Medical Experiments of the Holocaust free essay sample

In this research paper, I am going to discuss some of the medical experiments that were done to the prisoners by Nazi doctors. According to Education†¦A Legacy Forum, some of these experiments are freezing/hypothermia, high altitude tests, testing of the chemical sulfanilamide, seawater experiments, phosgene gas testing, genetic testing, and the experimentation on twins. These experiments, no matter which one, were cruel and inhumane. Nazi doctors would experiment on prisoners without caring about the welfare of their patient. All restrictions were gone, and these doctors could do whatever they wanted. Many of these prisoners endured pain, and agony, to further the Nazi doctor’s research. The goals of these experiments were to promote the German race, â€Å"in the name of science†. ( Education†¦ A Legacy Forum, Josef Mengele, The Experiments) The freezing experiments were conducted to determine the most effective means for the Germans to avoid hypothermia while fighting on the Russian Front. We will write a custom essay sample on Medical Experiments of the Holocaust or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For as many as five hours, doctors either put prisoners in large vats of ice water, or they would be strapped down on stretchers, and placed outside in the freezing weather naked. While these people were suffering with the pain of their bodies slowly freezing, the doctors would measure the changes in their body temperature, heart rate, and other factors. When a prisoner’s body temperature reached 80 °F, the doctors would use different methods of rewarming them. These included sleeping bags, scalding baths, internal irrigation (blistering hot water would be irrigated into the prisoner’s stomach), and the doctors would even force naked women to copulate with the near frozen prisoner. These resuscitation experiments were usually just as painful and deadly as the freezing experiments. The Experiments) In order to find the best way to save German pilots when they were forced to eject from their fighter planes at high altitude, they conducted experiments in which prisoners would be placed in chambers with a low pressure atmosphere. This was to simulate the altitudes, as high as 70,000 feet. The doctors monitored the prisoner’s physical and psy chological responses as they slowly and painfully succumbed to their demise. Afterwards, the doctors would dissect the prisoner’s brain, sometimes while they were still alive, to show the formation of small air bubbles in the brain’s blood vessels. As many as two hundred patients were tested on, and around eighty died on the spot. The rest were then executed in the gas chambers. (The Experiments, Josef Mengele and The Medical Experiments) The experiments to test the effectiveness of sulfanilamide and other drugs against infection for the purpose of helping the German Army were performed since many front line soldiers suffered from persistent and deadly gangrene. Doctors would inflict battlefield-like wounds in prisoners. They would then rub glass, wood, metal, and bacteria into the wound, resulting in infection. Blood vessels were tied with a tourniquet to simulate what would actually happen to an actual war wound on the front lines. Since the infection would become so deadly, many prisoners died. Others endured serious injury and agony. (Josef Mengele and The Medical Experiments, Remember. org, The Experiments) Seawater experiments were conducted to find out how to make seawater drinkable. Dr. Hans Eppinger, and other doctors, at the concentration camp located in Dachau conducted these experiments. They forced about ninety Gypsies to drink seawater only, while being deprived of food. Obviously since the salt content of the water causes the body to retain more salt, and lose more water, which is why seawater is undrinkable, these experiments caused serious bodily injury, major dehydration, and an enormous amounts of pain and suffering. The Gypsies were so dehydrated and so desperate for water, they reportedly â€Å"licked the floored after they had been mopped just to get a drop of fresh water. † (The Experiments, Remember. org) Experiments were conducted to find an antidote to phosgene, a toxic gas use as a weapon during World-War I. At Fort Ney near Strasbourg, France, Nazi doctors exposed roughly 52 concentration camp prisoners to the phosgene gas. This gas caused extreme irritation to the prisoners’ lungs. Many of the prisoners suffered pulmonary edema after the exposure. Four died as a result of the experiments. (The Experiments) Josef Mengele, a Nazi doctor stationed at Auschwitz, was called the â€Å"Angel of Death†. Many times he would be the one who was in charge of â€Å"selection†. He had the power to decide the fate of the prisoner; he had the power of life and death over them. He was in charge of the many experiments conducted at Auschwitz. The experiments he is most known for are genetic experiments, and the experimentations on twins. (Josef Mengele) Many of those who were experimented on were children. They were kept separate from the other inmates. They were called Mengele’s children. Some of the younger children would call Dr. Mengele, Uncle Mengele, since he would offer them sweets. Mengele’s children usually have certain privileges, such as being able to keep their hair for the first few days of the examinations, a small amount of extra food, and being spared from the beatings of the guards. However, even being treated slightly better, the excruciating pain and death from the experiments were inevitable. (Josef Mengele) The most important goal of the Nazis was to create the master race of the Aryans. They were to have blonde hair, blue eyes, and have pure German blood. Mengele was determined to find out the secret to creating this â€Å"perfect† Aryan race. He would apply eye drops, or inject chemicals into the children’s eyes in an attempt to change brown eyes to the preferred blue. Most of the time, the excruciating pain would leave the children blind for a day or more, and then return to normal. But at least one child would become permanently blind. Mengele would apply dyes to children’s scalps to see if the color can be controlled. Often times this would burn the scalp of the children. Blood test were taken and transfused in order to see which blood types mixed, and which blood types didn’t. (Josef Mengele, Josef Mengele and Experimentation on Human Twins at Auschwitz) Josef Mengele was fascinated with twins. He believed that twins held the key to unlocking the genetics to the Aryan race. When twins would arrive to the camp, the SS would yell out â€Å"Twins, twins! An Eva Mozes, a twin survivor from the camp recalls her experience â€Å"As I clutched my mother’s hand, an SS man hurried by shouting, ‘Twins, twins! ’ he stopped to look at us. Miriam and I looked very much alike. We were wearing similar clothes. ‘Are they twins? ’ he asked my mother. ‘Is that good? ’ replied my mother. He nodded yes. ‘They ar e twins,’ she said. † Twins were kept in separate barracks from the others in the camp. Sometimes they were given special treatment. Unfortunately, this treatment was short-lived. Of the three thousand twins who entered the camp, only two hundred survived to see the end of the war. They received blood tests on a daily basis, had surgeries performed without anesthesia, had transfusions from one twin to the other. One set of Gypsy twins were sewn to each other’s back. (Josef Mengele) One twin recalls the death of his brother. â€Å"Dr. Mengele had always been more interested in Tibi. I am not sure why—perhaps because he was the older twin. Mengele made several operations on Tibi. One surgery on his spine left my brother paralyzed. He could not walk anymore. Then they took out his sexual organs. After the fourth operation, I did not see Tibi anymore. I cannot tell you how I felt. It is impossible to put into words how I felt. They had taken away my father, my mother, my two older brothers and now, my twin† Mengele performed autopsies on twins who died from the experiments. (Josef Mengele, Josef Mengele and Experimentation on Human Twins at Auschwitz, Children of the Flames; Dr, Josef Mengele and the Untold Story of the Twins of Auschwitz) The medical experiments performed during the Holocaust are examples of why the welfare of humans is the top priority of experiments in science today.

Why Everyone Is Talking About Evaluative Writing Topics

Why Everyone Is Talking About Evaluative Writing Topics The Secret to Evaluative Writing Topics You may also just browse through samples and begin your evaluation essay from scratch. There is a vast number of evaluation essay examples that are especially created for specific purposes. In extreme events, you can rewrite finished essays. When you compose an evaluation essay you must evaluate every property of the subject including its advantages and disadvantages. To the contrary, it can likewise be quite interesting to work on only when you have good topic in your hands because it is regarded as the backbone of an evaluative essay. A fast glance isn't going to do the job, because you can miss an important moment and your essay is going to have decrease mark. To write a fantastic argumentative essay the students first must investigate several sides of the argument, allowing them to make an educated stance. Deeds of a renowned historical figure. An evaluation essay is a sor t of literary criticism. It contains an objective assessment that is written by an individual who should be fully-knowledgeable of what he or she is writing about. Writing an evaluation essay is an excellent approach to size up a specific object or idea. What can set apart an evaluation essay from various sorts of academic essays is that it may also be utilised in various undertakings within the corporate and skilled environment. To compose an effective crucial analysis, you must first be sure you. Also the evidences offered in the essay should be totally accurate. If you would like to make an evaluation essay, you ought to be strategic when it regards the presentation of information that may help in the writing activity. A crucial analysis essay permits the writer to demonstrate their comprehension of the text and the way the author has used language to make meaning. The Evaluative Writing Topics Game If you'll properly recognize the criteria which will best fit your needs for the particular evaluation, then you're able to make your evaluation essay stronger and more effective. If you would like to compose an evaluation essay and get high grades, you will be sure to require a program! Evaluation essays can cover a great deal of topics that is the reason why it is employed in a selection of industries and processes. They work best if the readers can identify the sources that you have used to come up w ith the assessment that they are currently reading. Since an evaluation essay isn't only part of college essay examples as it may also be utilized in company and company processes, it's necessary for you to understand the weight of its effectiveness. To assist you further develop the topic-analysis skills you've already learned at. Evaluate the effect of social networking networks on developing relationships. Analytical writing means doing exactly the same things mentioned previously, and then. Remember that the primary characteristic of an evaluation essay is the concentration of your evaluation all around your viewpoint. Merely remaining on the surface isn't likely to help the issue. It's difficult or even impossible to appraise your subject immediatelychoose several points of interest to create this process simpler. It's a fact that every evaluation will involve the inclusion of some kind of opinion, as a way to be carried out correctly, the evaluation should not read a s though it's opinionated. Evaluative Writing Topics Help! An evaluation paper should consist of summary info and your earnest perspective on the matter. 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When choosing a topic for an evaluation essay, it is necessary to center on a particular company, service, product or policy. As a result of this, it's important that any evaluation consists of several diverse criteria, judgments and evidence. If that's the case, your evaluation is going to be a beaten job. Evidence is all the info used to support the judgement. Each criterion will function as a puzzle piece to your opinion. 1 thing that we highly suggest you need to do is to earn a draft or an outline of the discussion that you'd like to have. In addition, there are many such topic that you can find upon the world wide web. Evaluate the most recent version of your favourite smartphone. The first thing you have to do when writing an evaluation essay is to be knowledgeable in regards to the topic you will write about. If yo u select the topic you're genuinely interested in, you're going to be able to make a better paper, and the practice of writing itself will become more pleasant. Also, think about the audience and the way that it reacts to the topic of the topic. The students can pick from these topics or they are also able to choose a topic of their very own.

Understanding the Different 9th Grade Science Research Paper Topics

Understanding the Different 9th Grade Science Research Paper TopicsHigh school students are entering into their ninth grade as science research paper topics may seem slightly more complicated than previous years. There are many reasons for this.When a student is studying at their grade level, they have to consider the following, even if they are already using the information. Every topic can be used in many ways in higher grades. Research papers require that the students use the information in an entirely different way in order to be properly understood.In fact, the lack of a single topic has caused some students to forget what that topic was all about in the first place, which has resulted in some errors in the student's knowledge. A teacher can easily take this and turn it into a lesson by addressing all of the misconceptions that have been prevalent about the topic. This is where a student's teachers can make them think in a different way when the topic is brought up again in the future.To have a discussion, the student will need to have the same subject covered in the same way at each grade level. While this might sound impossible, it is much easier than it may sound. Students can always use flash cards when discussing the topic, which allows them to expand on the discussion by using the flash cards as resources.Most of the time, the topics that are taught at each grade level are the same. However, the material that is covered at each grade level is different. One grade level is concerned with biology while another grade level focuses on physics.While the topics covered at the same grade level are similar, there are still many different topics to cover. For example, one may not consider the study of mind-body interaction to be a scientific issue, but the other might. It is also important that the topics covered do not become boring or repetitive in terms of the material that is being discussed.The topics that are taught at each grade level will be very diff erent. For example, some students may love puzzles while others enjoy writing. In fact, the topics that are taught at different grade levels are always changing, as teachers are always finding new ways to teach their students about this important subject.Just because one grade level is the same does not mean that the topics covered are the same. Students should know that they can now use the material in many different ways at different grade levels. There are many topics to choose from, so students can expect to explore topics that they may not have learned before.

