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Showing posts with label Rituals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rituals. Show all posts
Qixi Festival (七夕節 qī xī jié) literally "The Night of Sevens" is also known as Magpie Festival or in more modern times Chinese Valentine's Day. It falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month on the Chinese calendar, which this year happens to fall today.
On the Chinese Valentine's Day, people in love like to go to the temple of Matchmaker and pray for their love and the possible marriage in China. People still single will do the same thing to ask their luck of love in the Matchmaker temple.
The Chinese Valentine's Day is also called The Daughter's Festival. Long ago, Chinese girls always wanted to train themselves having a good handcrafting skill like the Weaving Maid. The skill is essential for their future family. Young girls traditionally demonstrate their domestic arts, especially melon carving, on this day and make wishes for a good husband.
According to Chinese legend the love story is about the 7th daughter of Emperor of Heaven (织女 zhī nǚ) and an orphaned cowherd (牛郎 niú láng). They were separated by the Emperor. The 7th daughter was forced to move to the star Vega and the cowherd moved to the star Altair. The beloved couple, a cowherder and a weaver, are allowed to meet only once a year in heaven on this day.
In true Chinese style where superstition of numbers is incredibly strong; In Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, a large-scale festival will be held at the Huaqing Pool. Residents have been invited to contribute love stories, with 77 pieces, representing the seventh day of the seventh month, being read aloud. 77 couples will participate in a collective wedding ceremony, Tang Dynasty style.
This is a quick guide through the minefield that can be using chopsticks. This is a beginers guide to learning the do's and don'ts of Chinese chopstick etiquette. There are many types of Chopsticks which range from disposable wooden ones at Chinese take-aways and restaurants, Re-usable Bamboo Chopsticks
"Man who catch fly with chopstick accomplish anything." Mr. Miyagi
So here is Discovering Mandarins 20 Things not to do with Chopsticks:
1: Do not stick your chopsticks into your rice straight down. It resembles the incense that family members burn to mourn a dead relative. It also resembles an offering which is placed on the alter at an ancestral shrine.
2: Do not cross your chopsticks. In Chinese cultures, this is a symbol for death. Always lay them parallel to each other. When possible use Chopstick Rests .
3: Do not give food from your chopsticks directly to somebody other's chopsticks. Only at Buddhist funerals where the bones of the burned body are given in that way from person to person. Instead, place the food on an intermediary plate, preferably using a serving utensil or, if none is provided, turn your chopsticks around so the ends that have not been in your mouth touch the food, then give the plate to whomever.
4: Do not pick your teeth with your chopsticks, even if there is no toothpick where you dine. If you must pick your teeth in public, cover your mouth as it is seen as rude.5: Chinese etiquette says that you may lift your personal rice bowl close to your mouth with one hand, as you use the chopsticks to push the rice into your mouth.
6: Do not hit the bowl or plate with your chopsticks. It was what beggars did in ancient China.
7: Do not point at people with your chopsticks, especially elders, or people of higher status than you.
8: Do not stick out fingers whilst using chopsticks, as a continuation of the rule above. It is considered rude to stick out our fingers whilst eating.
9: Do not rub chopsticks together. This is indicative of cheap chopsticks that splinter and is offending.
10: It is bad manners to wave your chopsticks around aimlessly over the food, trying to decide what to take next.
“Chopsticks are one of the reasons the Chinese never invented custard” Spike Milligan11: Do not dig under food to get the best pieces. It is also considered bad manners to change the food you have selected after you have touched the food.
12: It is bad manners to spear food with the points of the chopsticks as if they were a fork.
13: It is bad manners to pull the dishes towards you using the chopsticks. Always pick the dishes up or move them by hand.
14: Do not lick, suck or nibble the ends of chopsticks.
15: Do not reach across another person with your chopsticks.
16: Do not eat food directly from the central plate; transfer it to your bowl first.
17: Do not eat with a broken or mismatched pair of chopsticks. If one chopstick does break or cannot be eaten with, take a new pair, not just one to replace it. The Chinese are very superstitious and like things in pairs.
18: Also do not use chopsticks as drumsticks, similar to the rule above, Chinese believe all good things come in twos. Therefore, by separating chopsticks between hands you are disturbing the peace.
19: Do not use chopsticks as hair accessories. The hair accessories are completely different from chopsticks meant for eating. You would look silly with an ornamental fork stuck in your hair...
20: Do not duel with chopsticks; again, they are for eating, and not fighting.
So you best get practising with your chopsticks and your newly learnt etiquette rules. Best of Luck and most of all enjoy your new chopstick eating experience.
Photo Sources:
FlickR:AidanMorgan
Flickr:Hsing
JustHungry
12: It is bad manners to spear food with the points of the chopsticks as if they were a fork.
13: It is bad manners to pull the dishes towards you using the chopsticks. Always pick the dishes up or move them by hand.
14: Do not lick, suck or nibble the ends of chopsticks.
15: Do not reach across another person with your chopsticks.
16: Do not eat food directly from the central plate; transfer it to your bowl first.
17: Do not eat with a broken or mismatched pair of chopsticks. If one chopstick does break or cannot be eaten with, take a new pair, not just one to replace it. The Chinese are very superstitious and like things in pairs. 18: Also do not use chopsticks as drumsticks, similar to the rule above, Chinese believe all good things come in twos. Therefore, by separating chopsticks between hands you are disturbing the peace.
19: Do not use chopsticks as hair accessories. The hair accessories are completely different from chopsticks meant for eating. You would look silly with an ornamental fork stuck in your hair...
20: Do not duel with chopsticks; again, they are for eating, and not fighting.
So you best get practising with your chopsticks and your newly learnt etiquette rules. Best of Luck and most of all enjoy your new chopstick eating experience.Photo Sources:
FlickR:AidanMorgan
Flickr:Hsing
JustHungry
Although I have started to make this blog public now, there are still a lot of things that need doing and I realise that for a while, there are many sections that appear in my menus that won't have any content yet.
I assure you I am getting to it, I am happy for people to request anything they cannot find, and I will try to prioritise this information. If you are interested in writing for me, and helping this procedure speed up, then also feel free to get in touch.
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If there is anything that you would like to see here that isn't already, or any further information about anything specific please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Hope you are enjoying and learning from what is already here.
Charlie @ Discovering Mandarin
