How to Celebrate Chinese New Year

How to Celebrate Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year, sometimes called the Lunar New Year, is
the most important traditional holiday in China. This
holiday lasts 15 days and there are many exciting things
happening during this New Year. If you want to participate
in the celebrations, there are many things you can do to
join the festivities and to pay homage to Chinese
traditions.

!! Steps !!

Research Chinese New Year. If you're already familiar with the
Chinese New Year, take a little time to learn some more about it.
It's a very significant holiday in Chinese culture and the
festivities extend over a period of two weeks. The Chinese New Year
is accompanied by a belief in good fortune, and there are many
decorations around to herald the new year.

* Chinese celebrators head to temples to pray for good luck during
the New Year celebration period. There they burn incense sticks
and can also have their fortunes told. If you are not of Chinese
descent but would like to participate, attend a Chinese temple and
take a tube of fortune sticks which can usually be found at the
entrance to the temple. Ask a question, shake the tube and the
number that falls out can be interpreted by one of the fortune
tellers at the temple.[1] [1]

Clean your home in time for New Year. This tradition is founded in
the belief that cleaning the house at this time of year will "sweep
away the bad luck" that has accumulated inside over the past
year.[2] [2] Cleaning also makes the house ready for the good luck
to start entering again.

* Put away dustpans and brooms so that the good luck won't be swept
away after cleaning.

* Keeping fresh and hygienic is also an important part of
celebrating; even a new haircut will do.

* Be aware! Do *not* clean your home _during_ the New Year, such as
sweeping or wiping the windows. To do so is to "sweep away" the
good luck you've just received for the New Year. Over the
following 13 to 15 days, you're relieved of cleaning duties. It
may be a little dirtier than usual but it is an important part of
observing the tradition.

Decorate your home. The color that is most recommended is red. Red
is the color or symbol of good luck in Chinese culture. The number
"8'' also symbolizes good luck and wealth, as in Chinese the word
for eight rhymes with fortune or wealth.

* Take care not to overdo the decorations. Display a few good ones
to bring life and fortune from their brightness and colorful
nature.

* Place flowers through the house, such as lotuses. Lotus flowers
symbolize rebirth and new growth.

* Place mandarins in bowls throughout the house. Mandarins with
their leaves still intact are the fruits of happiness for the New
Year. Keep their numbers even though, as uneven numbers bring
unhappiness. When offering mandarins to others, always offer them
in pairs.[3] [3]

* Set out a tray of candies with eight different types of candies
arranged along it. The traditional candies are those made from
lotus seeds, longan, peanuts, coconut, red melon seed, candied
melon, etc.[4] [4]

Offer a sacrifice to the Kitchen God. While this deity may have a
funny name, it is like all gods and should be worshiped. This
sacrifice could include foods such as fruits, for example. Good
behavior should be used so that he will make a "good report when he
goes back to Heaven." Many families have a large poster of him in
their kitchen. Vegetarian dinner for Chinese New Year's
Eve Have a traditional dinner on New Year's Eve. This is one of the
most important parts of the holiday and the food eaten at this time
of year has traditional meanings related to the Chinese New Year.
Some Chinese choose not to eat meat on the first day of Chinese New
Year because each new year carries the name of an animal.[5] [5] The
remaining days carry no such restrictions. Traditional dishes
include fish, jai, chicken, law pak ko, lin guo (sticky rice cake),
noodles and desserts. Dumplings play a special role in New Year food
because of their shape, a shape which resembles the ancient Chinese
gold or silver ingots.[6] [6] Some of the food meanings include:[7]
[7]

* Jiu, a traditional hard liquor, and daikon, the Chinese radish,
carry the meaning of longevity.

* Red chilies mean good luck.

* Rice ensures harmony.

Nin gou (New Year cake) Cook your own Chinese cuisine. If you'd like
to do more than simply order at the local Chinese restaurant, try
these delicious recipes suitable for Chinese New Year:

* How to make Chinese dumplings

* How to fry pot stickers

* How to make Chinese New Year cake nian gao (sticky rice cake)

* How to make Chinese noodles in a peanut sauce

* How to make a Chinese bean paste bun

* How to make shrimp with Chinese lobster sauce.

Dress for the occasion. If you have traditional Chinese clothing,
this is the perfect time to wear it. Outfits can be purchased in
Chinatown, and silk Chinese clothing is very beautiful. Prefer the
color red for all your clothing during this time. Associated with
joy, happiness, good luck, wealth and good fortune, red clothes will
ensure that you're fully participating in the spirit of the
celebrations. Gold is another suitable color; try combining the two
for a very elegant look.

* Avoid wearing too much black during the celebration period. Black
symbolizes bad luck and even death. This is a time of good fortune
and life!

Interact with others in a positive manner. Chinese New Year is a
time of happiness and good fortune and it's important to spread the
goodwill. Avoid having any quarrels, fights, or negative attitudes
during the New Year. These will bring you bad luck.

* When greeting other people during the New Year period, use
greetings such as: Gung hay Fat Choy"/ "Gong Xi Fa Chai" – these
mean "Happy New Year" in Mandarin Chinese.

* "Kung hei fat choy" means: "We hope that you will be wealthy".

Visit your relatives and friends. This is the most important part of
the New Year and is a time of connecting and sharing the
celebrations together.

* Bring Angpau, the red envelopes, with you, to pass to children.
Usually, the red envelopes are filled with money or treats. The
red color is meant to scare away any evil spirits. These envelopes
are usually given to the unmarried from the married. And for the
sake of continued prosperity, it's a good idea (or lesson) to
encourage children to save the money that they're given in the
envelope.

Set off firecrackers. The firecrackers used in China and Hong Kong
are loud, banging fireworks that are mostly lit on the ground. The
loud noises are thought to scare the bad spirits away, to prevent
them from bringing bad luck. Many Chinese choose to decorate their
homes with plastic firecrackers too, to ward off bad luck and to
symbolize the deafening noise made when the real firecrackers are
set off.[8] [8]

Visit a parade. Parades are full of excitement, including
firecrackers, activities, and dragon dancers. There are people who
are disguised as dragons and lions; the dragon is revered in China
rather than being viewed as a monster. Indeed, it could be said that
the dragon almost symbolizes China itself. A five clawed dragon used
to be worn by emperors on their clothes and they also wore yellow
and other people were forbidden from doing so. Nowadays you can wear
yellow and dragons too, as it's not only for royalty. The lions and
dragons also scare off the bad spirits like the firecrackers, and
the dragon dance and lion dance are an important part of the Chinese
New Year. They're decorated beautifully and are a sight worth
seeing.

* Look online or in your local newspaper for information about local
Chinese New Year parades in your area. Be sure to take your camera
and to wear adequate clothes if it's cold outside.

* The Lantern Festival is held on the last day. People carry
lanterns designed as insects such as dragonflies or animals with
them on the streets. Sweet rice cakes and other sweets are eaten
on this day and people put candles around their house to guide the
spirits home.

!! Video !!

!! Tips !!

* The way to celebrate Chinese New Year varies in different regions
of China. Don't be surprised by variations; try to learn more
about the different methods of celebrating as you come across
them.

* The many ornaments used in China include fish, lanterns, the lion,
the dragon dance, and fortune gods.
These are the fortunes certain plants bring:

* Peach blossom symbolizes luck

* Kumquat symbolizes prosperity

* Narcissus symbolizes prosperity

* Chrysanthemum symbolizes longevity

* Bamboo a plant used for any time of year

* Sunflower means to have a good year.

* If you have a religion, pray. This includes praying to the dead
and the various Chinese gods. This should only be done on a
certain day, which is devoted to praying.

!! Warnings !!

* If setting off firecrackers is illegal in your country, do not set
them off against the regulations set down. Countries such as
Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, and the
United States have laws that partially, or completely ban the use
of firecrackers.

* Setting fires is considered bad luck, so cook your food before the
New Year.

!! Related WikiHows !!

* How to Make Chinese Green Tea

* How to Draw a Chinese Dragon

* How to Buy Chinese Dragonwell Tea

* How to Start up a Diablo (Chinese Yo Yo)

* How to Enjoy a Chinese Moon Festival

* How to Celebrate Thai New Year

!! Sources And Citations !!

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year – Research source

* http://chinesefood.about.com/od/chinesenewyear/a/newyearlegends_2.htm
- Research source

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[1] http://bemoreconfident.info/#_note-0
[2] http://bemoreconfident.info/#_note-1
[3] http://bemoreconfident.info/#_note-2
[4] http://bemoreconfident.info/#_note-3
[5] http://bemoreconfident.info/#_note-4
[6] http://bemoreconfident.info/#_note-5
[7] http://bemoreconfident.info/#_note-6
[8] http://bemoreconfident.info/#_note-7