Pray4Yueyang

The February Prayer Calendar for the people of Yueyang, China is available for viewing and download. Please take a minute to download this month’s calendar and to print it out and post somewhere where you will be reminded daily to pray for the people of Yueyang!

In February, China will celebrate “Spring Festival”, also known as “Chinese New Year (正月.)”   The Chinese New Year is determined by the lunar calendar, and almost always falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. This year, it just happens that Chinese New Year’s Day falls on Valentine’s Day! February 14, 2010, will usher in the Year of the Tiger (虎.)

In the weeks prior to the holiday, people who are from Yueyang who live and work all over China (mostly in southern China) will battle the huge crowds of people and stand in line for hours at train and bus ticket counters, hoping to find affordable tickets to return home to Yueyang before they are all sold out. (There are some who crowd into Yueyang’s various transportation hubs in order to go other places, but the general tide of people is definitely flowing INTO Yueyang, not away from it.)  Getting home to share a special meal with family on Chinese New Year is the goal of almost every Chinese person.

Traditionally, the New Year holiday lasts for 15 days, with the 15th day being the Lantern Festival (元宵节) . Shops are often closed for st least the first three days of the holiday – often longer. Schools are closed for a month, or more, at this time of year.

The numerous traditions associated with the festival all have a special significance or superstition attached to them. Although modern Chinese will be quick to tell you that they do not believe all these superstitions to be truth, they nonetheless carry on the traditions as part of their Chinese culture; it also keeps their childhood memories alive as they pass them down to younger generations.

Many Chinese people work far from home, with only one opportunity to see their extended family members during the year, on Chinese New Year. For Chinese people who have become Christians during the previous year, Chinese New Year affords them their first opportunity to return to their hometowns, talk to their families about their new faith, and share with childhood friends. For new believers, this can be both joyful and stressful. In a country closed to the Gospel, their news of salvation is not always met with enthusiasm or acceptance.

Many young adults in China have grueling work hours with no free time; they work 16 hours a day, seven days a week; they live at the factories where they work. Chinese New Year is one of the few times during the year that they are able to mingle with people outside their workplace. Chinese New Year is an opportune time for many of them to freely interact with those who can share the Gospel with them.

For some Chinese, appeasing the “kitchen god,” praying in a temple, and scaring away evil spirits by setting off firecrackers are very important rituals. For these people, the holidays are a time of fear, stress and bondage to evil spirits.

• Pray for new Christians who are returning to Yueyang and who will be facing family and friends for the first time since becoming a Christian.  Ask that they would have boldness to share the hope that now is within them!
• Pray for the lost of Yueyang who may encounter the Gospel over the New Year holiday, ask that they would have soft hearts and that those sharing with them will share with clarity and compassion.

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Prayer makes a difference. Thanks for being involved!