Chinese customs and traditions

I read this in a posting today and thought that it was worth copying for here.

China has many customs and traditions that are thousands of years old and are still part of every day. There are also annual celebrations and festivals that carry great meaning:
• Chinese New Year
• Autumn Moon Festival
• Dragon Boat Festival

Colors have symbolic meanings in China. Red and gold are "lucky" and are used in weddings, celebrations and on New Year's Day. Because of this, wedding dresses are traditionally red. White and black are mourning colors, used in funerals and sad occasions. The color blue symbolizes heaven and the sky.

To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the Northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or "100 Good Wishes Quilt". Traditionally 100 squares of fabric are donated for the quilt by family and friends. Much of the time, the squares were scraps from their worn clothing and it is said that the luck, energy and good wishes of the people who wore these clothes now surrounds the child when she is wrapped in the quilt.

The family has always been important to Chinese culture. Family members all help one another and stick together. Grandparents often live very close to their children and grandchildren, teaching them and caring for them. Grandparents are respected for their wisdom. When speaking about siblings, Chinese people almost always refer to them specifically as older brothers and older sisters or younger brothers and younger sisters. Grandparents, uncles, aunts, in-laws etc. on the father's side have different tittles than grandparents, uncles, aunts, in-laws etc. on the mother's side.

Parents take good care of their children, and when the children grow up they are expected to take good care of their parents. Although ideas are slowly changing, men and boys have always had an important role and status in Chinese families. It has traditionally been the men who work and earn the money for the family. More women and girls are getting educated today, though, so their roles in the family are changing. The grandparents still play a major role in the family, but nowadays many times they do not all live in the same apartment like families used to.

In rural areas, farming families have a very traditional lifestyle. Life in China's cities, however, is more modern. In the cities, many families are smaller and include parents and children, and sometimes grandparents. Men and women choose who they want to marry. Women do many kinds of work outside the home while grandparents help look after the house and children during the day. Some older family members may still wish for a new baby to be a boy and be a little disappointed if a girl is born, but they love all the children in the family.

Since the Chinese love of family is so strong, it seems strange to us–here on the other side of the world—that a family would decide they are unable to care for such a precious gift as a little baby girl. Part of the reason is that boys and men have always had priority in the Chinese culture. The elders tend to believe that for their family to survive another 5,000 years, they need a boy—not only to carry on the family name, but to provide for the family when he grows up. However, ideas about boys and girls are now starting to change in China, and people are recognizing how wonderful and precious girls are, too. God creates boys and girls in His image and loves all children very much.