Welcoming the Chinese New Year at Nan Hua Temple

2017 – The Year of the Rooster

Nan Hua Temple | Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com

Also known as the spring festival, the Chinese New Year celebrations are marked by rich contrasted pops of color, fireworks, dragon and lion dancers, and filled with cultures from all over the world curiously joining in to celebrate this sort after the celebration. It will leave you immersed in and passionate about this authentic Chinese culture.

This past Sunday, I decided to celebrate it for the second year running at the Nan Hua Temple in Bronkhorstspruit.

Nan Hua Temple | Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com

I love the temple and I often visit here to run my photography workshops and share a cup of homemade green tea with the residents. I actually look for any reason to visit, so you can imagine the excitement I felt leading up to this day. I received regular updates on our WhatsApp groups, and Facebook channels from my friends at the Johannesburg Photowalkers: a very enthusiastic bunch of photographers that shared my excitement.

A century-old festival

Nan Hua Temple | Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com

The Chinese New Year gets celebrated on a different day each year, so it becomes a little tricky trying to plan out your visit, so it’s best you do some research before you flatfoot the hour’s drive there.

The new year starts at the beginning of the second new moon after the winter solstice and ends on the full moon fifteen days later with a lantern festival.

Nan Hua Temple | Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com

The festival is centuries old and gains significance as a time to honor ancestors and deities. Every year is represented by one of the 12 zodiac animals – 2016 was the year of the Monkey, and this year is the year of the Rooster.

It is said that whichever year you were born, you will carry some of the zodiac animal traits. So to all those people looking at having children this year – your new additions are said to be honest, independent, and ambitious. Cheers to easy parenting!

Nan Hua Temple | Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com

Arriving at the Temple

I arrived at the temple 30 minutes after the start of the celebrations. They say you should clean your house and have a haircut prior to celebrating. Cleaning your house is said to sweep away bad luck, get rid of negative unwanted feelings and invite good fortune, and a haircut may stop evil spirits from recognizing you and following you into the new year. I figured that since my New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day were such a mess (for reasons I will mention in another blog post) I was given another opportunity to turn it around. By the way, I celebrate my New Year’s Day on my birthday each year – the 25th of December – I figured it was appropriate since my life started then, and the Greeks have a name day so it’s kinda the same for me.

Nan Hua Temple | Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com

I parked relatively close to the main entrance. Close being a good few meters walk when I heard the first set of firecrackers go off. This was the start of festivities and a means to scare away evil. I don’t recall this being so busy the previous year. I just had to smile – it’s growing I thought and South Africa (very much lacking in its own cultural celebrations) is embracing the diversity of one of the many cultures that have made a home in our country.

Nan Hua Temple | Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com

Both frantic and ecstatic I hurried through the crowd to not miss out on anything. I must admit I had to push and shove slightly to make my way down the people-filled staircase to the main court. I plonked down on the floor covered with the remains of the firecrackers that just went off. White pants and all. The lengths that photographers go to get the shot. Sigh!

The Dragon Dance

Nan Hua Temple | Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com

I was just in time to catch the dragon dance. This is a team of dancers who manipulate a long flexible figure of a dragon using poles positioned at regular intervals along the length of the dragon. The dance team simulates the imagined movements of this river spirit in a sinuous, undulating manner.

Wow! It’s amazing to see that many people could create such an incredible movement. It is said that the longer the dragon is in the dance, the more luck it will bring to the community. The dragons are believed to possess qualities that include great power, dignity, fertility, and wisdom.

Historically the dragon dance brought upon rain and wind and was performed in times of drought.

Not happy with my view, I spotted Mark and a few other fellow togs through the crowd – and made my way across the courtyard and positioned myself right in the middle with a 360 view of the proceedings. Finally, I was happy!

The Lion Dance

I had always wanted to witness the lion dancers! It’s spectacular, and an art in itself. I didn’t know if I wanted to watch them or if I wanted to photograph them. Performers mimic a lion’s movements scaring off evil in turn bringing along good luck, wisdom, and a long life to those in the crowd. I thought it was incredible that two people per lion could pull off these free-flowing movements and increase and decrease in size. What fascinating teamwork!

Nan Hua Temple | Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com

I was both amused and slightly scared of the pink-masked blue-haired man. I am not too sure what symbolism it offers. The mask appeared both childlike and daunting, and later I was surprised to see a Caucasian man reveal himself rather than a Chinese gentleman.

Nan Hua Temple | Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com

Food Stalls and Flea Market

There is so much to keep you busy there for a few hours. The temple is a delicate art piece worth admiring. A range of artwork can be found on the walls, or simply just staring up at some ceilings. In the hallways alongside the temples you can purchase some authentic Chinese eats and green tea. They also have a few vendors selling bamboo sticks, orchids, and Chinese lanterns, amongst other things. Visit the bright orange-colored wishing tree, write your name on the blue ribbon attached to a money coin, and toss it into the tree. If it stays your wish will be granted if it falls to the ground, you are unlucky.

Nan Hua Temple | Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com