There is a great tradition of the Chinese New Year. In other cultures, most resolutions have been forgotten by this time of the year or put back to the next year. However, all hope is not lost, as with the celebration of Lunar New Year, there's a second chance to get things right.
The Chinese New Year, swathed in customs and rituals, is very similar to the Western one.
Ancient and blurred by the amount of time, the root of the Chinese New Year is itself. As the Spring Festival and festivities last 15 days, it is popularly known. The public holidays last about a week and on the fifth day of the first lunar month, shops and places of business usually reopen.
When people begin to buy gifts, decorative materials, food, and clothes, preparations begin a month before (similar to a Western Christmas). Days before New Year, when Chinese houses are cleaned from top to bottom, a major clean-up gets underway to sweep away any signs of bad luck, and a new coat of paint, usually red, is provided to doors and windowpanes.
Celebrating Chinese New Year's Eve
Perhaps the most exciting part of the occurrence is the eve of the New Year when anticipation creeps in. Here, with anything from food to clothes, customs and practices are very carefully observed.
Rituals include cleaning the house, putting up new "door gods" posters on front doors, fireworks before the dinner of the family union, which should be at least a 10-course meal with a whole fish entrance symbolizing the coming year's abundance.
Red decorations are everywhere, and since this color is intended to fend off evil spirits, it is common to wear something red - but black and white are out, as these are synonymous with mourning. The family settles down for the night after dinner to play cards, board games, or watch TV programs dedicated to the occasion. The sky is lit up by fireworks at midnight.
Fireworks are a big part of the festivities of the Chinese New Year, with more rockets set off that night than every other night of the year. Over 500 cities in China now have either limited or outright prohibited fireworks due to safety concerns and air pollution, but they remain an extremely common part of the celebrations of the New Year. The tradition comes from a folk story about a creature called Nian who was scared away using firecrackers.
The traditional New Year greeting in Chinese is "Xin Nian kuai le", meaning "Happy New Year" "Gong hei fat choy" congratulations on your good fortune" congratulations on your good fortune.
Chinese New Year's Day
An ancient tradition called Hong Bao, meaning Red Box, takes place on the day itself. This includes married couples giving money in red envelopes to children and single adults. For couples, it is also popular to give their parents money.
Then the family, first to their relatives and then their neighbors, starts to say greetings from door to door.
Fish (the Chinese word for 'fish' sounds like the word for 'surplus,' so the eating of fish is meant to bring a surplus of money and good luck) are typical foods eaten during the Spring Festival; Chinese dumplings (as their form is said to be like that of silver ingots, used as money in ancient Chinese); spring rolls; rice cakes and rice balls.
The Festival of Lanterns, on the next full moon, signals the end of the New Year, which is a celebration of singing, dancing, and lantern displays.
Serving during the Chinese New Year in the Philippines
Chinese New Year is a special non-working holiday, which means that it is not a paid holiday, but they are entitled to 30 percent additional pay for the hours worked if workers do work on the day.
The Chinese new year last year was something memorable as it was postponed due to Covid-19 cases 😳