CHINESE NEW YEAR JAN 2014

Chinese New Year is celebrated worldwide to mark the first day of the New Year in the Chinese calendar, which differs from the Gregorian calendar. It is also known as the Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year and celebrations can last for about 15 days.

The Chinese New Year for 2014 is on January 31 and marks the start of the Year of the Horse.

What do people do?

Chinese New Year is the most important and longest of all Chinese festivals, celebrated in Chinese communities worldwide. Chinese New Year activities include:

▪   Making offerings to household deities.

▪   Wearing new clothes, particularly in red.

▪   Hosting a large banquet for family and friends.

▪   Taking part in lion and dragon dances, as well as festive parades featuring acrobatic demonstrations, beating gongs, and clashing cymbals .

Many children receive “lucky money” in red envelopes and household doors are open to let good luck enter on Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year may also include a lantern festival, where people hang decorated lanterns in temples and carry lanterns to an evening parade.

Public life

Chinese New Year is a public holiday in China, which lasts for a few days. It is also a public holiday in countries such as Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, North Korea, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam.

It is not a public holiday in countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom or the United States. However, some businesses may close early and some streets may be closed for a short while to allow for festival parades to take place.

Background

The Chinese New Year festival is believed go as far back as prehistory. It marks the start of the new lunar cycle and is called the Spring Festival (in the northern hemisphere) as it falls between the December solstice and the March equinox. China follows the Gregorian calendar for daily business but the dates of the Chinese New Year and other important festivals are determined by the Chinese calendar.

The Chinese New Year, which is the first day of the first month, in the Chinese calendar is assigned to an animal. According to one belief, Buddha promised gifts to all animals that would pay him homage. Only 12 animals came to honor Buddha so, to favor these 12 animals, each one was given one of the 12 years of the Chinese zodiac. People born during one of the animal's years are said to inherit distinctive characteristics of that animal. The signs repeat every 12 years.

The Chinese calendar is based on astronomical observations of the sun's longitude and the moon's phases. It is believed to have been introduced by Emperor Huangdi (or Huang Ti) at some stage around 2600 to 3000 years BCE. According to legend, the emperor invited the calendar in 2637 BCE. This calendar predates the Gregorian calendar, which was introduced in 1582. The Chinese lunar calendar is used to determine festivals, so the dates of these festivals vary each year. Various Chinese communities around the world also use this calendar.

Symbols

Chinese New Year has various symbols and traditions. For example, flowers are an important part of New Year decorations. Two flowers that are often associated with Chinese New Year are the plum blossom (courage and hope) and the water narcissus (good luck and fortune). Writings that refer to good luck are often seen in homes and business environments. They are usually written by brush on a diamond-shaped piece of red paper. Tangerines and oranges are also displayed in many homes and stores as a sign of luck and wealth.

Envelopes with money (Hong Bao, Ang Pao, or Lai See), often come in the color red, which symbolizes happiness, good luck, success and good fortune. The color red is also used on these envelopes to ward off evil spirits. These envelopes are mainly given as presents to children. Each Chinese New Year is associated with an animal name for one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac.