How the Chinese celebrate their New Year

Chinese New Year, also referred to as Lunar New Year, is the most important holiday on the Chinese calendar. The holiday is a two-week festival filled with reunions among family and friends, an abundance of delicious food and wishes for a new year filled with prosperity, joy and good fortune.

Clean their home

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. Cleaning also makes the house ready for the good luck to start entering again.

Don't clean your home after the New Year has started. To do so is to "sweep away" the good luck you have just received. Over the following fifteen days, or at least the first few if you cannot wait that long, you are relieved of cleaning duties.

Put up red decorations

Red is the color or symbol of good luck in Chinese culture and is often used for new year decorations. The number "8" also symbolizes good luck and wealth, since the Chinese character for eight rhymes with fortune or wealth.

Appease the Kitchen God

Seven days before the New Year, the Kitchen God is said to report to the Jade Emperor about the household. Keep on your best behavior and offer him a sacrifice of fruit, candy, water, or other food. Some people burn a picture of the Kitchen God to send him up to heaven.

Firecrackers and fireworks

New Year festivities just would not be the same without pyrotechnics. New Year’s firecrackers are made from strings of rolled red paper containing gunpowder that, when set off, leave shreds of scarlet paper in their wake. Traditionally, it is believed that the loud noise of the firecrackers serves to scare away evil spirits, although nowadays firecrackers are banned in many cities for safety reasons. In addition, most major cities, including Hong Kong and Shanghai, will put up an impressive display of fireworks around midnight to welcome in the new year.

Honor your ancestors

Show gratitude and respect for what your ancestors have done for you. There are many traditional customs associated with this if you choose to follow them, such as bowing to a shrine dedicated to them or offering them food and drink as a sacrifice.

Dress for the occasion

If you have traditional Chinese clothing, this is the perfect time to wear it. Outfits can be purchased in Chinatown, including beautiful silk clothing. Associated with joy, happiness, good luck, wealth and good fortune, red clothes will ensure that you are fully participating in the spirit of the celebrations. Gold is another suitable color; try combining the two colors for a festive look. Avoid wearing too much black during the celebration period because black symbolizes bad luck and even death.

Give and receive red envelopes

Visiting relatives and friends is the main traditional custom during Chinese New Year and children will often receive gift money in little red packages, together with the wish for safety throughout the New Year.
The most commonly-said greetings are ‘xin nian kuai le’ (Happy New Year) and ‘gong xi fa cai’ (Wishing you prosperity). It is also common for Chinese parents to place mandarins and oranges alongside a red envelope on their children's pillows because their names in Chinese sound similar to those for ‘luck’ and ‘wealth’.

Read more: The best destinations to spend New Year in Southeast Asia

Source Internet