Whatever They Told You About Ice Cream College Essay Is Dead Wrong...And Heres Why

Whatever They Told You About Ice Cream College Essay Is Dead Wrong...And Here's Why Even more baffling is whenever the info is simply erroneous. It's the road map for your complete essay. The essay is simply a single portion of the college application practice. It is easily one of the most difficult parts of the college application process. You've got to think larger. Our Simple Truths about the College Essay provides you with a wide overview of what it is you are hoping to do to your 650-word chance to express a compelling and authentic facet of yourself. Ice Cream College Essay Ideas Visualizing things is a strong method. Colleges want to get a feeling of maturity and introspectionpinpoint the transformation and demonstrate your private growth. You're also old school and not too receptive to modify. To defend your subject, you can recall the effect of overloaded schedule on college grades. There are several persuasive essay topics to select from to finish your high sch ool or college assignment. In case the teacher does not provide a particular topic, it means the students got lucky to decide on the processes they know the very best. The aim of several students is to finish college and earn a degree. Furthermore, applicants to the Schreyer Honors College must finish all the subsequent essay prompts. You probably noticed that a number of the schools ask for at least 1 essay. Individual schools sometimes need supplemental essays. New Ideas Into Ice Cream College Essay Never Before Revealed Sharing our private work would likely not have gone over as well with different students in our class that we had not had the occasion to get to understand well. Part of the procedure for learning something is having the ability to apply it. When picking a college community, you're selecting a location where you believe you could live, learn, and flourish. Students should look closely at the way things relate to one another. New Ideas Into Ice Cream College Essay Never Before Revealed Incorporating humor in your essay may be a substantial benefit. You would like your thesis to be crystal clear and to accurately prepare the remainder of your essay. Your thesis is easily the most important sentence in your persuasive essay. Fortunately, colleges will think something similar about you in case you choose to incorporate your love of literature in your essay. Students aren't supposed to learn to compose a cause and effect essay alone. So far as essay structure goes, a 4 or 5 paragraph essay based on the number of points you may want to argue is an excellent start. Each single kind of essay you write can help you develop your writing style. The college essays need to be organized in the particular format and design based on the instructions given. Argumentative essays show a more balanced view of the problem and go over either side. The Most Popular Ice Cream College Essay Should you decide you need to chat about one of the cliche essay topics mentioned previously, a very good approach to tell a more prevalent story is to concentrate on one specific moment and build from that point. The hiding gets problematic once you compose an article which goes viral. What a great problem to get, really. New Step by Step Roadmap for Ice Cream College Essay My brother is the kind of person who always should be right and superior. College is an intellectual place so attempt to convince the board that you're the suitable person in their opinion. Use active voice inside this part. The Honest to Goodness Truth on Ice Cream College Essay At the exact same time, you will impress the college admissions folks greatly if you are able to present your capacity to learn from your failures and mistakes. Ask yourself why the college is asking that question and precisely what admissions officers hope to see not concerning specific topics, but when it comes to general trends and traits. Evaluate a substantial experience, achievement, risk you've taken, or ethical dilemma you've faced and its effects on you. It might be a story for example, about how she was not too great at math in 3rd grade.

