Learn About Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is coming, and the EO team is going to have 7-day break on Feb. 18th - 24th, so that we can celebrate this traditional festival with our families and friends across the country. Let's learn about this festival, and get to know the culture of China.
Brief Introduction
Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. Chinese New Year's Eve is known as Chuxi. It literally means "Year-pass Eve". And the 15th day of the month is called Lantern Festival.
Spring Festival
Lantern Festival
This was a time for the Chinese to congratulate each other and themselves on having passed through another year, a time to finish out the old, and to welcome in a new year. The 2015 date for Chinese New Year is February 19.
Chinese Zodiac
The Chinese calendar follows a 12-year pattern with each year named after an animal. The legend is said that the Jade Emperor invited all of the animals to join him for a New Year celebration, but only 12 animals turned up. To reward the animals that did come, the Jade Emperor named a year after each of them in the order that they arrived, starting with the Rat, followed by the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.
Chinese Zodiac
It is believed that the people born in the each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. 2015 is goat year, and those born in goat years tend to be calm, gentle, creative, thoughtful, amicable, persevering, frank and honest.
Origin
According to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with a fight against a mythical beast called the "Nian" or "Year" in Chinese. Nian would come on the first day of New Year to devour livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn't attack any more people.
One time, people saw that the Nian was scared away by a little child wearing red. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. Hence, every time when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, the Nian never came to the village again.
Festivities
Reunion dinner
The biggest event of any Chinese New Year's Eve is the dinner every family will have. A dish usually consisting of fish will appear on the tables of Chinese families. It is for display for the New Year's Eve dinner. This meal is comparable to a Christmas dinner in the West.
Dumplings
New Year Cake
In northern China, it is customary to make dumplings after dinner and have it around midnight. Dumplings symbolize wealth because their shape is like a Chinese tael. By contrast, in the South, it is customary to make a new year cake (Niangao) after dinner and send pieces of it as gifts to relatives and friends in the coming days of the new year. Niangao literally means increasingly prosperous year in, year out.
Red Packets & Gift Exchange:
At Chinese New Year parents, family and friends give money to children in red envelopes. The red color symbolizes good luck, and the amount of money can be anything from a small coin to a larger amount.
In addition to red packets, which are usually given from elder to younger, small gifts are also exchanged between friends or relatives during Chinese New Year. Gifts are usually brought when visiting friends or relatives at their homes. Common gifts include fruits, cakes, biscuits, chocolates, candies, or some other small gift.
EO is going to giveaway Red Packets on Facebook to share the happiness of new year. Stay tuned, and we'll let you know the details, very soon! Happy Chinese New Year!