austraLasia #3193
HONG KONG, HCM, SEOUL: 12 February 2103 -- Chinese New Year is celebrated by an estimated 1/4 of the world's population! By any account then, Sunday 10 February 2013 was an important 'World' day. In our Region, apart from celebrations of the 'diaspora' just about anywhere, the main countries and therefore provinces taking advantage of the holiday(s) and national celebrations were China, Vietnam (where it is called Tet) and Korea (where it is known as Sol).
The Missions Councillor, Fr Klement, happened to be in Hong Kong for the occasion. Well, at least part of the occasion since he noted that there they have an entire week of holidays for the event. On Sunday 10 February noted that "today I prayed a lot! The Chinese are very prayerful - young, middle and older generations!". Of course there is lots of exchanging of gifts, but for Fr Klement the best gift of all came late that Sunday evening - " the whole package of the Salesian Mission Day 'JOURNEY OF FAITH' translated into Chinese - 12 envelops to be distributed in the 12 African provinces as a sign of the first contact with the Chinese people on the African soil! Plus....
- One DVD with the 5 videos in Chinese
- One teaching-aid booklet for the Salesian Mission Day campaign in Chinese
- One Official poster of Salesian Mission Day - printed in Chinese.
- One more poster of the Missionary Rosary campaign during the Year of Faith.
I was really deeply moved by the zeal and constant effort of the Provincial delegate for mission animation!".
The Vietnamese diaspora in Rome did not miss out on the occasion either - unable to fulfill the core element of visiting elders and family at home, they got together from around the various Salesian communities, including the Vatican, and had a meal together.
Our correspondent in Seoul described things this way:
"In Korea, we have 3 days of festivities for Chinese New Year; unfortunately this year it was Sunday, meaning no more additional vacation day, just 3 days.
As in a society dominated by the traditional Confucianism where a strong sense of respect for elders and ancestors still remains, the young generation go back to their parents' home for ancestor-worship and for a formal bow of respect to elders in the family including their own parents. Then in responding to the bow the older people give money to the younger ones as a New Year gift; it's a strong source of income for the kids.
This folk tradition you can also easily find in the Salesian setting. The boys who don't have their own family remain in the boarding house and celebrate with the Salesians. Or alumni who already get married bring their family, specially their children to the community to celebrate New Year, so the Salesians who don't have a duty to return to their own family, like me (Parents have died) have to prepare many bills to satisfy their visitors.
Nowadays there's an app for this too! The new year bow can be done through the smartphone. The young man sends an avatar image of the bow instead of presenting himself, then asks for money for the New Year greeting. I received this kind of greeting from various young people this year. So as a good respectable person, I also sent them a picture of the bills!!!!!!!".
Chinese New Year - or Tet, or Seollal: there's an app for that!
The Missions Councillor, Fr Klement, happened to be in Hong Kong for the occasion. Well, at least part of the occasion since he noted that there they have an entire week of holidays for the event. On Sunday 10 February noted that "today I prayed a lot! The Chinese are very prayerful - young, middle and older generations!". Of course there is lots of exchanging of gifts, but for Fr Klement the best gift of all came late that Sunday evening - " the whole package of the Salesian Mission Day 'JOURNEY OF FAITH' translated into Chinese - 12 envelops to be distributed in the 12 African provinces as a sign of the first contact with the Chinese people on the African soil! Plus....
- One DVD with the 5 videos in Chinese
- One teaching-aid booklet for the Salesian Mission Day campaign in Chinese
- One Official poster of Salesian Mission Day - printed in Chinese.
- One more poster of the Missionary Rosary campaign during the Year of Faith.
I was really deeply moved by the zeal and constant effort of the Provincial delegate for mission animation!".
The Vietnamese diaspora in Rome did not miss out on the occasion either - unable to fulfill the core element of visiting elders and family at home, they got together from around the various Salesian communities, including the Vatican, and had a meal together.
Our correspondent in Seoul described things this way:
"In Korea, we have 3 days of festivities for Chinese New Year; unfortunately this year it was Sunday, meaning no more additional vacation day, just 3 days.
As in a society dominated by the traditional Confucianism where a strong sense of respect for elders and ancestors still remains, the young generation go back to their parents' home for ancestor-worship and for a formal bow of respect to elders in the family including their own parents. Then in responding to the bow the older people give money to the younger ones as a New Year gift; it's a strong source of income for the kids.
This folk tradition you can also easily find in the Salesian setting. The boys who don't have their own family remain in the boarding house and celebrate with the Salesians. Or alumni who already get married bring their family, specially their children to the community to celebrate New Year, so the Salesians who don't have a duty to return to their own family, like me (Parents have died) have to prepare many bills to satisfy their visitors.
Nowadays there's an app for this too! The new year bow can be done through the smartphone. The young man sends an avatar image of the bow instead of presenting himself, then asks for money for the New Year greeting. I received this kind of greeting from various young people this year. So as a good respectable person, I also sent them a picture of the bills!!!!!!!".
