ChicnahuiCalli As always, happy to correct, delete or add anything missing. Posted @withregram • @calpulli_tonalehqueh Every year we offer to the sacred fire (huehueteotl) our flag from the previous year. This is our offering and demonstration of letting go of the past and that nothing is forever. We move on into the new year with new goals, projects and purpose. Always moving forward. Adelante. Mexica Tiahui!!!! 🔥✊🏽💯🏹🐚🥁 https://www.instagram.com/p/CMYFhhllC9K/?igshid=1inwlp3zjbknm

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Today is the last day of Lunar New Year - in China it’s the Lantern festival. I’ve been saving for today my favourite discovery, @mellyeatsworld. This is not meant to be a foodstagram, but with so many great food customs it is a bit inevitable. I first saw Melly’s ox-shaped fortune cookies (swipe to see pics) made JUST with batter for Lunar New Year. The precision is incredible. But she’s topped that with these off-the-scale intricate rice balls, a special food for today - read her words below for more on their significance. And, as she also makes such delicacies as sculpted breakfast cereal and boba, I highly recommend spending many minutes, or hours, looking through her account - at least until the next new year.

Happy New Year.

Posted @withregram • @mellyeatsworld Happy Lantern Festival (元宵節)!🏮 Celebrated on the 15th day of the Lunar New Year, it also marks the end of the Lunar New Year celebration in the Chinese culture (and yup, time to go back to school/work!) It's customery to eat sweet glutinous rice balls with the family on the day of the Lantern Festival, as the rice balls symbolise family union, completeness and happiness.❤️ These little cow-shaped rice balls (3 photos in total) are each holding a good luck fruit for the New Year.🐮  The apple🍎 symbolises “safety” (“蘋/平安”), the orange🍊 symbolises “auspiciousness” (“橘/吉祥”), and the pineapple🍍 symbolises “prosperity” (“旺來”). Here is to a fulfilling and healthy year ahead!😀🍻

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元宵十五，偷閒捏了三顆🐮湯圓 (原本雄心壯志要捏八顆，結果到第三顆就耐心耗盡 😅)。去年大家都太辛苦，希望今年能夠蘋平安安🍎，橘吉祥祥🍊，旺旺來來🍍 (疊音詞會不會太噁噁心心啊?😜)~!

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#湯圓 #tangyuan #mochi #riceball #元宵 #可愛い #甜點 #手作りお菓子 #クッキー #newyear #2021 #lunarnewyear #chinesenewyear #dessertgram #cuteanimals #instafood #instagood #sweets #desserts #cow #yearoftheox #cny #chinese #cutefood #牛年 #asian #療癒 #love #photoofday #元宵節

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Seollal - 설날 - is Korean New Year. It has a checkered history: despite having been around since 7th Century CE, it was banned after Japanese annexation in 1910, and not fully reinstated as a national holiday until 1989. Traditionally on Seollal everyone ages a year. Eating a special rice cake soup called tteokguk ritually adds the year - once you have finished the bowl, you are a year older. So asking someone “How many bowls of tteokguk have you eaten?” is a way of asking their age, and children try to grow up faster by eating extra bowlfuls. Other East Asian cultures historically used this way of ageing people, but South Korea is the only place using it in any official capacities nowadays. (I’m a bit unsure here as I’ve read that 1st January is used too - so e.g the 1st Jan after you turn 19 is when you can legally drink/smoke. If anyone knows any more about this please let me know). Like many of the Lunar New Year customs, Seollal is a holiday about family. Families visit and tend the graves of relatives. Sebae is a ritual of worshipping elders; people bow deeply to their elder relatives and say ‘saehae bok mani badeuseyo’ which translates as ‘please receive a lot of good fortune for the New Year.’ In return, children receive words of wisdom, and money. An old folk belief goes that ghosts would visit on Seollal to try to find shoes to fit, so people used to hide their shoes - as having your shoes stolen by a ghost would be bad luck. One blog I read describes Koreans experiencing Myung Cheol Chung Hu Kun which means Post-Holiday Trauma: “This holiday exhaustion can also be the result of driving long distances, enjoying too much great food, or dealing with the clean-up after all the relatives have left.”* Until I read that, it had never clicked both how ubiquitous that feeling must be, and how necessary to have a way to express it. Happy New Year. *http://bit.ly/2ZtvdRj Other sources: http://bit.ly/37qkMCx, wikipedia Posted @withregram @minarimovie Wishing you a wonderful, wonderful #LunarNewYear! ✨ Spend #Seollal 🎊with @steveyeun, @hanyeri_official, @official.alankim, and the #Minari family, now playing in select theaters & screeningroom.a24films.com (at Korea) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLc0paeBcz1/?igshid=e8v49f453o0m

