Chinese New Year falls on the first day of the lunar calendar, the month after the end of Winter. And each year, new years falls on different date so there's no specific day for chinese new year.
Here's an interesting facts of the chinese beliefs and practices:
Clearing Of Debts
-To start off the new year good, old debts are often cleared before Lunar New Year, to avoid shame and misfortune.
Spring Cleaning
-Spring cleaning is held before New Year's Day, to sweep away all the misfortune. This way, the New Year is welcomed with a clean start.
Red Packets
-The best part of Chinese New Year for the children is to receive traditional gifts of money, wrapped up in a red packet called hong bao, from their parents and elderly married persons. The amount in the packet should be an even number, to be lucky and auspicious. Children are expected to accept red packets graciously, with customary good wishes. It is bad manners to open red packets in the presence of others.
Round Fruits
-There should be at least 12 different round fruits on the table
Fireworks
-The fireworks is to scare away all evil spirits and misfortunes, preventing them from coming into the new year.
Dragon Dance
-It is a symbol of strength, goodness, and good luck, and supernatural forces.
Red Clothing
- Color red is commonly worn throughout the Chinese New Year because it is believed that red will scare away evil spirits and bad fortune. In addition, people typically wear new clothes from head to toe to symbolize a new beginning in the new year.
Shou Sui
-It occurs when members of the family gather around throughout the night after the reunion dinner and reminisce about the year that has passed while welcoming the year that has arrived. Some believe that children who Shou Sui will increase the longevity of the parents.
Niangao or Chinese New Year Cake(Tikoy)
-It is considered good luck to eat nian gao during chinese new year because "nian gao" is a homonym for "every year higher and higher."
Counting Money
-It is believed by some chinese that counting the money repeatedly during Chinese New year can bring good fortune.
Good luck:
-Opening windows or doors is considered to bring in the good luck of the new year.
-Switching on the lights for the night is considered good luck to 'scare away' ghosts and spirits of misfortune that may compromise the luck and fortune of the new year.
-Sweets are eaten to ensure the consumer a "sweet" year.
-It is important to have the house completely clean from top to bottom before New Year's Day for good luck in the coming year.
-Some believe that what happens on the first day of the new year reflects the rest of the year to come. Chinese people will often gamble at the beginning of the year, hoping to get luck and prosperity.
-Wearing a new pair of slippers that is bought before the new year, because it means to step on the people who gossip about you.
-The night before the new year, bathe yourself in pomelo leaves and some say that you will be healthy for the rest of the new year.
-Changing different things in the house such as blankets, clothes, mattress covers etc. is also a well respected tradition in terms of cleaning the house in preparation for the new year.
Bad luck:
-Buying a pair of shoes is considered bad luck among some Chinese. The character for "shoe" is a homophone for the character, which means "rough" in Cantonese; in Mandarin it is also a homophone for the character for "evil".
-Getting a hair-cut in the first lunar month puts a curse on maternal uncles. Therefore, people get a hair-cut before the New Year's Eve.
-Washing your hair is also considered to be washing away one's own luck (although modern hygienic concerns take precedence over this tradition)
-Sweeping the floor is usually forbidden on the first day, as it will sweep away the good fortune and luck for the new year.
-Saying words like "finished" and "gone" is inauspicious on the New Year, so sometimes people would avoid these words by saying "I have completed eating my meal" rather than say "I have finished my meal."
-Talking about death is inappropriate for the first few days of Chinese New Year, as it is considered inauspicious.
-Buying (or reading) books is bad luck because the character for "book" is a homonym to the character for "lose".
-Avoid clothes in black and white, as black is a symbol of bad luck, and white is a traditional Chinese funeral colour.
-Foul language is inappropriate during the Chinese New Year.
-Offering anything in fours, as the number four, pronounced sì, can sound like "death", pronounced sĭ, in Chinese. Pronunciations given here are for Mandarin, but the two words are also near-homophones in Cantonese.
Kung Hei Fat Choi!!!!!
Here's an interesting facts of the chinese beliefs and practices:
Clearing Of Debts
-To start off the new year good, old debts are often cleared before Lunar New Year, to avoid shame and misfortune.
Spring Cleaning
-Spring cleaning is held before New Year's Day, to sweep away all the misfortune. This way, the New Year is welcomed with a clean start.
Red Packets
-The best part of Chinese New Year for the children is to receive traditional gifts of money, wrapped up in a red packet called hong bao, from their parents and elderly married persons. The amount in the packet should be an even number, to be lucky and auspicious. Children are expected to accept red packets graciously, with customary good wishes. It is bad manners to open red packets in the presence of others.
Round Fruits
-There should be at least 12 different round fruits on the table
Fireworks
-The fireworks is to scare away all evil spirits and misfortunes, preventing them from coming into the new year.
Dragon Dance
-It is a symbol of strength, goodness, and good luck, and supernatural forces.
Red Clothing
- Color red is commonly worn throughout the Chinese New Year because it is believed that red will scare away evil spirits and bad fortune. In addition, people typically wear new clothes from head to toe to symbolize a new beginning in the new year.
Shou Sui
-It occurs when members of the family gather around throughout the night after the reunion dinner and reminisce about the year that has passed while welcoming the year that has arrived. Some believe that children who Shou Sui will increase the longevity of the parents.
Niangao or Chinese New Year Cake(Tikoy)
-It is considered good luck to eat nian gao during chinese new year because "nian gao" is a homonym for "every year higher and higher."
Counting Money
-It is believed by some chinese that counting the money repeatedly during Chinese New year can bring good fortune.
Good luck:
-Opening windows or doors is considered to bring in the good luck of the new year.
-Switching on the lights for the night is considered good luck to 'scare away' ghosts and spirits of misfortune that may compromise the luck and fortune of the new year.
-Sweets are eaten to ensure the consumer a "sweet" year.
-It is important to have the house completely clean from top to bottom before New Year's Day for good luck in the coming year.
-Some believe that what happens on the first day of the new year reflects the rest of the year to come. Chinese people will often gamble at the beginning of the year, hoping to get luck and prosperity.
-Wearing a new pair of slippers that is bought before the new year, because it means to step on the people who gossip about you.
-The night before the new year, bathe yourself in pomelo leaves and some say that you will be healthy for the rest of the new year.
-Changing different things in the house such as blankets, clothes, mattress covers etc. is also a well respected tradition in terms of cleaning the house in preparation for the new year.
Bad luck:
-Buying a pair of shoes is considered bad luck among some Chinese. The character for "shoe" is a homophone for the character, which means "rough" in Cantonese; in Mandarin it is also a homophone for the character for "evil".
-Getting a hair-cut in the first lunar month puts a curse on maternal uncles. Therefore, people get a hair-cut before the New Year's Eve.
-Washing your hair is also considered to be washing away one's own luck (although modern hygienic concerns take precedence over this tradition)
-Sweeping the floor is usually forbidden on the first day, as it will sweep away the good fortune and luck for the new year.
-Saying words like "finished" and "gone" is inauspicious on the New Year, so sometimes people would avoid these words by saying "I have completed eating my meal" rather than say "I have finished my meal."
-Talking about death is inappropriate for the first few days of Chinese New Year, as it is considered inauspicious.
-Buying (or reading) books is bad luck because the character for "book" is a homonym to the character for "lose".
-Avoid clothes in black and white, as black is a symbol of bad luck, and white is a traditional Chinese funeral colour.
-Foul language is inappropriate during the Chinese New Year.
-Offering anything in fours, as the number four, pronounced sì, can sound like "death", pronounced sĭ, in Chinese. Pronunciations given here are for Mandarin, but the two words are also near-homophones in Cantonese.
Kung Hei Fat Choi!!!!!
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