Guò nián and the Christian

Guò nián and the Christian

In Chinese culture, the Lunar New Year is the most prominent day in the Chinese calendar. The beginning of the lunar year traditionally has come to symbolise the act of starting over with renewed hopes for happiness and prosperity. It is also a time to renew ties with family and friends, through family reunion dinners and social visits.

In Singapore today, we welcome it (gladly!) as a holiday and celebrate it with a few commonly practised symbolic “traditions.” It is marked with reunion dinners, “ang pows,” the eating of special foods, social visits, and the customary exchange of oranges. It is all done in an atmosphere of festivity and gaiety. The significance behind such practices may not be fully understood and certainly not adequately explained to the young Christian.

So, a little bit of historical background might be useful for the young Christian.

The roots of the Chinese New Year are pagan. And the things that tradition dictates for the celebration of the New Year on the Chinese lunar calendar basically amount to superstition. Everything from the foods you eat to the lion dances and to the decorations, come from superstitions about what brings luck, wealth, happiness, and what drives away evil.

According to one legend, in ancient China, the Nián was a man-eating beast from the mountains (in other versions from under the sea), which came out every 12 months somewhere close to winter to prey on humans. The people later believed that the Nian was sensitive to loud noises and the colour red, so they scared it away with fireworks and the liberal use of the colour red. These customs led to the first New Year celebrations – Guò nián, which means literally the passover of the Nian.

All cultures have activities that originally are based on superstition. For example, even birthday cakes and candles originally expressed cultural superstitions. So are many of the traditions done during Christmas. For the Christian who has the need to engage in such occasional traditions, he has to be careful to do them without indicating that he embraces the superstition behind them.

However, if the superstitions are widely embraced, and your practising them would cause your brother to stumble, then for the sake of loving your Christian brethren dont’ do them.

The best teaching on this principle comes from Paul in Romans 14:13 - 23. To paraphrase him, he says: let us stop condemning each other and decide instead to live in such a way that we will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. And he goes on to say on the authority of the Lord Jesus, that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong. And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. The Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The principle and standard is whether or not what you do causes another believer to stumble. If there is any chance that it might stumble your brethren don’t do it.
If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and be approved by others too.


  In Him,
Rev Robert Chew