Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is one of the most important traditional Chinese holiday. It is sometimes called the Lunar New Year, especially by people outside China. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first lunar month (Chinese :; pinyin: Zheng yue) in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival. On the eve of Chinese New Year is known as Chúxī. It literally means "Year-pass Eve"
It took place in areas with large populations of ethnic Chinese, Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the new year celebrations of its geographic neighbors, as well as cultures with whom the Chinese have had extensive interaction. These include Aboriginal Taiwanese, Koreans, Mongolians, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Vietnamese, and formerly the Japanese before 1873. In Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and other countries or regions with significant Han Chinese populations, Chinese New Year is also celebrated, and has, to varying degrees, become part of the traditional culture of these countries. In Canada, although Chinese New Year is not an official holiday, many ethnic Chinese hold large celebrations and Canada Post issues New Year's themed stamps in domestic and international rates.
Although the traditional Chinese calendar does not use continuously numbered years, its years are often numbered from the reign of Huangdi outside China. But at least three different years numbered 1 are now used by various scholars, making the year 2008 "Chinese Year" 4706, 4705, or 4645.
The 2011 Spring Festival falls on February 3 opens in the Chinese year of the rabbit. As the rabbit is an animal of peace and harmony, we expect the year of the rabbit brings more peace and prosperity to the world.
Festivities
alt "Red couplets and red lanterns are displayed on the door frames and light the room. The air is filled with strong Chinese emotions. In stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and other cities, products of traditional Chinese style have started tendency to drive [s] of fashion. Buy yourself a Chinese-style coat, your children hats tiger head and shoes, and decorate your home with some beautiful red Chinese knots, then you will have a festival-style authentic Chinese spring. "
The Chinese New Year celebrations are marked by visits to kin, relatives and friends, a practice known as "New Year visits" (Chinese: 拜年, pinyin: Bainian). New clothes are usually worn to signify a new year. The color red is liberally used in all decorations. Red packets to children and youth are given by the married and elders.
Days before New Year
In the days before the New Year celebration Chinese families give their home a thorough cleaning. There is a Cantonese saying "Wash dirt ninyabaat" (年 廿八, 洗 邋遢), but the practice is not usually restricted nin'ya'baat (年 廿八, the 28th of the 12th month). It is believed the cleaning sweeps away the bad luck of the preceding year and makes their ready homes for good luck. Brooms and dustpans are saved on the first day so that luck can not be swept. 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. Purchasing new clothing, shoes, and receiving a hair cut also symbolize a fresh start.
In many households where Buddhism or Taoism is prevalent, home altars and statues are cleaned thoroughly, and altars that were adorned with decorations from the previous year are also down and burned a week before the start of the new year, and are replaced with new decorations. Taoists and Buddhists (to a lesser extent) will also "send gods" (送神), an example would be burning a paper effigy of the Kitchen God, the recorder of family functions. This is done so that the Kitchen God can report to the Jade Emperor of the transgressions of family homes and good works. Families often offer sweet foods (such as candy) in order of gods "bribe" to report the good things about the family.
Lion Dance Chinese New Year at Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.The biggest event of the eve of any Chinese New Year is the dinner every family will have. A dish consisting of fish will appear on the tables of Chinese families. It is for display for dinner New Year's Eve. This meal is comparable to Christmas dinner in the West. In northern China, it is customary to make dumplings (Jiaozi 饺子) after dinner and have it around midnight. Dumplings symbolize wealth because their shape is like a Chinese tael. By contrast, in the South, it is customary to make a new year cake (niangao, 年糕) after dinner and send pieces of it as gifts to family and friends in the coming days of the new year. Niangao literally means increasingly prosperous year. After dinner, some families go to local temples, hours before the new year begins to pray for a prosperous new year; however in modern practice, many households have parties and even have a countdown to the new lunar year. From the 1980s, New Year's Gala was broadcast on CCTV minutes before the start of the New Year.
altFirst day of the new year
The first day is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth, officially beginning at midnight. Many people, especially Buddhists, abstain from meat consumption on the first day because it is believed that this will ensure longevity for them. Some consider lighting fires and using knives to be bad luck on New Year's Day, so all food consumed is cooked the day before.
