Chinese New Year Preparations
November 27th, 2007
The Chinese New Year has a great history. It is very similar to the Western one, swathed in traditions and rituals. The origin of the Chinese New Year is itself centuries old - infact, too old to actually be traced.Preparations tend to begin a month from the date of the Chinese New Year, when people start buying presents, decoration materials, food and clothing. A huge clean up gets underway days before the New Year, when houses are cleaned from top to bottom, to sweep away any traces of bad luck, and doors and window-panes are given a new coat of paint, usually red. The doors and windows are then decorated with paper cuts and couplets with themes such as happiness, wealth and longevity printed on them.
The eve of the New Year is perhaps the most exciting part of the event. Here, traditions and rituals are very careful observed in everything from food to clothing. Dinner is usually a feast of seafood and dumplings, signifying different good wishes. Delicacies include prawns, for liveliness and happiness, dried oysters, for all things good, raw fish salad to bring good luck and prosperity, Angel Hair, an edible hair-liked seaweed to bring prosperity, and dumplings boiled in water signifying a long-lost good wish for a family. It’s usual to wear something red as the colour is meant to ward off evil spirits, but black and white are out, as these are associated with mourning. After dinner, the family stay up for the night playing cards, board games or watching TV programs dedicated to the occasion. At midnight, the sky is lit up by fireworks.
On the day itself, Dragon and Lion dances are performed and an ancient custom called Hong Bao, meaning Red Envelope takes place. This involves married couples giving children and unmarried adults money in red envelopes. Then the family begins to say greetings from door to door, first to the relatives and then their neighbours.
Related Posts:- Chinese Zodiac
- Prepare Your Feng Shui for the New Year
- Right Place at the Right Time
- 5 Feng Shui House Types