Chinese New Year
Kung Hei Fat Choy!
On 10th February 2013 we wave goodbye to the Dragon and welcome in the Year of the Snake!
What Is Chinese New Year?
Chinese New Year is the most important of the Chinese holidays, and is a time of feasting with the family, celebration, fireworks and gift-giving. It is a 15-day holiday, beginning on the first day of a new moon and ending with the full moon on the day of the Lantern Festival.The Chinese calendar is based on the lunar year, so the date of Chinese New Year changes every year. The Chinese calendar follows a 12-year pattern with each year named after an animal. There are various stories which explain this. The simplest is that Buddha (or the Jade Emperor) invited all of the animals to join him for a New Year celebration, but only 12 animals turned up. To reward the animals that did come, Buddha named a year after each of them in the order that they arrived, starting with the Rat, followed by the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat (or Sheep), Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. (Find another version of the story to print, below)
Depending on the year you are born, you are believed to have the various character traits of that year's animal
People spend nearly a month ahead of time getting ready for the New Year, preparing special home decorations and buying special ingredients for special foods. Part of the decorations are chun lian, or couplets, special phrases that are posted at front doors and resemble what comes in fortune cookies but are more thought-provoking and serious. The "spring cleaning" that goes on is also spiritually cleansing, allowing people to get rid of things that they don't want to hold on to and look to the year ahead, to a prosperous future.
The celebrations begin with a New Year's Eve feast called a Reunion Dinner, at which family members gather together and salute good times past and present (and, it is hoped, future) with meals of chicken, fish, and special vegetables. During the New Year celebrations, special foods are eaten and special customs are upheld. It's all a way of saying that tradition continues as new years go by. This feast is also called weilu, with a focus on one's ancestors and how their traditions continue to live on in people alive today.
On the First New Year's Day, Chinese people celebrate by giving one another hong bao
(red packets), which contain small amounts of money. (Some give lots of
money.) These packets are given to family members and friends (who
typically smaller sums of money than family do). The amount of money is
always an even amount, since an odd amount is believed to bring bad
luck. No great feast is planned on this day; meals are usually
vegetarian because many Chinese people believe that giving up meat on
this first day will help them live a longer life. On the Second New Year's Day, though, a great feast is planned and executed. They pray to their ancestors, for guidance in the New Year. They are also extra kind to dogs. This Second New Year's Day is believed to be the birthday of all dogs.
The Third and Fourth New Year's Days are reserved for sons-in-law to visit their wives' parents and profess respect toward them.
Po Woo is the name of the Fifth New Year's Day. Prayers this day go to the God of Wealth. People do not visit family and friends on this day because they believe doing so would bring bad luck to everyone involved.READ MORE HERE
Graphics courtesy of ClipArt.YOU CAN FIND INTERESTING ACTIVITIES :HERE
AND YOU CAN FIND YOUR CHINESE ZODIAC SIGN OR PLAY GAMES BASED ON THE HOLIDAY HERE
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