Most importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time when families visit the oldest and most senior members of their family, usually their parents, grandparents or great grandparents.
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 packets containing cash to junior members of the family, mostly children and teenagers.
While fireworks and firecrackers are traditionally very popular, some regions have been prohibited due to concerns over fire hazards, which have resulted in increased number of fires around New Years and the ability to work challenged fire departments municipal. For this reason, various city governments (eg, Hong Kong and Beijing, for a number of years) issued bans over fireworks and firecrackers in certain premises of the city. As a substitute, large-scale fireworks have been launched by governments in cities like Hong Kong to offer citizens the experience.
alt
Second day of the new year
Incense is burned at the graves of ancestors as part of the offering and prayer ritual.The second day of 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 dogs and feed them well as it is believed that the second day is the birthday of all dogs.
Business people Cantonese dialect group will hold a prayer 'Hoi Nin' to start their business on the second day of the Chinese New Year. The prayer is done to pray that they will be blessed with good luck and prosperity in their business for the year.
Third and fourth day of the new year
The third and fourth day of the Chinese New Year is generally accepted as inappropriate days to visit relatives and friends due to the following schools of thought. People can subscribe to one or both thoughts.
1) He is known as "Chi kǒu" (赤 口), meaning it is easy to get into arguments. It is suggested that the cause could be the fried food and visiting during the first two days of the New Year celebration.
2) Families who had an immediate kin deceased in the past 3 years will not go home to visit as a form of respect for the dead, but people can visit on this day. Some people then conclude that it is inauspicious to do any house visiting at all. The third day of the New Year is allocated to grave to visit his place.
Fifth day of the new year
In northern China, people eat (simplified Chinese: 饺子; traditional Chinese: 餃子) Jiǎozi (dumplings) on the morning of Po Wu (破 五). This is also the birthday of the Chinese god of wealth. In Taiwan, businesses traditionally re-open on this day, accompanied by firecrackers.
Seventh day of the new year
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, eaten. This is a custom primarily among the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Singapore. People get together to toss the colorful salad and make wishes for continued wealth and prosperity.
For many Chinese Buddhists, this is another day to avoid meat.
Ninth day of new year
The ninth day of the New Year is a day for Chinese to offer prayers to the Jade Emperor of Heaven (天公) in the Taoist Pantheon. The ninth day is traditionally the birthday of the Jade Emperor.
This day is especially important to Hokkiens and (Min Nan speakers) Teochews. Come midnight of the eighth day of the new year, Hokkiens will offer thanks giving prayers to the Emperor of Heaven. Offerings include sugarcane as it was the sugarcane that had protected the Hokkiens from extermination generations ago. Tea is served as a regular paying respect to an honored person protocol.
Fifteenth day of the new year
altThe fifteenth day of the new year is celebrated as jié Yuanxiao (元宵节), also known as Chap Goh Mei in Fujian dialect. Tangyuan rice dumplings (simplified Chinese: 汤圆; traditional Chinese: 湯圓; pinyin: tangyuan), a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, is eaten this day. Candles are lit outside houses as a way to guide wayward spirits home. This day is celebrated as the Lantern Festival, and walk down the street with lighted lanterns families.
This day often marks the end of Chinese New Year festivities.
reunion dinner
A reunion dinner is held on New Year's Eve where members of the family, near and far, get together for celebration. The venue will usually be in or near the home of the oldest family member. Dinner New Year's Eve is very sumptuous and traditionally includes chicken and fish. In some areas, fish (simplified Chinese: 鱼; traditional Chinese: 魚; pinyin: yu) is included, but not eaten completely (and the remainder is stored overnight), as the Chinese phrase "may have surplus each year "(traditional Chinese: 年年 有餘; Simplified Chinese: 年年 有余; pinyin: nián nián yǒu yu) sounds like" there may be fish every year. "
In mainland China, many families will banter whilst watching the New Year Gala on CCTV hours before midnight circuit.
