Happy Chinese New Year!
Chinese New Year begins on Saturday, February 10, 2024 with the year of the dragon and festivities culminate on February 24 with the lantern festival. At the beginning of each New Year, there is a great sense of joy and hope for what the New Year will bring. At the Holy Name of Jesus Chinese Catholic Mission, the Holy Mass for Chinese New Year will be at 10:30am on February 11. This Eucharistic celebration gives our community the means of offering worship to God, in thanksgiving for all the blessings we have received in the past year, and in petition for a peaceful and thriving New Year.
After Mass, Chinese parishioners may participate in a solemn tribute for our ancestors. In Chinese culture, it is very important to respect our elders, both living and deceased. This special ceremony demonstrates how Chinese people pay their respect to their elders. As Chinese Catholics, we acknowledge that our families are a gift from God. Therefore, the respect which we give to our parents, grandparents and ancestors are ultimately directed to God our Father in heaven.
The ceremony for the “veneration of ancestors” by Chinese Catholics was officially authorized by Pope Pius XII thru his decree Plane Compertum Est on December 8, 1939. It was not until 1971 that Paul Pin Cardinal Yu officially advocated the Chinese New Year’s “veneration of ancestors” ceremony. It was expanded in 1972 and received enthusiastic responses by Chinese people from all walks of life in many places. According to Cardinal Yu, “Reverence to Heaven and Veneration of Ancestors” are both rooted in the traditional Chinese culture. “Reverence to Heaven” means giving worship to God; “Veneration of Ancestors” means keeping alive the memory of our ancestors. Cardinal Yu said, “I especially promote this practice in order to help us enrich our cultural education and heighten our moral standards. It is also one of the ideals that Christians should seek and pursue.”