“Praying on New Year’s Eve to worry regarding bad luck”
Recently, social networks have been abuzz when many people claiming to be experts and cultural researchers share videos and articles with content that you should not worship on New Year’s Eve during the year.
Accordingly, these people argue that Lap Xuan period is the first day of the new year. This year, Lap Xuan falls on the 25th day of the 12th lunar month. Therefore, the transition moment between the old year and the new year is the night of the 24th – the morning of the 25th of the 12th lunar month, or the 4th of February. This is New Year’s Eve.
“Normally, families will have to make New Year’s Eve offerings at this time, but because the 25th is Mau Tuat day, the energy is not good, so they will have bad luck. If they make New Year’s Eve offerings on that day, the homeowner will pay all the offerings. “If you worship on the first day of the first lunar month – February 10th, it has no meaning and is innocuous because it is not the first day of the new year,” posted a teacher claiming to be a cultural expert. download on Tiktok.
Many people watching this video feel extremely worried. “Everyone hopes for good things in the new year. If New Year’s Eve offerings result in bad luck, who will still dare to celebrate,” said Ms. Vu Thu Thuy (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi).
New Year’s Eve offering tray (Photo: Hong Anh).
Cultural researcher Nguyen Trong Tue, Director of the Institute for Research on Oriental Architecture and Culture, said that in terms of calendar, there are many types of calendars: Solar calendar, Lunar calendar, Lunar calendar… Calculating the moment of transition between The old and new years are calculated according to the Lunar calendar, and have nothing to do with the Lunar calendar.
In fact, the fact that Lap Xuan period comes before or following the first day of Tet is very normal, it is just a mathematical difference in calendar calculations.
“The idea of offering New Year’s Eve offerings at midnight on Lap Xuan day is also incorrect. The time of changing the weather is extremely rare, rarely coinciding with 12 o’clock at night.
For example, this year, the Lap Xuan period changes to 3:27 p.m. on December 25 of the lunar calendar, so at 12 p.m. it is still the old weather period,” researcher Nguyen Trong Tue stated.
Cultural researcher Nguyen Trong Tue, Director of the Institute for Research on Oriental Architecture and Culture, affirmed that the opinion of not worshiping New Year’s Eve on the night of the 30th this year due to a bad day is unfounded (Photo: Nhan supplies).
Also according to the Director of the Institute for Research on Oriental Architecture and Culture, recently, there has been a view on social networks regarding not worshiping New Year’s Eve on the night of the 30th but on the night of the 24th. This is a deviant view. , spreading falsehoods to attract people’s attention, to increase interaction, attract views…
“Tet is a sacred moment, existing in the minds of all classes of people from past to present. Tet has many beautiful customs that we need to preserve. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate deviant views. misguided, so as not to affect traditional beauty,” the expert emphasized.
Distinguish between Lap Xuan and New Year’s Eve
Faced with the concerns of many people, feng shui expert Pham Cuong pointed out the unreasonableness in the videos of online shamans.
According to this expert, the Lunar calendar is a system of dividing time based on the sun’s orbit around the earth, combined with the observation of changes in weather and the natural environment through each season.
According to legend, a 365-day year will have 24 solar terms, with Lap Xuan as the first solar term, followed by Vu Thuy, Kinh Trap, Xuan Phap, Thanh Minh… and ending with Korean class. Each solar term lasts 15 days.
The time of Lap Xuan period is calculated according to the Gregorian calendar on February 4 (or February 5) every year and ends on February 18 (or February 19). In 2024, Spring Festival begins on February 4 of the solar calendar.
For Vietnamese people, the Qi Qi calendar is rarely used for important holidays. The most popular is only the Qingming period with the tomb-sweeping ceremony. As for other periods, including Lap Xuan period, there are usually no rituals.
The Spring Festival usually coincides with a period of warm weather, plants grow well, and positive energy is abundant, so it is very convenient for people to plant new crops, or do important things such as breaking ground for construction. house, wedding…
For researchers of the I Ching or the Four Pillars, the Lap Xuan period is considered the beginning of the new year. This is for purely academic use only.
According to Mr. Cuong, the statements of online shamans are misleading, in the style of “this man’s beard is sticking to that woman’s chin” when equating the calendar according to the Qi Qi with the New Year’s Eve worshiping ritual associated with the Vietnamese Lunar New Year according to Lunar calendar.
“From ancient times until now, all Tet holidays of Vietnamese people (or Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean…) never follow the Lunar Calendar but always follow the Lunar Calendar (moon calendar)”, feng shui expert said. Thuy Pham Cuong emphasized.
According to cultural researchers, the Lunar New Year is part of the Vietnamese concept of Bat Tiet, which is the Tet days with rituals including: Lunar New Year, Thuong Nguyen, Han Thuc, Doan Ngo, Trung Nguyen, Mid-Autumn Festival. , Evergreen, Winter solstice. Some current Tet holidays have been omitted, but Lunar New Year still carries the original, traditional values.
Hanoi people buy peaches to celebrate the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin (Photo: Huu Nghi).
Lunar New Year is the biggest, also known as Tet Ca. The two words “Nguyen Dan” are a Chinese noun. “Nguyen” means head; “dan” means early morning; “Nguyen Lunar New Year” is the morning at the beginning of the year…
Lunar New Year begins with the New Year’s Eve worship ceremony (transition of time, transition between the old year and the new year), so it is always at the hour of the Rat on January 1 according to the lunar calendar.
Expert Pham Cuong emphasized: “If we take Lap Xuan (February 4 or February 5) to calculate New Year’s Eve, it will completely reverse the timing of the Lunar New Year, which has existed for thousands of years in our hearts. Vietnamese people’s consciousness. This is a misleading concept that needs to be criticized.”
New Year’s Eve Worshiping Ceremony is also known as the New Year’s Eve Worshiping Ceremony. According to folk beliefs, New Year’s Eve worship has the meaning of “getting rid of the old and welcoming the new”, saying goodbye to the gods of the old year and welcoming the new ones, asking the gods to bless the family for a peaceful new year. happy.
“It is an important ritual that every family needs to do, regardless of whether the energy is good or bad on that day. The notion that if it is a bad day, you cannot worship on New Year’s Eve shows a distorted view and does not understand the meaning of the culture. Vietnamese culture”, this expert emphasized.
Along with the proliferation of social networks, more and more people claim to be spiritual experts, cultural experts, and feng shui experts on social networks. They provide information that is difficult to verify, making many people worried. Many people believe because of this or that fear.
Faced with this situation, cultural experts believe that the New Year’s Eve worship ritual or more broadly, the custom of worshiping ancestors and gods is a beautiful feature of Vietnamese spiritual beliefs that have existed for thousands of years. increasingly standardized and passed down through generations.
“We should preserve and follow the traditions of our ancestors. If we need to consult, we should seek official information channels and reputable experts, and should not listen to “online experts” on the internet who give false advice. misleading information, intimidation with bad intentions or to increase sales interactions or attract views,” Mr. Pham Cuong stated his opinion.