Red packets for the immediate family are sometimes distributed during the reunion dinner. These packets often contain money in certain numbers that reflect good luck and honor. Several foods are consumed to usher in wealth, happiness and good fortune. Several of the Chinese food names are homophones for words that also mean good things.
It took place in areas with large populations of ethnic Chinese, Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the new year celebrations of its geographic neighbors, as well as cultures with whom the Chinese have had extensive interaction. These include Aboriginal Taiwanese, Koreans, Mongolians, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Vietnamese, and formerly the Japanese before 1873. In Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and other countries or regions with significant Han Chinese populations, Chinese New Year is also celebrated, and has, to varying degrees, become part of the traditional culture of these countries. In Canada, although Chinese New Year is not an official holiday, many ethnic Chinese hold large celebrations and Canada Post issues New Year's themed stamps in domestic and international rates.
Although the traditional Chinese calendar does not use continuously numbered years, its years are often numbered from the reign of Huangdi outside China. But at least three different years numbered 1 are now used by various scholars, making the year 2008 "Chinese Year" 4706, 4705, or 4645.
The 2011 Spring Festival falls on February 3 opens in the Chinese year of the rabbit. As the rabbit is an animal of peace and harmony, we expect the year of the rabbit brings more peace and prosperity to the world.
Festivities
alt "Red couplets and red lanterns are displayed on the door frames and light the room. The air is filled with strong Chinese emotions. In stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and other cities, products of traditional Chinese style have started tendency to drive [s] of fashion. Buy yourself a Chinese-style coat, your children hats tiger head and shoes, and decorate your home with some beautiful red Chinese knots, then you will have a festival-style authentic Chinese spring. "
The Chinese New Year celebrations are marked by visits to kin, relatives and friends, a practice known as "New Year visits" (Chinese: 拜年, pinyin: Bainian). New clothes are usually worn to signify a new year. The color red is liberally used in all decorations. Red packets to children and youth are given by the married and elders.
Days before New Year
In the days before the New Year celebration Chinese families give their home a thorough cleaning. There is a Cantonese saying "Wash dirt ninyabaat" (年 廿八, 洗 邋遢), but the practice is not usually restricted nin'ya'baat (年 廿八, the 28th of the 12th month). It is believed the cleaning sweeps away the bad luck of the preceding year and makes their ready homes for good luck. Brooms and dustpans are saved on the first day so that luck can not be swept. 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. Purchasing new clothing, shoes, and receiving a hair cut also symbolize a fresh start.
In many households where Buddhism or Taoism is prevalent, home altars and statues are cleaned thoroughly, and altars that were adorned with decorations from the previous year are also down and burned a week before the start of the new year, and are replaced with new decorations. Taoists and Buddhists (to a lesser extent) will also "send gods" (送神), an example would be burning a paper effigy of the Kitchen God, the recorder of family functions. This is done so that the Kitchen God can report to the Jade Emperor of the transgressions of family homes and good works. Families often offer sweet foods (such as candy) in order of gods "bribe" to report the good things about the family.
Lion Dance Chinese New Year at Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.The biggest event of the eve of any Chinese New Year is the dinner every family will have. A dish consisting of fish will appear on the tables of Chinese families. It is for display for dinner New Year's Eve. This meal is comparable to Christmas dinner in the West. In northern China, it is customary to make dumplings (Jiaozi 饺子) after dinner and have it around midnight. Dumplings symbolize wealth because their shape is like a Chinese tael. By contrast, in the South, it is customary to make a new year cake (niangao, 年糕) after dinner and send pieces of it as gifts to family and friends in the coming days of the new year. Niangao literally means increasingly prosperous year. After dinner, some families go to local temples, hours before the new year begins to pray for a prosperous new year; however in modern practice, many households have parties and even have a countdown to the new lunar year. From the 1980s, New Year's Gala was broadcast on CCTV minutes before the start of the New Year.
altFirst day of the new year
The first day is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth, officially beginning at midnight. Many people, especially Buddhists, abstain from meat consumption on the first day because it is believed that this will ensure longevity for them. Some consider lighting fires and using knives to be bad luck on New Year's Day, so all food consumed is cooked the day before.
Most importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time when families visit the oldest and most senior members of their family, usually their parents, grandparents or great grandparents.
