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Notes: 4 / 1 year ago
When is Chinese New Year
When is Chinese New Year this year? The upcoming Chinese New Year falls on February 3, 2011, when we’ll be ringing in the Year of the Rabbit (兔).
Chinese New Year in China is like Christmas in the West. In essence, Chinese New Year is spending time with family, gift giving and, the all important, food-fest.
Ancient Chinese legends tell of the Nian (年), a man-eating beast from the mountains which came out every winter to feast on humans. To scare the Nian away, the people used loud noises such as firecrackers and fireworks, and bright colors, particularly red. These customs led to the first New Year celebrations.
In the run up to Chinese New Year, homes are spring-cleaned thoroughly so that all the bad luck of the previous year is swept away (and on the first day of the new year, brooms and dustpans are put away and never used in case the good luck of the new year is swept away!)
Purchasing new clothing, shoes, and receiving a hair-cut also symbolize a fresh start.
Some people give their homes, doors and window-frames a new coat of red paint. Homes are often decorated with paper cutouts of Chinese auspicious phrases and couplets.
CoupletsThese are two tall posters, usually consisting of 4 Chinese characters each (as eight is a lucky number), which are hung on either side of the front door. The couplets express traditional good wishes for the year ahead.
Left - “Si Ji Ping An” translates into: May you be blessed with peace, and safety in all four seasons.
Right - “Chu Ru Ping An” translates into: May you be blessed with peace, and safety wherever you go.
The biggest event of any Chinese New Year’s Eve is the dinner every family will have. A dish consisting of fish will appear on the tables of Chinese families. One of the most popular dishes is steamed dumpling called jiaozi (餃子). “Jiaozi” in Chinese literally mean “sleep together and have sons”, a long-lost good wish for a family.
Tradition stipulated that all food be prepared before the New Year‘s Day, so that all sharp instruments, such as knives and scissors, could be put away to avoid cutting the “luck” of the New Year.
After the 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 lunar year.
Most importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time when families visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended family, usually their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents.
On the day itself, an ancient custom called Hong Bao (紅包), meaning Red Packet, takes place. Children wake up early to find the small red envelopes known as “Hong Bao” or “Lai Si” (“Lucky Money” envelope) money under their pillows.
Typically at Chinese New Year Lai Si is given by married couples to children and unmarried people. The red is used as the most auspicious colour, while the decoration may have a blessing or good wish. The symbolic giving of the money represents a wish for fortune and wealth in the coming year.The amount of money contained in the envelope usually ends with an even digit, in accordance with Chinese beliefs; as odd-numbered money gifts are traditionally associated with funerals. There is a widespread tradition that money should not be given in fours, or the number four should not appear in the amount, such as 40, 400 as the pronunciation of the word “four” sounds similar to the word “death”.
Some families may invite a lion dance troupe as a symbolic ritual to usher in the Lunar New Year as well as to evict bad spirits from the premises.
Members of the family who are married also give red envelopes containing cash to junior members of the family, mostly children and teenagers. Business managers also give bonuses through red envelopes to employees for good luck and wealth.
The second day of the Chinese New Year is for married daughters to visit their birth parents. Traditionally, daughters who have been married may not have the opportunity to visit their birth families frequently.
On the second day, the Chinese pray to their ancestors as well as to all the gods. They are extra kind to all dogs and feed them well as it is believed that the second day is the birthday of all dogs.
Etiquette dictates that you must bring a bag of oranges and tangerines and enclose a Lai Si when visiting family or friends anytime during the two-week long Chinese New Year celebration. Tangerines with leaves intact assure that one’s relationship with the other remains secure. For newlyweds, this represents the branching of the couple into a family with many children. Oranges and tangerines are symbols for abundant happiness.
The seventh day, traditionally known as renri (人日), the common man’s birthday, the day when everyone grows one year older. It is the day when tossed raw fish salad, yusheng, is eaten. This is a custom primarily among the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Singapore. People get together to toss the colourful salad and make wishes for continued wealth and prosperity.
The New Year celebrations end on the 15th of the First Moon with the Lantern Festival (元宵節). On the evening of that day, people carry lanterns into the streets to take part in a great parade. Young men will highlight the parade with a dragon dance. The dragon is made of bamboo, silk, and paper, and might stretch for more than hundred feet in length. The bobbing and weaving of the dragon is an impressive sight, and forms a fitting finish to the New Year festival.
Find out which Chinese zodiac animal sign you were born under.
新年快樂 - Xin Nian Kuai Le
- Happy New Year - 2011 Year of the Rabbit (兎) Notes
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