2010 is 4707 of the Chinese Calendar - Year of the Tiger

(Sacred Heart Parish)

CEBU, Philippines - Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. It is usually 15 days of celebrations with all kinds of activities, decorations, special meals, and costumes. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in parade.

The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year. This year it falls on February 14, Sunday.

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.

The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united the living members with those who have passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundation for the fortune and glory of the family.

The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year’s Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community. The communal feast called “surrounding the stove” or welu. It symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.

As one can notice, many of the elements the New Year celebration can be enriched by our Christian values, not only for the Chinese Catholics, but for Filipinos and all Catholics, as well. New Year is a time of family reunion and thanksgiving. This can be integrated with our Christian value of reconciliation, love and harmony within the family. The thanksgiving to God of Heaven and Earth for the blessings of the year past. What is more appropriate than the family attending the Holy Eucharist together!

Honoring our ancestors is very much in line with our Catholic belief of the “communion of saints” and the Fourth Commandment of “Honor your father and mother.” The Ancestors Honoring Rite puts our Christian beliefs into action.

The Lantern Festival is the most appropriate way to celebrate Christ the Light of the world ushering the new year for us, guiding us in his way.

Our Parish has a 15 day-celebration to mark the Chinese New Year.   The activities include: Chinese film festival, Culinary and art sessions, Talk by Ms. Teresita Ang See on Chinese Culture, practices and faith, Exhibits of Chinese-Filipino parish-based       organizations, Jesuit Missions, Matteo Ricci, the 400 Anniversary of the great       Missionary to China

We invite all the Parishioners and friends, Chinese and Filipinos to come and have a meaningful New Year celebration on February 14 with the Holy Eucharist to be followed by the Ancestors honoring Rite.

Happy New Year to all! Xinnian kuaile!   Sin-ni khoai-lok!