花朝节是我国民间的岁时八节之一，也叫花神节，俗称百花生日。花朝节与气候时令关系密切，故而具体日期因地而异，论节气，大约在“惊蛰”到“春分”之间。此时春回大地，万物复苏，草木萌青，百花或含苞或吐绽或盛开。这天，各地的百姓，尤其是花农，都要祭百花以求庇佑。
唐代花朝定为二月十五，还成为和“正月十五元宵节”“八月十五中秋节”并列的三个“月半”佳节；到了宋代，花朝节于某些地方被提前到二月十二或二月初二的——或许是对春的迫不及待吧。
一方面因循唐宋主流，一方面取月半吉日，我们的花朝活动日期定在夏历二月十五，即公历3月31日。 –汉协会邀您共度花朝
日期：2018.3.31 (星期六)
时间：11:00 AM – 8:00 PM
CCA汉文化山庄
33 Tao Road, Catskill, New York
(GPS 请使用 186 Paradise Lake Road)
网上付费：
普通价：$38/人
优惠价（学生、62岁以上老人、自带汉服者）：$20/人
前台付费：
$48/人
优惠价（学生、62岁以上老人、自带汉服者）：$30/人
**会员及5岁以下儿童享受免费入场
**购买优惠价和享用免费入场的来宾需要在入场出示相关证件(如会员证明、学生证、证明年龄的身份证等)
其他费用：
往返车费：$30/人
租用汉服：$20/套
活动入场预订：
无论是哪种付款方式，请一定要填写活动入场预订表格！ https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScRyn2RK_SUokj5_Ui17e38lfHjvTnitM7A8fPyenJD6g3doQ/viewform?usp=sf_link
网上预付链接：
PayPal:
Venmo:
Chase QuickPay:
Chinese Cultural Association Inc
Email: jl@hancca.org
联系方式：
网站: hancca.org
电话: 888-252-9618
邮箱: jl@hancca.org
花朝时间
11:00 PM – 12:00 PM 登记，抽花签，着汉服，源起花朝节
12:00 PM – 12:30 PM 祭花神
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM CCA花宴
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM 和专业老师学插花
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM 花茶盛开：CCA及会员分享介绍
3:30 PM – 5:30 PM 种植希望之树，绑彩带、祝福来；巧手花簪；DIY 做花糕
5:30 PM – 6:00 PM 花糕、花簪一起秀
6:00 PM – 6:30 PM 飞花令
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM 山庄特色晚宴
7:30 PM – 8:00 PM 歌舞表演
8:00 PM – 8:30 PM 收拾离场
During the Tang Dynasty, the 15th of February on the Chinese lunar calendar was marked by the Flower Festival. Though over time, the exact date of the Flower Festival varied region by region to range from February 2 to February 12, its core essence remained the same — it is a celebration in anticipation of Spring, of renewal and awakening after the cold of winter.
We invite you this year on March 31- or rather the 15th of February – to join us in continuing this tradition and welcome in Spring!
Date: Saturday, March 31, 2018
Time: 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Location: CCA Estate, 33 Tao Rd, Catskills, NY
*If using GPS, please search 186 Paradise Lake Road
Event Cost and Registration
Online:
General Admission: $38/Person
Discount Admission (Students, seniors 62+ or wearing Hanfu): $20/Person
At Door:
General Admission: $48/Person
Discount Admission (Students, seniors 62+ or wearing Hanfu): $30/Person
**Free for members and children under 5
**Please show ID for discounted admissions
We also offer transportation to/from NY: $30/Person and Hanfu rentals: $20/Set
Reservation Form (required for all attendees, regardless of payment method):
Online Payment:
PayPal:
Venmo:
Chase QuickPay:
Chinese Cultural Association Inc
Email: jl@hancca.org
Contact Info:
Web: hancca.org
Tel: 888-252-9618
Email: jl@hancca.org
Schedule of Activities:
11:00 PM – 12:00 PM Check-in and Lucky Flower Draw；Introduction on the Flower Festival
12:00 PM – 12:30 PM Worship of the Flower Goddess
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM Flower Banquet Lunch
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM Art of Flowers: Create your own!
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM Tea time: Sample traditional flower teas
3:30 PM – 5:30 PM Plant your own “Blessing Tree” ；DIY Flower Cake and Flower Hairpin
5:30 PM – 6:00 PM ~ Break ~ (Tea, Snacks, Creations Showcase)
6:00 PM – 6:30 PM “Flowers in Flight”
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM Dinner and Performances
8:00 PM – 8:30 PM Farewell and Departure
*********************************************************************
源 起
祭 花 神
花神是中国民间信仰的百花之神。据《淮南子》所言，统领群花，司天和以长百卉的花神。十二月花神是根据社会风俗与岁时花信的自然规律，按每年十二个月冠以花名而成的。 从明朝时期，道家就有“百花神”之说，但那时没有用人物去代表花名。至清代中期，杨柳青年画开始出现“花神”组画，以唐宋传奇人物和历史人物确定花神名称，代表各月的花神。
传说花神专管植物的春长夏养，所以，祀奉她的就不仅仅限于花农了，还包括耕种庄稼果蔬的农人。长江三角洲一带多有花神庙，旧时吴越花农家还常供奉着花神的塑像。
插 花
中国插花艺术萌芽于先秦，于魏晋南北朝小有气象，如果说唐代插花还仅仅是宫廷和寺庙的高雅艺术，到了宋代，插花艺术在民间已经蔚然成风。
中国传统的插花艺术与西方花艺最大的区别在于：西方重造型，中国重意态。中国花艺强调：自然之真——保持花木的自然生态，依据季节造型；人文之善——重视其敦睦人伦的社会效益；艺术之美——从选材到搭配，讲究和谐、清雅、明秀。
和我们的花艺老师一起插一盆专属于你的盆花吧！
盛开的花茶
花茶，又名香片， 即将植物的花或叶或其果实泡制而成的茶，是中国特有的一类再加工茶。其是利用茶善于吸收异味的特点，将有香味的鲜花和新茶一起闷，茶将香味吸收后再把干花筛除，制成的花茶香味浓郁，茶汤色深。
茶主要以绿茶、红茶或者乌龙茶作为茶坯、配以能够吐香的鲜花作为原料，采用窨制工艺制作而成的茶叶。根据其所用的香花品种不同，分为茉莉花茶、玉兰花茶、桂花花茶、珠兰花茶等。
游 春 植 树
古时，每逢花朝，文人雅士邀三五知己，赏花之余，饮酒作乐，互相唱和，高吟竟日。纵观二三月间的传统佳节会发现，这一时期会有一系列游春的节日——春节拉开了迎春的序幕，花朝节前后构成游春的高潮。
春天，万木向春。本次活动，我们精心准备了年轻的花树、果树，邀请您和朋友、家人领取一个希望，无论是友情、亲情和爱情，美好的期许与祝福定会随着希望之树成长壮大，CCA将帮助您定期记录它成长的过程，而您将作为我们的首批花园嘉宾的支持者，未来将优享属于您的美好果实。
巧 手 花 簪
教大家做玉簪花（发簪），相信爱美的你不容错过！
以鲜花簪首作为一种习俗，早在汉代就已经出现。四川成都羊子山西汉墓出土的女陶俑，就在发髻正中插着一朵硕大的菊花，菊花两旁还簇拥着数朵小花。簪花之俗历久不衰，虽说是风尚，但相比贵族人家的珠翠头面，鲜花却是士庶妻女的常用首饰。节令不同，所簪花也不同。一般情况，春天多簪牡丹、芍药、桃花、杏花等，夏天多簪石榴、茉莉，秋天多簪菊花、秋葵等。
DIY 做花糕
颜值很高的透明的花糕听起来是不是很诱人？唐代的节日文化与饮食文化都十分发达。据传武则天嗜花，每到夏历二月十五花朝节这一天，她总要令宫女采集百花，和米一起捣碎，蒸制成糕，用花糕来赏赐群臣，百花生日让我们穿越回唐代吧。
飞 花 令
中国是花的故乡、诗的国度。诗与花，如同焰与灯。飞花令，原本是古人行酒令时的一个文字游戏，源自古人的诗词之趣，得名于唐代诗人韩翃《寒食》中的名句“春城无处不飞花”。
飞花令属雅令，是文人墨客们喜爱的文字游戏，饮酒助兴的游戏之一，输者罚酒。酒令是酒文化的重要组成部分，它在筵席上是助兴取乐的饮酒游戏，萌生于儒家的“礼”，最早诞生于周。饮酒行令既是古人好客传统的表现，又是他们艺术与聪明才智的结晶。
Origins
Worship of Flower Goddess
In traditional Chinese belief, the Flower Goddess nurtures and protects the multitude of Earth’s floral and fauna. She is recorded in the Huai Nan Zi as being ruler over her domain, directing and managing over her subjects. As such, in agrarian China, the Flower Goddess held a place of great significance as worshipper entrusted her to guard over their yearly plantings.
Taoists writing had alluded to a unnamed “god of flowers” ever since the Ming Dynasty. By the middle of the Qing Dynasty, names of legendary figures from the Tang and Song Dynasties had become attached to a group of Twelve Flower Gods – each overseeing a different month and paintings depicting the Flower Gods gained in popularity.
Art of Flowers
The Art of Flowers traces its roots back to pre-Qin Dynasty China. Tang Dynasty China saw the art of flowers taking on significance as an outward sign of elegance and cultivation in court life and temples. It was during this time also that the art form was transported to Japan where it gained popularity among the aristocracy and was further refined and codified into ikebana. In China, it was during the Song Dynasty that the art of flowers truly flourished and was widely practiced among the common folk.
The biggest difference between Eastern art of flowers and Western floral arrangement lies that whereas floral arrangement stresses external form, the art of flowers emphasizes the creation of an inner beauty and balance.
Flower Teas
There are two types of flower teas – tea made from flower blossoms and “scented” flower tea. Violet, rose and chrysanthemum teas are examples of the former. The latter is made through a special process whereby flower blossoms are baked with tea leafs during the baking step of tea processing in order to infuse the fragrance directly into the tea leaves. The flowers are then picked-out by hand and the step repeated until a desired scented level. The quality of such teas is ranked by the balance of taste between the flower fragrance and the base tea. Traditional “scented” flower teas include jasmine tea, magnolia tea, and osmanthus tea.
Blessing Trees
In ancient times for the the Flower Festival, Chinese literati (learned-scholars) would gather under outdoor pavilions to indulge in the unfolding scenergy and exchange calligraphy compositions, poetry recitations and elegant drinks.
Tying Eastern and Western traditions, we wish to celebrate on this occasion the Spring Equinox as well by planting young flowering fruit trees. We cordially invite everyone to plant a tree, cast a wish, tie it to the tree (ribbons will be provided) and watch the tree and blessings grow with time.
CCA will help you keep watch over your tree as it matures from a young seedling into adulthood. Every year, you’ll be able to enjoy the beautiful flowers as your tree blossoms in anticipation of Spring. And who knows, maybe by next summer you’ll be enjoying salivating fresh tree-ripened fruits as well!
Flower Hairpins
While it is difficult to ascertain exact historical roots, female figurines unearthed from Han Dynasty tombs in Chengdu, Sichuan Province featured elaborate flower hairpins with gigantic chrysanthemums in the middle of the bun flanked by several smaller flowers on both sides. Hairpins made from fresh flowers have remained popular since. In contrast to the jewel encrusted hairpins of the aristocrats, fresh flowers served as simple yet elegant alternatives for the common folk. Different festivals called for different flowers. In general, hairpins worn in the spring incorporated peonies, apricot and peach blossoms; summer saw camellia and jasmine; autumn featured chrysanthemum and okra; while winter was for plum and cherry blossoms.
Flower Cake
The Flower Festival developed during the Tang Dynasty to include its own associated traditions and foods. It is told that the Empress Wu loved flowers so much that every year, towards the day of the Flower Festival, she would order her maids to collect flowers, ground the petals together with rice and steam into cakes. Flower cakes were also given as rewards to ministers and officials of the court. Taste this Flower Festival not only the sweetness of the flowers but also a journey back in time.
“Flying Flowers”
China is the land of flowers and poetry. “Flying Flowers” is originally an “elegant” drinking game enjoyed by literati. Typically, the first person would quote a verse of no more than seven characters from a poetry or prose, the second person would need to recite something that had the first character of that line, say “flower” as the second character, the third person quote something that had “flower” as the third character and so on and so forth. The person who broke the rule would take a drink as a penalty.
Drinking games are considered an integral part of Chinese culture. The roots traces back to the Zhou Dynasty and is viewed as an extension of the Confucian emphasis on “rites”. Drinking showcased a host’s hospitality towards guests while the games aspect added a layer intellectualism and turned the drinking into an art form unto itself.
Let’s get ready to play!