Chinese New Year is 1 week from today!
Last year at this time we were eagerly awaiting the final steps in our journey to Audra.
This year we are looking forward to celebrating Chinese New Year with her.
Which means I have been busy researching exactly what it means and what the traditions/customs are. Traditionally, Chinese New Year is celebrated for two weeks. It begins on New Year's Eve (the last day of the last month of the lunar calendar) and ends on the full moon 15 days later with the Lantern Festival.
Chinese New Year is all about health, wealth and abundance...and it is even bigger and more splendid than Christmas is in the West.
In the days/weeks prior to the New Year:
~people clean their homes because it is believed that it will help them get rid of bad luck and make room for good luck in the year ahead
~people pay off their outstanding debts
~people get their haircut to symbolize a new beginning to the New Year
~people hang red signs with the characters for good luck, happiness and fortune around their house...and to increase their good fortune the signs are hung upside down!
New Year's Eve:
The New Year's Eve meal is the most important dinner of the year with the entire family gathering together. The traditional foods eaten have important meanings:
~dumplings = wealth
~long noodles symbolize long life
~oranges are a sign of completeness
~whole fish represents prosperity (It is often a feast for the eyes only, placed on the table as a reminder to the family to spend wisely in the upcoming year)
Fireworks are launched to celebrate the coming of the New Year as well as drive away evil. The more fireworks and noise there is, the more luck there will be in the New Year.
New Year's Day:
new clothes: from head to toe, all clothes and accessories worn on New Year's Day should be brand new...including lucky red underwear! {I ordered a new Qi Pao for each of the girls, a traditional Chinese silk dress}
red envelopes: children receive gifts of red envelopes filled with money in certain numbers that reflect good luck. It is believed that the money in the red envelope will keep evil away from the children and keep them healthy
There should be no cleaning on New Year's Day...it is serious bad luck...you could sweep away all the good fortune! {I'll have no problem following this custom!}
Bad luck may also be brought on by breaking dishes, scolding children, crying, sweeping the floor and washing hair. {I'm going to try really hard not to do any of these}
Lantern Festival:
The last day of the Chinese New Year festival is considered by many to be the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day. And this year, ironically, it falls on Valentine's Day. Brightly decorated red lanterns are hung everywhere. People play the Lantern Riddle game, trying to guess the answers to the mysterious riddles on the lanterns. Children carry paper lanterns to light their way to a bright and happy future.
...I can't wait to see how our Chinese New Year celebrations turn out.
We have a lot planned...stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment