How to celebrate Spring Festival (Chinese New Year by Lunar Calendar)

Spring Festival of 2010 is almost coming. It is 8^th December by China Lunar Calendar today, which is also called Laba Festival, referring to the traditional start of celebrations for the Chinese New Year. We’re leaving behind the Year of the Ox and walking into the Year of the Tiger. Millions of people all over the world celebrate Chinese New Year. What about you?

 

Although China is a huge country and ways of celebrating vary from region to region, most are the same. The tips below will help you learn about the main activities that people do to celebrate Chinese New Year.

 

1. Clean the house thoroughly before Chinese New Year but don’t sweep the floors for a couple of days after the New Year. You don’t want to sweep away your good luck, do you? Actually we do sweep the floor after the New Year, but we do not take them out, which is for the same reason.

 

2. Prepare a big dinner with some lucky food. Regional dishes vary throughout China but dinner at Chinese New Year is always a lavish affair. Dumplings are a common dish for New Year but if you are eating them, be careful. In some parts of China one of the dumplings will have a coin in it. It is considered lucky to find the coin! Actually dumpling is popular in North China. Besides, Fish is also common, because Fish is pronounce as “Yu” in Chinese, which has the same pronunciation as “surplus” in Chinese.

 

3. Don’t be surprised by fireworks. Red firecrackers are especially common and are often believed to drive evil spirits away. Although it’s illegal to set them off in some parts of China, especially in urban area.

 

4. Wear a new outfit. It’s customary to wear entirely new clothes on Chinese New Year. Red is a popular colour to wear, too as it’s considered lucky. I can remember it was one of the happiest things when I was still a young girl.

 

5. Decorate your house. Plum blossom is the most common decoration for Chinese New Year and it’s supposed to bring good luck in the New Year. Kumquats might be more appropriate in the current financial climate though. They are supposed to help bring wealth and financial stability. Of Course, couplets will be put on the both side of the door on the eve of Spring Festival

 

6. Get some red envelopes ready. Small red envelopes containing money are a common gift for young, unmarried people. It is also called “ Yasuiqian” in Chinese, which comes from a story. In ancient times, a small devil named “Sui” usually came out at New Year’s Eve. It liked to touch the heads of children who were sleeping, and the children would cry and get sick the next morning. One couple gave birth to a baby in their fifties. The Eight Immortals passed by and predicted that this family would meet with trouble. So they changed into eight copper coins, which were put in a red paper bag and by the pillow of the child. At midnight, the devil “Sui” came, but it was scared to escape by the golden light of the red bag. The next day, he couple told the thing to their neighbors. They called the copper coins as “Yasuiqian” because the devil “Sui” was pressed. From then on every family imitated it. Now it has become a custom in China. Nowadays, Some parents still ask their children to put the Yasuiqian under the pillow.

 

7. Visiting and Greeting relatives and. Besides, people may play lion dancing to celebrate Chinese New Year in some places.

 

At the end, Wish every one a Happy, Heathy , of course Prosperous New Year!