Gong Xi Fa Cai, Happy Chinese New Year. | WPN World People News

It is Chinese New Year shortly. Chinese New Year, also called Lunar New Year or the Chinese Spring Festival, is an important traditional Chinese holiday celebrated by the Chinese populations around the world.

The Chinese zodiac follows a twelve year cycle. Each year is associated with an animal sign. For example 2015 is the year of Goat, sometimes known as the Year of the Sheep or the Ram. The Chinese believe that the year that people born determines their animal sign. People born in the goat year are thought to be elegant and creative.

Before the Chinese New Year, people will clean the house and housewares to get rid of the bad luck and welcome the good fortune. Afterwards, people will send greeting cards and decorate the house for the Spring Festival on New Year’s Eve. Most of the decorations involved the color red, lucky animal images of the year and the New Year couplets or spring couplets.

In old times, the New Year couplets were pasted on both sides of the entrance of the house, with a horizontal piece across and on top of the door. However, times have changed. A form of Chinese literature, nowadays, the couplet varies in content and style that people incline to merge the antithetical couplets (without the horizontal piece) into a greeting card.

On New Year's Eve of the Chinese New Year, everything sets, and family members get together to celebrate a reunion dinner.
After dinner of the New Year Eve, it is the happiest time for children to have their red packet, also known as red envelope, from adults, especially married couples, and elderly of the family. It is the most expected moment for them, because every red envelop they received has money in it. In addition to children, seniors of the family also receive red envelops.

To spend the rest of the evening, family will sit together and enjoying the rare reunion time by talking, watching New Year TV program or playing mahjong, a Chinese gambling. Staying up on New Year Eve is a custom to hope elders of the family live well and long life.

The next day is the first day of the New Year. Traditionally, people celebrate Chinese New Year for 15 days until Chinese Lantern Festival. On this day, people change new clothes and greet each other, including older relatives and friends, by visiting or making calls. On the second day, married females will return with their husband to visit their parents, relatives and friends. The third day is to visit the temple of god of fortune, not to receive guests. The forth day, people can finally clean their house to welcome gods.

In early time, women can be freely to drop around from the fifth day on. But, in modern times, business will return to normal on the fifth day. As time goes by, people will find a day for a tea party before the Chinese Lantern Festival to meet with old and new friends. In the Lantern Festival evening, people will light many colorful lanterns, and families will go out together to enjoy the glorious full moon. There are riddles on some lanterns for people to guess.

Now, ready for a Chinese New Year? Cheers and enjoy!

Source: World People News report