Sample Essay on the Value of College Education

Sample Essay on the Value of College EducationFor those who hope to have a higher-paying job or a good job, a sample classification essay on the value of college education is essential. Classifying your resume is usually a nightmare, and an essay on the value of college education can actually make it less so. If you are trying to make yourself a more desirable candidate for a higher paying job or a decent one, a sample essay on the value of college education may be the best tool for the job.In order to succeed in obtaining a college education, you need to decide which college is the right one for you. The usual suspects are the four-year colleges, but some of the better vocational institutions have given their degrees to people who never expected them. You might be interested in enrolling at a career or technical school instead of a four-year college, or in sending your son or daughter to community college. Whatever you decide to do, it's important that you decide what college you ar e going to attend.Then, you need to write a sample essay on the value of college education on a job application. Just remember that you don't have to do it as a dissertation. If you don't want to, consider writing a more objective essay about your college education instead. Just don't go overboard with the college-bashing, because that will not only damage your chances of landing a better job, but it can also hurt your application when you interview for another job. Focus more on the pros than the cons of your choice.You must include a cover letter, too, though. Though it is not essential, it does help. It's also a good idea to provide a personal statement, which will talk about your personality and how you'll fit into a new environment.After all this preparation, you can now start looking for jobs. Keep in mind that your age is no longer important if you have a degree, because employers are increasingly concerned about who they're hiring. And since your application will probably be scrutinized, you need to keep it simple and focused. You should also keep your resume short, and if possible, don't provide more than a single page. That way, the employer will notice all your salient qualities, rather than focus on the information that's inside the resume.You can find an excellent search engine such as Yahoo or Google to perform this type of research. All you have to do is type in 'college education job applications.' Since so many people apply for these positions every day, it's fairly easy to locate the best college essay samples. The downside is that you may have to spend time doing the research, so don't rush through it. If you've done your homework, you'll know that a great college essay sample will be there.In summary, a sample classification essay on the value of college education may be your best bet for landing a high-paying job or a good one. You have to start by deciding what college you want to attend, and then focus on writing a sample essay on the va lue of college education. Once you get the job, you'll have a few things on your resume to impress your prospective employer.

buy custom Effects of Spouses’ Physical Abuse on Boys and Girls Adult Relationships essay

buy custom Effects of Spouses’ Physical Abuse on Boys and Girls Adult Relationships essay Domestic abuse has extensive and lasting consequences on victims. The impacts can either be physical or emotional and can affect the direct victim and children who notice parental brutality. Whenever parents are aggressive, with or without annoyance, there is a constant likelihood of child mistreatment. Physical violence to the child can as well transpire. During parental hostility, brutality moves straight onto the child, particularly older males. When parents are fighting, for instance, a mother can accidentally drop her baby or hit the child by mistake (Archer, 2000). I choose to focus on this topic because of these reasons, and many others since it is important to both parents and children. Hypothesis In this paper, I will show how physical abuse between spouses influence boys and girls behavior in adulthood. In most cases, the dissatisfaction in the relationship transfers to dissatisfaction in the child particularly when an irritated parent shifts blame for his or her matrimonial predicaments onto the child. Mistreated partners may not strike back against the violent partner and takes her assault out on the child by incorporating the child and his spouse, as an object for brutality. Emotional exploitation of children in brutal families may crop up more frequently than physical violence, and may result to intense mental harm to the child.Moreover, children can be abandoned owing to the parents' meager energy or incapability to meet their requirements. Abandonment of the child might take the shape of emotional deficit, poor control, failure to offer sufficient health care, or failure to give enough food (Sandra et al. 2000, 642). There is a genuine risk that children will learn violence, and that it will turn into an element of their outline of conduct. Research findings, child mistreatment texts and family theorists point out those aggressive patterns of conduct that are passed down to generations. Studies have shown that mistreated children recurrently turn out to be violent parents and offensive partners. Children who see their parents or other important adults take on in physical hostility frequently adapt to these manners and rebuild them in adulthood. In addition, numerous adults who exploit their partners were mistreated as children and/or witnessed physical aggression involving their parents (650). Theoretical Framework Brutality is an outline of cultured manners. It seems to be obtained by exposure, watching and endorsed in the family. It appears that the recurrence of the aggression is also attributable to the absence of any other practical or cultured stress reactions in the family structure. Although an individual who has been abused as a child regularly has extreme pessimistic outlook concerning the parents and their actions, opposing this harmful outlook are feelings of devotion for and a sense of belonging with the parents. Children might grow to take after the abusive behavior or as a victim. In addition to getting acquainted to brutal actions, the children discover adaptive or endurance behaviors by which they can evade being mistreated. Both the abuser and sufferer characters are presentd to children's performance repertoires, and they acquire a spouse who is also vulnerable to approve these characters (Hinchey and Gavelek, 1982, 399). Usually, the boy who witnesses family hostility will, firstly, sympathize with his mother and have severe pessimistic thoughts regarding his father's hostile actions. As he grows, the child might try to mediate in aggressive occurrences. Furthermore, the older son in the family may serve to cater for some of his mother's requirements and may assume some of the father's responsibilities. He may turn into his mother's close friend and supporter. Having learnt how to protect their mother from an abusive father, such a male becomes a very responsible man, overly protective, caring and loving towards their future partners (401). Conversely, as the male child attains late teenage years, he might become aggressive, disobedient, and unmanageable. In his effort to get away from the exceptionally close connection with his mother, he might become offensive to her, as he starts to relate to his father. He might as well begin excessive drinking, destroy property, and act aggressively to younger siblings. He might become violent if he gets into a relationship. Method The study designs employed in the findings expressed in this paper are surveys carried out by doctors, psychologists and gender advocates. They have taken a sample of both men and women in some studies, while others have taken women only. These are people who are mostly affected by spouse physical abuse in their childhood, and consequently in their adult