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 packets containing cash to junior members of the family, mostly children and teenagers.
While fireworks and firecrackers are traditionally very popular, some regions have been prohibited due to concerns over fire hazards, which have resulted in increased number of fires around New Years and the ability to work challenged fire departments municipal. For this reason, various city governments (eg, Hong Kong and Beijing, for a number of years) issued bans over fireworks and firecrackers in certain premises of the city. As a substitute, large-scale fireworks have been launched by governments in cities like Hong Kong to offer citizens the experience.
alt
Second day of the new year
Incense is burned at the graves of ancestors as part of the offering and prayer ritual.The second day of 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 dogs and feed them well as it is believed that the second day is the birthday of all dogs.
Business people Cantonese dialect group will hold a prayer 'Hoi Nin' to start their business on the second day of the Chinese New Year. The prayer is done to pray that they will be blessed with good luck and prosperity in their business for the year.
Third and fourth day of the new year
The third and fourth day of the Chinese New Year is generally accepted as inappropriate days to visit relatives and friends due to the following schools of thought. People can subscribe to one or both thoughts.
1) He is known as "Chi kǒu" (赤 口), meaning it is easy to get into arguments. It is suggested that the cause could be the fried food and visiting during the first two days of the New Year celebration.
2) Families who had an immediate kin deceased in the past 3 years will not go home to visit as a form of respect for the dead, but people can visit on this day. Some people then conclude that it is inauspicious to do any house visiting at all. The third day of the New Year is allocated to grave to visit his place.
Fifth day of the new year
In northern China, people eat (simplified Chinese: 饺子; traditional Chinese: 餃子) Jiǎozi (dumplings) on the morning of Po Wu (破 五). This is also the birthday of the Chinese god of wealth. In Taiwan, businesses traditionally re-open on this day, accompanied by firecrackers.
Seventh day of the new year
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, eaten. This is a custom primarily among the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Singapore. People get together to toss the colorful salad and make wishes for continued wealth and prosperity.
For many Chinese Buddhists, this is another day to avoid meat.
Ninth day of new year
The ninth day of the New Year is a day for Chinese to offer prayers to the Jade Emperor of Heaven (天公) in the Taoist Pantheon. The ninth day is traditionally the birthday of the Jade Emperor.
This day is especially important to Hokkiens and (Min Nan speakers) Teochews. Come midnight of the eighth day of the new year, Hokkiens will offer thanks giving prayers to the Emperor of Heaven. Offerings include sugarcane as it was the sugarcane that had protected the Hokkiens from extermination generations ago. Tea is served as a regular paying respect to an honored person protocol.
Fifteenth day of the new year
altThe fifteenth day of the new year is celebrated as jié Yuanxiao (元宵节), also known as Chap Goh Mei in Fujian dialect. Tangyuan rice dumplings (simplified Chinese: 汤圆; traditional Chinese: 湯圓; pinyin: tangyuan), a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, is eaten this day. Candles are lit outside houses as a way to guide wayward spirits home. This day is celebrated as the Lantern Festival, and walk down the street with lighted lanterns families.
This day often marks the end of Chinese New Year festivities.
reunion dinner
A reunion dinner is held on New Year's Eve where members of the family, near and far, get together for celebration. The venue will usually be in or near the home of the oldest family member. Dinner New Year's Eve is very sumptuous and traditionally includes chicken and fish. In some areas, fish (simplified Chinese: 鱼; traditional Chinese: 魚; pinyin: yu) is included, but not eaten completely (and the remainder is stored overnight), as the Chinese phrase "may have surplus each year "(traditional Chinese: 年年 有餘; Simplified Chinese: 年年 有余; pinyin: nián nián yǒu yu) sounds like" there may be fish every year. "
In mainland China, many families will banter whilst watching the New Year Gala on CCTV hours before midnight circuit.
Red packets for the immediate family are sometimes distributed during the reunion dinner. These packets often contain money in certain numbers that reflect good luck and honor. Several foods are consumed to usher in wealth, happiness and good fortune. Several of the Chinese food names are homophones for words that also mean good things.
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