Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year is a 15 day celebration starting on the first day of the first moon of the lunar calendar, and climaxing with the arrival of the Lantern Festival of the fifteenth day of the first moon. On the Gregorian calendar, this falls between January 21 and February 20.

Chinese New Year is the most elaborate celebration of the whole year. It is a time for families to get together and celebrate the passing of one year and welcoming of the next. Also known as the Spring Festival, it heralds the start of spring.

In China, the New Year represents the concept of starting fresh. Preparations for the celebration begin days in advance with the "sweeping of the grounds." Chinese spend hours thoroughly cleaning and sweeping every inch of their houses to sweep away the bad luck and make the house ready for the good luck of the New Year. New paint is applied and windows are washed until they shine. Houses are decorated with couplets made out of red paper, as well as symbols of flowers and fruit.

Chinese also spend time buying new clothes, shoes, and getting haircuts as a way of symbolizing a fresh start. Since old debts cannot be claimed after New Year’s Day, bills are paid and debts are settled before the holiday begins. Meals are prepared in advance because sharp instruments like knives and scissors are put away to avoid "cutting" the luck of the New Year.

In traditional China special attention is paid to the Kitchen God, who was the guardian of the hearth. The story says that the Kitchen God, who was the inventor of fire, carefully watches over the house all year. Each year on the 23rd day of the last month he travels to heaven to make his report on the behavior of the family to the Jade Emperor, the ruler of the world. His report decides the fate of the family for the upcoming year. To keep him happy and ensure a good report, families leave offerings of delicious foods and sweets in front of his picture, which hangs on the wall of the kitchen.

Gongxi Facai  (Happy New Year!)
The start of the New Year is celebrated by the family with a huge feast. The New Year’s Eve banquet includes many culinary symbols of good luck. Fish is usually prepared since the Chinese word for fish sounds like Yu, which means "surplus". There may also be dumplings (symbolizing wealth), fried spring rolls (resembling gold bricks), steamed clams (representing openness to good fortune), and vegetables cut in the shape of coins. Children and unmarried teenagers are given red packets containing money. These lai-see packets are considered good luck. Fireworks are also traditionally a very big part of the New Year and are believed to drive away evil spirits and bring prosperity.

The first day of the New Year is a day of happiness and celebration. It is considered improper to lie, raise your voice, or break anything. It is also considered bad luck to do any cleaning since it would sweep away the good luck of the New Year. Legend says that once a year, on New Year’s Day, the dragon appears to bring good fortune to all and the Chinese honor this legend with a Dragon Parade.

Beginning on the second day families go out to visit friends and relatives, taking gifts and lai-see packets of lucky money. The second day is when married daughters visit their birth parents. Visitors are greeted with traditional foods like niangao (New Year cakes) and fruit.

The third day of the Chinese New Year is called chì kǒu. This day is regarded as a day in which it is easy to get into arguments, so people abstain from visiting friends and family on this day.

Throughout the first week there is much entertainment and socializing including acrobatics, lion dances, and theatrical shows. The seventh day of the New Year is known as the common man’s birthday, as this is the day when everyone grows one year older regardless of the day they were actually born.

The New Year celebrations climax on the 15th day with the Lantern Festival. This is the celebration of the first full moon of the year and officially honors the coming of spring. The streets are filled with musicians, clowns, and jugglers. The streets are lit by lanterns that have been made for the parade as people gather to watch the Lion Dance. Dancing and leaping to the beat of a drum, the Lion Dancers march through the parade. Along the parade route restaurants arrange oranges, heads of lettuce (symbolizing money), and red envelops with money for the Lion Dancers to collect; a visit ensures good luck for the New Year. Often the dragon also appears. The magnificent dragon is made out of silk, bamboo and paper and can be more than 100 feet long.

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Chinese New Year Apparel, Chinese New Year Books, Chinese New Year Toys, Chinese New Year Home Decor, Chinese New Year Arts & Crafts

Chinese New Year Gift Guide

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year
http://chinesefood.about.com/od/chinesenewyear/a/newyearlegends_2.htm
http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/festival/newyear/newyear.html