Old New Year’s traditions explored in new children’s book

[Photo provided to China Daily]

In a new picture book, a 66-year-old Beijinger recaptures the capital's Lunar New Year traditions for children, Xing Yi reports.

In the Chinese lunar calendar, the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, which falls on Feb 11 this year, is the "Little Chinese New Year". Traditionally, people will set off firecrackers to bid farewell to the Kitchen God who returns to Heaven to report the activities of every household over the past year to the Jade Emperor.

However, such customs have lessened with time in the city and might seem unfamiliar to children nowadays.

In order to preserve traditions for the next generation, Yu Dawu, a 66-year-old painter, recently published a picture book, Spring Festival in Beijing, for children to see how people used to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Based on an essay by Lao She (1899-1966), one of the most significant writers in modern Chinese literature, the picture book starts from the first holiday, La Ba, the eighth day of the 12th lunar month of the past year, when tradition says people should eat congee made of eight ingredients to bring good fortune in the coming year. It concludes with the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month of the new year, which marks the end of the Spring Festival.

In the book, Yu creates a local family of four who live in an ordinary quadrangle courtyard, and readers follow the family as it celebrates the festival traditions.

"I am an old Beijinger, so when I was drawing and painting for this book, the memories of childhood rushed into my mind," recalls Yu at a book-sharing party earlier this week.

"The Spring Festival was a favorite time for children: We posted handwritten couplets on both sides of the door, paper-cut with traditional images on the window, and we set off firecrackers, put on new clothes, and went to the temple fairs where there were all kinds of toys and snacks."