About Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is also called as the Spring Festival. It is a vital Chinese festival celebrated at the turn of the traditional solar Chinese calendar. Celebrations traditionally start from the evening preceding the first day, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first calendar month. The first day of the New Year falls on the new moon between 21 Jan and 20 Feb.
Chinese New Year is a Tradition
The New Year festival is centuries old and gains importance because of several myths and cultures. Traditionally, the festival was a time to remember deities as well as ancestors. Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries with dominant Chinese populations, like China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Mauritius, Australia and the Philippines.
The occasion is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the lunar New Year celebrations of its geographic neighbouring countries.
Family come together for Spring Cleaning
The evening before the Chinese New Year’s Day is an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. It is also traditional for every family to thoroughly clean the house. As it sweeps away any ill-fortune and to make way for incoming good luck.
Windows and doors are decorated with red colour paper-cuts. Red colour represents good fortune, happiness, wealth and longevity. Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red paper envelopes.
Flowers for Chinese New Year
Flowers represent new growth after the long, dead winter, and are important signifiers of life and good fortune. A tree or plant in bloom will often bear fruit, which are seen as potent symbols of fortune. Orchids are undoubtedly the most popular Chinese New Year flower. During the festival, flower markets and shops will be flooded with bouquets, pots, and arrangements of Orchids in a limitless variety of colours.
Another popular Chinese New Year flower is the bright and beautiful peach blossom. The peach plant is considered sacred in China, as the peach fruit represents longevity, and the peach blossoms symbolise romance, prosperity, and growth.
Importance of Red Colour for Chinese New Year
Red is the colour of joy, symbolising virtue, truth and sincerity that also has the power to scare away evil spirits and bad fortune. A longhand Chinese New Year tradition is for elders to give red packets as a symbol of prosperity to unwedded youngsters as a form of blessing for the New Year. Gold is another favourite colour of the Chinese New Year, as it symbolizes fortune and prosperity.
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