Death is coming

The closer death creeps up upon me the less I am able to understand the reasons for life or living.

Yes I have experienced a close family member dying and unlike television it takes decades to handle such a thing. To think I am going to put my family through such a thing when I finally leave is more horrific to me than the thought of death itself.

My life was and is still a learning experience but when all said and done what am I to do with all this accumulated learning over my lifetime if I just die. There is no logic or reason to this.

Long ago I became aware that the God story that is sold to the majority is just a nice story to give mankind with a message of a basic layout of how nice life could be if everyone followed these ideas. Not many in life do and if one thinks about it the good and evil structures actually depend on each other. The good that can be experienced in life is only understood as good when there is it's opposite to compare it to. This is not rocket science only common sense in reality. I am not saying we need to experience bad but understanding in it is needed to appreciate the great things many of us can have in our lives. From birth to death there are many ways mankind helps his fellow man. How many ways can you help?


Sunday, April 3, 2011

All About Oriental New Year Fireworks

By John Chan


Find out the about the legends that surround the use of fireworks during the Chinese New Year celebrations.

The worst time to lecture about noise pollution in China would be during the Chinese New Year celebrations. This is because the blowing up of fireworks is amongst the conventional celebrations that the Chinese people take part in for the purpose of welcoming the New Year.

In fact the firecrackers are the final touch to the entire festive season. Without them the Chinese New Year would be incomplete. There is no denying the fact that the Chinese New Year holds immense traditional importance for the people of China. It is a time when friends and families get together and celebrate in various festive ways.

It is a time when old customs are brought back into light and age old traditions are revamped and reintroduced so as to keep them alive. The use of fireworks is also amongst one of the ancient traditional practices of China which hold great significance in the eyes of the locals. The history of the use of fireworks goes back to a long time ago and their use is totally embedded in the Chinese culture with regards to the arrival of the New Year.

Traditional fireworks

As usual you will come across several explanations connected to the bursting of firecrackers which are part of the legends the Chinese people believe in. One of the stories is that the crackers are burst so that the dragon which is sleeping wakes up with noise that the crackers make. This dragon is the symbol of rain which is required in summer for the growing of the crops.

Everything has a direct relation to the nation's economy. China being an agricultural country requires sufficient amount of rains. They have combined this need with a festive belief of cracker bursting to make merry during the New Year and create huge noise without the fear of noise pollution.

Evil Spirits

There are other stories regarding the noise as well. They mean to keep themselves free from the influence of evil spirits with the noise made by the firecrackers. In the beginning of the year itself they plan to free themselves from evil spirit and make the coming year lucky for them.

The Chinese New Year has a custom of parade during this time. Those who are taking part in the parade carry firecrackers with them. It is a ritual to throw the cracker at the feet of the dragon. This is done with the belief that the noise made by the cracker will keep the dragon awake.

The dragon dance is one of the major events of the New Year celebrations. It is a colorful program that attracts a lot of foreign attention. In fact it is an event that truly captures the spirit of ancient Chinese traditions. Fireworks are an integral part of the dragon dance as they go off in large quantities around the dancing dragon.

The concept of firecrackers has to do both with evil as well as good spirits. Some think that the loud noise drives the evil away whereas some feel that all that noise keeps the good spirits from coming in. But the traditional Chinese belief lies in the former concept.




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