[theyearofyears]

Tết Nguyên Đán - Tết for short - is the Vietnamese New Year, the most important time in the Vietnamese calendar. Chúc hay ăn chóng lớn - eat more, grow rapidly - is a common traditional greeting, though reserved for children. At the same time, the Vietnamese phrase for celebrating translates as to ‘eat Tết’ because of the focus on special Tết foods. Making parcels of rice and meat or beans wrapped in dong or banana leaves is part of the slow ritual of Tết. Two shapes - a square, called bánh chưng, symbolises the Earth and a cylinder, pictured here, bánh tét, the Moon. People decorate their homes with flowers and may have a cây nêu, or New Year Tree, often a bamboo pole decorated festively. In the North, peach blossom is common, in the South yellow apricot blossoms are among the many lucky regional spring blooms. Rituals for bringing luck for the new year include forbidden things, such as sweeping, in case you sweep away good luck. And the first person to enter your home is a sign of luck - you want to make sure they are a good one. People who haven’t planned guests will go out and come back in themselves as the clock strikes midnight, just to make sure the first person in isn’t an accidentally unlucky one. Tết is another Lunar New Year, this time of the traditional Vietnamese calendar that was based on the Chinese calendar but altered over the years. Tết occasionally falls a day outside Chinese New Year because of time differences between Vietnam and China. The main difference is that of the 12 symbolic year animals, where the Chinese calendar has a rabbit, the Vietnamese has a cat. And this year in Vietnam is the Year of the Water Buffalo, not the Ox. Chúc Mừng Năm Mới - Happy New Year. As always, I’d love to hear more & correct anything that isn’t right. #Tết #YearOfTheBuffalo #TheYearOfYears #HappyNewYear Posted @withregram • @mama.dut.foods 🎊 CHỨC MỪNG NĂM MỚI 🎊 Chị chúc mọi người một năm vui vẻ. Mong là mọi người được nhiều hạnh phúc và tiền vô như nước. 🙏🏼 We wish y’all a very HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR filled with prosperity, good health and may your money flow in like water. 🧧🎊 #lunarnewyear #tết #vietnamesenewyear #portlandfood #banhtet (at Vietnam) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLaXh8yFaBv/?igshid=1tuy17mm1pxll

[theyearofyears]

Tsagaan Sar is the name of the Mongolian festival that happens at this time of the year. It means White Month, and for this traditionally nomadic culture celebrates the coming of spring after a hard winter. Like the Chinese and Tibetan calendars I’ve already shared this Lunar New Year, the Mongolian calendar has a 12-year-cycle represented by animals and this year is the White Iron Ox.* Tsagaan Sar is a festival of new seasons and new starts, with rituals conjuring peace and harmony. In this family-focussed time, old scores are settled, arguing is forbidden, cleaning is done and new clothes worn. Feasting is significant, with one of the many traditional foods being these intricately folded steamed dumplings, called Buuz, which are made and eaten in their thousands. This year, Covid-19 has curtailed celebrations with a strict national lockdown in place. So the ritual greeting of Zolgolt will have been much restricted. Zolgolt is performed among family members but not spouses - which would be bad luck - and goes: “Two people hold both their arms out, and the younger person's arms are placed under the elder person's and grasps their elbows to show support for their elder. The two people then touch each other's cheeks, usually accompanied with the phrase Amar mend üü (Mongolian: Амар мэнд үү), meaning "Are you well and peaceful?’”** I’m not sure how well a Zoom Zolgolt works…? News suggests vaccinations are due to start next week, though it seems a relatively small number for now. Fingers crossed for elbow hugs before too long. And for as much wellness and peace as can be. Happy New Year. #TsagaanSar #MongolianNewYear #LunarNewYear #Zolgolt #Covid19 #VaccineEquity #TheYearOfYears Sources: Article on @travelbeginsat40 http://bit.ly/3s12PCl Blog of @gobicashmere.international https://bit.ly/3u5uNPm *Year calculation: http://bit.ly/3jWmJf0 has maths on how to work out the colour and element of the year. **Wikipedia Image: colourful traditional cartoon drawing - two children and a woman in traditional dress make Buuz dumplings and a third child drinks a milky looking drink and holds a paper fan. (As always, love to know more & be corrected where wrong!) (at Mongolia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLXxA3wlGKO/?igshid=ze07uin2azzf