Chinese New Year, January 23, 2012
Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. In China, it is known as the “Spring Festival”. The festival begins on the first day of the first month in the traditional Chinese calendar and ends with the Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese calendar.
As with all cultures, Chinese New Year traditions incorporate elements that are symbolic of deeper meaning. People will buy presents, decorations, material, food and clothing. It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red color paper cut-outs and couplets with popular themes of “good fortune” or “happiness”, “wealth” and “longevity”. Red is the predominant color used in New Year celebrations. Red is the emblem of joy, and this color also symbolizes virtue, truth and sincerity.
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| Red Chinese New Year Lanterns |
The biggest event of any Chinese New Year’s Eve is the dinner feast with families. The dinner traditionally includes chicken and fish. Several foods are consumed to usher in wealth, happiness, and good fortune. This meal is comparable to Christmas dinner that we have. In northern China, it is customary to make dumplings after dinner to eat around midnight. Dumplings symbolize wealth because their shape resembles that of Chinese tael. By contrast, in the South, it is customary to make a glutinous New Year cake and send pieces of it as gifts to relatives and friends in the coming days of the New Year. Red packets with money for the immediate family are sometimes distributed during the dinner. After dinner, some families go to local temples hours before the New Year begins to pray for a prosperous New Year by lighting the first incense of the year; however in modern practice, many households hold parties and even hold a countdown to the New Year. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes. The Chinese New Year is to reconcile, forget all grudges and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.
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| Lucky Chinese Money Bags |
This will be the Year of the Dragon.
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| Chinese New Year Dragon Decoration |
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