Chinese New Year Festival

In spite of the immense changes in the post modern world of China, people still view their life from the historical vantage point of the ancient traditions and customs. This is best explained by the zest with which the Chinese all across the globe celebrate the Chinese New Year Festival.

Everyone knows that the first of January marks the first day of a new calendar. But the first day of Chinese New Year falls on the first new moon after 1st of January. Chinese New Year Festival is a family celebration with food, light, fireworks and lots of interactive activities that strengthens filial ties.

Chinese put their family in a very significant position as they consider it as a way to keep the family blood running. The Chinese New Year Festival starts the night before Chinese New Year as family members gather together for a traditional dinner known as 'surrounding the stove' and acknowledge the spirits of their ancestors.

The Chinese New Year Festival spans across fifteen days with each day having its individual importance.

On the first day of the Chinese New Year it is believed that the Chinese New Year God ascends to heaven to pay their respects and also report on the household chores to the Jade Emperor, the supreme Taoist deity.

Therefore many folks abstain from having meat on the first day of the New Year because it is believed that this will ensure healthy and happy lives for them. On the second day, the Chinese acknowledge their ancestors as well as pray to all the gods.

People feed dogs as it is believed that the second day is the birthday of all dogs. The third and fourth days are for the sons-in-laws to offer respect to their parents-in-law. The fifth day is known as Po Woo.

On that day people stay at home to usher in the God of Wealth. It is customary not to visit families and friends on the fifth day because it will bring both parties bad luck. From the sixth to the tenth day, the Chinese greet their acquaintances, relatives and friends and wish them a happy and prosperous year ahead. They also visit the temples to pray for good luck, riches and health.

The seventh day of the New Year is the day when farmers display their harvest. They make a drink from seven types of vegetables to commemorate the occasion. The seventh day is also believed to be the birthday of human beings. It is customary to eat noodles and raw fish for long life and success.

The eighth day of the festival is characterized by another family reunion dinner, and at midnight they offer prayers to Tian Gong, the God of Heaven. The ninth day is the day of make offerings to the Jade Emperor. From the tenth through the twelfth day of the festival friends and relatives are invited for dinner.

The thirteenth day has a biological significance. People eat simple rice congee and mustard greens (choi sum) to cleanse their system. The fourteenth day is spent in the preparations to celebrate the Lantern Festival also known as Shang Yuan festival which is to be held on the fifteenth night.

People in China believe that as they enter a new year, they should drop the last year into the silence limbo of the past. Common Chinese New Year Activity includes cleaning the houses from top to bottom, purchasing new clothes, paying off debts, painting their doors and window panes, and even getting new haircuts. These Traditional Chinese New Year Activities symbolize new life and new hopes.

A huge clean-up needs to be done before the New Year. Cleaning the house from top to bottom and sweeping away the dust of the gone year is a common New Year activity. Giving a new coat of red paint on the doors and windowpanes has its own reasons.

The Chinese tradition says that the colour red is considered lucky and is believe that it scares the evil. People also hang "spring couplets" around the house. Spring couplets are paper curls and squares engraved with blessings and auspicious words, such as "springtime", "good fortune", "good health", "wealth" and "longevity".

It is customary to paste them upside down as the Mandarin Chinese word signifying upside down "tao", is a homonym of "arrival." Thus, the paper squares signify the "arrival" of spring and the "coming" of prosperous times.

Paper lanterns are hung as they bring forth the true essence of the festivity. Decorations of the incoming zodiac animal are also displayed in the house. In China, people like to fill their house with fresh blooms and flowering plants like peach, flowering quince branches, white narcissus and chrysanthemum as they all signify good health, prosperity and happiness.

Chinese people believe that staying awake all night on New Year's Eve would make their aged parents to live a longer and healthier life. Thus a common activity followed on the eve of Chinese New Year is to keep the lights on the entire night.

It is also seen as a pretext to make the most of the family reunion. Some families in China even hold religious ceremonies after midnight to usher in the God of the New Year into their homes. It is customary to conclude the ceremonies with a huge barrage of firecrackers to scare away the evil.

One of the popular activities on Chinese New Year is observing the custom of Hong Bao. This involves gifting small red envelopes filled with "lucky money". These envelopes are given to children and unmarried adults by the married couples.

The red colour is considered to bring good fortune, and the money inside the envelope is used by them to buy holiday treats. Chinese people give a lot of importance to their family and Chinese New Year is the time of family reunion.

A family feast is held where the folks of the family gather and acknowledge the spirits of their forefathers.

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