More on 'Imlek'<\/p>\n
I would like to add to Mr. Liem Sian Tie`s letter entitled
\nImlek a misnomer (The Jakarta Post, Feb. 19), and also Mr. Musa's
\nletter Imlek and its consequences on Feb. 25.<\/p>\n
Imlek, a Hokkien pronunciation for Yinli in Chinese meaning
\nlunar calendar is indeed a misnomer but it has been a widely
\naccepted misnomer here in Indonesia for Chinese new year. The
\nChinese calendar is not only lunar but also solar.<\/p>\n
And the Chinese new year is indeed more a solar new year than
\na lunar new year as it marks the beginning of the change of
\nseason from winter to spring and is generally called Chun-jie or
\nspring festival in China. The Chinese calendar is actually a
\ncombination of both the lunar and solar year. And these two
\nseemingly incompatible cycles are reconciled by interposing
\nan intercalary lunar month every third year to the lunar calendar
\nas 12 lunar months do not equal one solar year.
\nA lunar year has 12 months and each lunar month has either 29 or
\n30 days and the first day of the lunar month is arranged
\nto correspond to the new moon and the 15th day to correspond to
\nthe full moon.<\/p>\n
The actual traditional Chinese calendar, better known as
\nNongLi or agricultural or farming calendar, is solar and is used
\ntogether with the lunar calendar or YinLi. Traditionally the
\nNongLi or agricultural calendar is to mark the seasonal changes
\nfor agricultural purposes. Remember that China with only a not so
\nfertile 7 percent of the world's arable land feeds about a
\nquarter of the world's population. The lunar calendar on the
\nother hand is more for religious rites and rituals and
\ntraditional festivals.<\/p>\n
Yet the so-called Chinese new year is not only observed
\nreligiously by Chinese but also by Koreans, Vietnamese and by
\nsome Japanese too and of course by most of the Chinese-
\nIndonesians.<\/p>\n
This so-called Chinese new year is in fact not so much an
\nethnic celebration for Chinese only but is also a cultural event
\nthat transcends nationalities.<\/p>\n
It is a universal cultural event that calls for family union,
\nthanksgiving, debt settlement, friendship renewal and
\nreinforcement. It is an expression of the Chinese desire for
\n\"paradise on earth\" albeit for a few days only.<\/p>\n
SIA KA-MOU<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/more-on-imlek-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }