Wishing
all celebrating the Lunar New Year a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous Year of
the Snake!
Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. In China, it is also known as the 'Spring Festival', the literal translation of the modern Chinese name (see Names in Chinese below). Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally ran from Chinese New Year's Day itself, the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month. The evening preceding Chinese New Year's Day is an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. Because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, the Chinese New Year is often referred to as the "Lunar New Year".
Chinese New Year is the
longest and most important festival in the Chinese calendar. The origin of
Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of
several myths and traditions. Chinese New Year is celebrated in China and in
countries and territories with significant Chinese populations, including Hong
Kong,[2] Macau,
Taiwan, Singapore,[3] Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius,[4] Philippines,[5][6] and also in Chinatowns elsewhere. Chinese New Year is
considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the lunar
new year celebrations of its geographic neighbors.
Within China, regional customs
and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese new year vary widely.
People will pour out their money to buy presents, decoration, material, food,
and clothing. It is also traditional for every family to thoroughly cleanse the
house, in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for good incoming
luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red colour paper-cuts
and couplets
with popular themes of "good fortune" or
"happiness", "wealth", and
"longevity."
On the Eve of Chinese New
Year, supper is a feast with families. The family will end the night with
firecrackers. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by
wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper
envelopes. The Chinese New Year tradition is to reconcile, forget all grudges
and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.
Source – Wikipedia
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