relationships. The doctors measured the rate of depression and pressure in both men and women in poor relationships. They used the Hamilton Depression Scale to identify the intensity of depression in such individuals and a sphygmomanometer for blood pressure. These measurement tools were used because they are simple to incorporate and save on time. Survey Findings According to Sandras study, girls who have observed hostility involving their parents might take either the sufferer, or the abuser character, based on the situation. Females whose mothers endorse only a sufferer position will usually mimic this character themselves. Frequently, they take up child nurturing tasks for the younger children. The older female might ignore school to look after them. The female may hate this responsibility but will seldom convey annoyance. She typically tries to gratify her parents, but is regularly incapable of meeting their requirements. During aggressive incidents, she might make an attempt to defend her siblings. The daughter's responsibility as substitute mother and intermediary frequently makes her a prospective prey of incest. These girls may be silent, withdrawn, and reserved. There is likelihood that, without intercession, they will turn into victims of brutality. Consequently, such a female may not be willing to get involved with men in their adu lthood (Sandra et al. 2000, 650). Alternatively, daughters who have observed aggressive parental relations might have behavioral setbacks. These girls may exhibit their prediicaments in the classroom and act aggressively to age mates or siblings. As they approach puberty, most of these girls flee from their abodes, become drugs or alcohol addicts and sexually chaotic. All of these actions imply an effort to flee from a psychologically and physically destitute condition. Such a child will develop to be a reckless adult and certainly have poor relationships (Jeffrey and Angela, 1994). Those males who see their fathers mistreat their mothers are more probable to impose intense brutality as grown-ups. Statistics imply that females who see motherly mistreatment may endure violence as grown-ups more than females who do not. The lasting outcomes of child sexual mistreatment comprises despair and self-unhelpful activities, annoyance and resentment, poor sense of worth, feelings of seclusion and shame, difficulty in believing others, particularly men, marital and relationship setbacks, and a trend in the direction of revictimization. A discussion research study by Sandra and her colleagues tested whether revealed information of childhood witnessing to parental spouse mistreatment was connected with internalizing features of grown-up changes. Applicants were 550 males and female university scholars. Among females, childhood experience to spouse violence was connected to despair, trauma-connected indications and poor sense of worth. Among males, experience was linked with trauma-related indications. These relations were arithmetically unconnected to parental alcohol misuse and break ups accounted for. Relationships of parental spouse mistreatment to poor sense of worth and dejection among females were as well independent of deviation in shown information of child sexual and physical mistreatment. However, the connection of spouse mistreatment to trauma-connected indications depended, partially, on the co-incidence of child mistreatment. The discussion tackled allegations of the results for upcoming research and for medical applications (Sandra et al. 2000, 642). Several experimental studies have surveyed the association between familiarity with domestic hostility and developing disturbing distress. Hinchey and Gavelek (1982, 397) interviewed 93 females reporting to be in continuing, traumatic relationships and those who had grown on aggressive abodes. The researchers based their study on the connection between emotional violence, intensity of abuse in the relationship and dejection. The outcome of the study demonstrated a considerable connection between domestic hostility and dejection. In every cluster in the research, emotional abuse on its own, moderate abuse, and intense abuse, women attained the highest rate for disturbing tension chaos. Generally, 55.9% of the test met analytical standards for the condition. With the use of questionnaires, the study also proved that those particular women were in poor current relationships. In additional support of the extensive connection between family hostility and future relationship of children, Gaylord and his colleagues, interviewed 100 females in Australian asylums, each of whom had gone through domestic brutality. They established that 45 of the 100 females had problems with their relationships . Buy custom Effects of Spouses’ Physical Abuse on Boys and Girls Adult Relationships essay

