Jan 24 2009
Chinese New Year Facts
The Chinese New Year is an important traditional Chinese holiday filled with festivities, parades, superstitions, and begins in 2009 on January 26th—next Monday. I admit that the only thing I knew about the holiday was the astrological aspect of 12 animals representing the year one was born. A quick search to find out more information brought some interesting information:
The dates of the Chinese New Year do not align with the traditional Gregorian calendar, because the dates are based on the Lunar Year.
The days before the New Year are spent cleaning to sweep away the bad luck of the previous year, new paint, haircuts, or clothing to represent new starts, and a family dinner on New Year’s Even usually with a fish dish.
On the first day of the New Year, the oldest members of the family are visited, gifts of money are given to younger family members, and sometimes fireworks light the sky.
The other days of the New Year have traditions that detail who visits who, what is eaten, and who to pray to.
Parades, special greetings, and many many superstitions are also a part of the celebrations.
To find out more about this interesting holiday, visit Wikipedia or other specialized sites.
Photo Chinese New Year by leagun, www.sxc.hu
