Chinese New Year
- 2. Introduction New Year in China is completely different and unique from any of the New Year celebrations made in any part of the world. In China, New Year is also called as The Spring Festival because 'Start of Spring' is the first of the terms in the traditional solar calendar .The date for Chinese New Year changes each year. It always falls between January 21 and February 20, determined by the Chinese lunar calendar.
- 3. The Origin of Chinese New Year There are several versions for the origin of Chinese New Year. The most widely heard one is that there was a mythical beast called "Nian" which means "year" in Chinese. Nian always came on the first day of New Year to prey on livestock, crops, and even people. They came to know that beast gets afraid of the red color and loud noises. Since then, they started burning firecrackers and using red color in order to keep the giant beast scared. Also, they hung red lanterns and red spring couplets on doors and windows. From then on, Nian never came back again.
- 4. Traditions A few days before the Chinese New Year, people will do a complete cleaning of the house and house wares which signifies to remove the old and welcome the new. It is also associated with a legend that on the eve of the holiday gods bestow every house luck for the whole year, which is deposited in the form of dust in the eve and during the celebration of this event. House Cleaning
- 5. After the cleaning, people will decorate the house to welcome the New Year. Most of the decorations are red in color,because it is associated with wealth. Red lanterns are hung on the streets, while windows and doors are decorated with posters and papers bearing favorable characters or phrases. Oddly enough, one of the main symbols of New year in China is Mandarin. They are a symbol of good luck and fortune. Fruit in vases, it is customary to place them around the house. Instead of a Christmas tree in China is decorated with flowers, garlands and lanterns of the so- called Wood's Light Decoration Traditions
- 6. Traditions From the 1st day of New Year to the 15th day, streets and homes are filled with dragon and lion dances. They are formed by a group of people, some of whom manage the "dragon" and the "lion", while some beat the drums. It is believed that the loud noise created by the drums, along with the faces of the dragon and lion scare away evil spirits. Lion and Dragon Dances
- 7. Traditions Symbolic Cuisines On Chinese New Year's Eve, members of the family, big or small, near or far away, gather for a "reunion dinner". The most common dishes for this dinner are chicken and fish. The tradition of eating fish during the New Year stems from the fact that the Chinese word for “surplus” or “profit” sounds similar to the word for fish. Thus, it is believed that eating fish will bring wealth in the new year. In the North of China on New year eat dumplings (Jiaozuo), and in the South — slices prepared from glutinous rice (niangao).
- 8. Traditions Gifts Usually, adults or older people give red envelopes with any amount of money to the juniors. On the cover of the red envelopes, there are usually icons of what the year belongs to or some common greetings like Happy New Year ,wish everything goes well for you. In ancient times, new year's money was presented in the form of one hundred copper coins strung together and symbolizing the hope of life to a hundred years. There is another tradition during the New year celebrations coming to visit, to give the hosts two clementines, and leaving to them two other Mandarin. ( in Chinese "a pair of Mandarin" consonant with the word "gold")
- 9. Traditions Firecrackers and Fireworks New Year festivities just wouldn’t be the same without pyrotechnics. Traditionally, it is believed that the loud noise of the firecrackers serves to scare away evil spirits .In addition, most major cities, including Hong Kong and Shanghai, will put up an impressive display of fireworks around midnight to welcome in the new year.