Chinese Lunar New Year celebrated in Baku
Baku, February 9 (AZERTAC). A Chinese New Year concert with dances, songs and more, organized by the Confucius Institute of Baku State University (BSU), was held today at Khazar University`s World Concert Hall.
Speaking at the event, Prorector of BSU, Professor Adil Kazimzadeh said that Azerbaijani-Chinese relations had deep roots, stressing that opening of the Confucius Institute would make a “great” contribution to further strengthening of friendship ties and deepening of cooperation between the two nations.
Addressing the gathering, Chinese ambassador to Azerbaijan Hong Tsuin spoke of his country`s achievements in 2012, and friendly relations between Azerbaijan and China.
Speaking about the role of Confucius Institute, the ambassador said that institute, which is anon-profit public institution, aims to promote Chinese language and culture and support local Chinese teaching internationally.
“After establishing a pilot institute in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in June 2004, the first Confucius institute opened on November 21, 2004 in Seoul, Republic of Korea, and many more have been established in other countries, such as the U.S., Germany and Sweden, where Chinese enjoys an increasing popularity. As of July 2010, there were 316 Confucius institutes and 337 Confucius Classrooms in 94 countries and regions.”
Other speakers also spoke of role of education in boosting Azerbaijani-Chinese relations.
The concert program saw students of the institute sing Chinese folk songs, recite poems and demonstrate traditional Chinese clothing. The students also performed national dances of Azerbaijan.
The most important traditional festival for family reunion and other celebrations, the Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, falls on Feb. 10 this year, when the new moon will be seen in the sky.
Chinese Spring Festival, also called Lunar New Year, has more than 4,000 years of history. Being one of the traditional Chinese festivals, it is the grandest and the most important festival for Chinese people. It is also the time for the whole families to get together, which is similar with Christmas Day to the westerners. Originating during the Shang Dynasty (about 17th - 11th century BC), Spring Festival, which celebrates family reunion, is full of rich and colorful activities, and new hopes with the advent of spring and flowers blossoming. People from different regions and different ethnic groups celebrate it in their unique ways.
The Spring Festival comes on the first day of Chinese lunar calendar and lasts for almost half of a month. But in folk custom, this traditional holiday lasts from the 23rd day of the twelfth month to the 15th day of the first month (Lantern Festival) in the lunar calendar. Among these days, the New Year`s Eve and the first day of the New Year is the peak time of the festival. The exact days are different in every year according to the lunar calendar.
In the Chinese zodiac, this year will be the year of the snake, taking over from the dragon of 2012.
Every family does a thorough house cleaning and purchases enough food, including fish, meat, roasted nuts and seeds, all kinds of candies and fruits, etc, for the festival period. Also, new clothes must be bought, especially for children. Red scrolls with complementary poetic couplets, one line on each side of the gate, are pasted at every gate.
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