The History of Chinese New Year

The History of Chinese New Year The most important holiday in Chinese culture around the world is undoubtedly Chinese New Year, and it all started out of fear. The centuries-old legend of the origins of the Chinese New Year celebration varies from teller to teller, but every telling includes a story of a terrible mythical monster preying on villagers. The lion-like monster’s name was Nian (Ã¥ ¹ ´), which is also the Chinese word for â€Å"year. The stories include a wise old man who counsels the villagers to ward off the evil Nian by making loud noises with drums and firecrackers and by hanging red paper cutouts and scrolls on their doors, because Nian is scared of the color red. The villagers took the old man’s advice and Nian was conquered. On the anniversary of the date, the Chinese recognize the â€Å"passing of the Nian,† known in Chinese as guo nian (è ¿â€¡Ã¥ ¹ ´), which is synonymous with celebrating the new year. Lunar Calendar The date of Chinese New Year changes each year because its based on the lunar calendar. While the western Gregorian calendar is based on the Earth’s orbit around the sun, the date of Chinese New Year is determined according to the moon’s orbit around the Earth. Chinese New Year falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. Other Asian countries such as Korea, Japan, and Vietnam also celebrate the new year using the lunar calendar. While Buddhism and Daoism have unique customs during the New Year, Chinese New Year is far older than both religions. As with many agrarian societies, Chinese New Year is rooted in a celebration of spring, like Easter or Passover. Depending on where its grown, the rice season in China lasts roughly from May to September (north China), April to October (Yangtze River Valley), or March to November (Southeast China). The New Year was likely the start of preparations for a new growing season. Spring cleaning is a common theme during this time. Many Chinese families clean out their homes during the holiday. The New Year celebration could also have been a way to break up the boredom of the long winter months. Traditional Customs On Chinese New Year, families travel long distances to meet and make merry. Known as the Spring movement or Chunyun (æ˜ ¥Ã¨ ¿ ), a great migration takes place in China during this period as many travelers brave crowds to get to their hometowns. Though the holiday is actually just a week long, traditionally its celebrated as a 15-day holiday when firecrackers are lit, drums are heard on the streets, red lanterns glow at night, and red paper cutouts and calligraphy hang on doors. Children are also given  red envelopes  containing money. Many cities around the world hold New Year parades complete with dragon and lion dances. Celebrations conclude on the 15th day with the Lantern Festival. Food is an important component of New Year. Traditional foods to eat include nian gao  (sweet sticky rice cake) and savory dumplings.   Chinese New Year vs. Spring Festival In China, New Year celebrations are synonymous with Spring Festival (æ˜ ¥Ã¨Å â€š or chÃ… «n jià ©), which is typically a week-long celebration. The origins of this renaming from Chinese New Year to â€Å"Spring Festival† are fascinating and not widely known. In 1912 the newly formed Chinese Republic, governed by the Nationalist Party, renamed the traditional holiday Spring Festival to get the Chinese people to transition into celebrating the Western New Year. During this period, many Chinese intellectuals felt that modernization meant doing all things as the West did. When the Communists took over power in 1949, the celebration of New Year was viewed as feudalistic and steeped in religion, not proper for an atheist China. Under the Chinese Communist Party, Chinese New Year wasnt celebrated some years. By the late 1980s, however, as China began liberalizing its economy, Spring Festival celebrations became big business. Since 1982, China Central Television has held an annual New Year’s Gala which is televised across the country and via satellite to the world. Over the years, the government has made several changes to its holiday system. The May Day holiday was increased and then shortened to one day, and the National Day holiday was made three days instead of two. More traditional holidays, such as the Mid-Autumn Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day, are emphasized. The only week-long holiday that was maintained is Spring Festival.